It's not my job to help them [sportswriters] do their job. Nomar Garciaparra, winter 2003.
"It's not their [athletes'] job to help us [sportswriters] do their job." Dan Shaughnessy, Dec. 6, 2005
Is Dan finally coming around? He even sucks up to Jim Rice in today's piece. Not surprisingly, it wasn't long ago he was trashing the former Sox slugger:
* On Jan. 11, 2004, Shaughnessy says in an interview that he votes for Rice “even though he was borderline, because I don’t want that charge leveled at me”: that reporters penalize Rice for being uncooperative, surly and even intimidating toward them. ... Shaughnessy laughs: “So there’s a vote for him because he was a churl.”
* On Jan. 9, 2002, he wrote in the Globe: "[Rice was] a one-dimensional, no-speed, no-defense left fielder ..."
There's more, much more, but I'm on another deadline today.
So when it comes to Jim Rice, is DS full of BS? Or is he really just courting the graces of the Red Sox (who for the first time are pushing Rice's nomination hard)?
Wasn't it back in 1987 or 1988 that good old Dan wrote a column running Jim Rice out of town? It happened with Jim Rice physically confronted one of the Red Sox staff (a trainer?) in the dugout (I think). I don't really recall, but it was something like that.
ReplyDeleteThe next day Dan wrote a truly obnoxious (even for him) column with a sort of "thanks for the good times...but it is time to go" theme regarding number 14. If you could pinpoint that charming article it would be a great counterpoint to the rear-end smooching that Dan is up to now.
It reminded me of the Robert Duvall character in the move "The Natural". The self-appointed (and self-important) protector of baseball. What a jerk. Probably never played the game either.
That - in fact - was the last DanS authored article that I ever read (intentionally anyway - I have accidentally read a couple of paragraphs since). I enjoyed the Globe sports section much more after resolving not to read Dan again (I was already not reading anything by Will McDonough at that point).
Thanks for the community service you provide!