For the Mariners, eating their young is just business

DMZ · February 23, 2007 at 7:49 am · Filed Under Mariners 

After the Times did the story after the Wall Street Journal did the story and way after it was first announced, the PI takes up the suite thing. I would ignore it entirely except for this quote.

“To use the business term, we’re eating our own a little bit here,” Aylward said. “We’re risking that in the end this is going to be more valuable than going along with what we were doing before.”

That’s a business term?

In other business news, Ichiro’s agent wrote a book on his production these last six years.

“Ichiro gets killed on slugging percentage,” Attanasio said. “But he’s right there on everything else having to do with run production. Scoring runs is just as important as driving in runs, and almost nobody scores more than Ichiro.”

Mark Lowe’s still waiting for word on his arm. Johjima wanted to play every game last year, but he didn’t. Is Hargrove going to rest him more this season?

“He’ll catch 130 games, and that will be fine,” Hargrove said. “It’s hard to catch every game in a season and still be productive offensively. It’s not a good thing for a catcher to aspire to.”

How lame are the Jim Moore columns from the Grapefruit League? He’s now bothering players who have the same name as former Mariners. I’m not kidding.

In the Times, Baker’s got a piece on Juan Sandoval, who lost vision in one eye. It’s a little scary but also cool that’s he’s even out there playing.

Also, if you missed the Sexson quotes etc, I’d like to present this two-paragraph opener to the AP version

PEORIA, Ariz. — Richie Sexson’s critics say he strikes out too much. His batting average is too low. He’s not worth a $55 million contract. Well, the Seattle Mariners’ big first baseman has a simple answer.

“They signed me here to hit 35 to 40 home runs and to drive in 100. And I’ve done that. Twice.” Sexson said Thursday with a bemused smile.

If someone gave me $45m to sit on the M’s bench and eat sunflower seeds, and I ate a lot of sunflower seeds, that wouldn’t mean I was worth the money.

Anyway, I’m always annoyed by this kind of “Some people say that Richie Sexson is from Mars. That he eats kittens. Well, they’re wrong.” Yeah, thanks for that insight there, AP.

Comments

26 Responses to “For the Mariners, eating their young is just business”

  1. msb on February 23rd, 2007 7:53 am

    Kirby Arnold has Lowe’s description of the MRI….

  2. msb on February 23rd, 2007 7:56 am

    and from ‘no, duh’ magazine:

    Mariners expect more from Beltre

  3. msb on February 23rd, 2007 7:58 am

    Niehaus loses out on the Frick award again

  4. Tek Jansen on February 23rd, 2007 8:08 am

    I remember watching Juan Sandoval pitch to Rene Rivera in the bullpen at a Kane County Cougars game some time back. Both were playing for Wisconsin at the time. I always wondered if I would see either of them play for the M’s. Hopefully Sandoval will prove more useful than Rivera some day.

  5. msb on February 23rd, 2007 8:41 am

    That’s a business term?

    ooh, apparently it is. I just googled on both ‘eat our own’ and ‘eat our young’.

    Once again, I am glad I wised up that first quarter and became a lit major instead.

  6. David J. Corcoran I on February 23rd, 2007 9:07 am

    Former Geneva Illinois-ers Unite!

  7. yellowmoth on February 23rd, 2007 9:13 am

    As a former journalism student Jim Moore has always gotten under my skin—his brand of writing symbolizes perfectly what is generally wrong with American journalism. But this latest round of articles is a new low, even for him. Zero substance, whatsoever. Wow.

  8. Sports on a Schtick on February 23rd, 2007 9:16 am

    Geez, it sounds like Sexson is satisfied with his perfomance. Improve? On what?

    The 2007 Seattle Mariners: “Improve? On what?”

  9. Mat on February 23rd, 2007 9:16 am

    Some people say that Richie Sexson is from Mars. That he eats kittens.

    Those kittens were totally asking for it, though.

  10. msb on February 23rd, 2007 9:23 am

    As a former journalism student Jim Moore has always gotten under my skin—his brand of writing symbolizes perfectly what is generally wrong with American journalism.

    has Jim Moore ever claimed to be a journalist?

  11. Evan on February 23rd, 2007 9:45 am

    I think it’s important to point out that we’re not blaming Sexson for being overpaid. If someone offered me $45 million to sit on the bench and eat sunflower seeds, I’d take that deal.

  12. Joe on February 23rd, 2007 10:21 am

    As a former journalism student Jim Moore has always gotten under my skin—his brand of writing symbolizes perfectly what is generally wrong with American journalism. But this latest round of articles is a new low, even for him. Zero substance, whatsoever. Wow.

    Jim Moore’s columns have always had zero substance. To hit a new low he’d have to be sucking knowledge and intelligence right out of your brain as you read him. Which, I grant, is entirely possible.

    has Jim Moore ever claimed to be a journalist?

    How does the paper justify paying him every week? As a loss-leader to keep the loyalty of WSU graduates? As some kind of make-work program for the mentally impaired? Do they get a tax break? Does he have Go To Pictures of someone at Hearst in a compromising situation?

  13. yellowmoth on February 23rd, 2007 10:25 am

    10 – Good point, and no, he has never claimed as such. And it’s certainly debatable as to whether or not the P-I itself is useful journalism, or just a daily magazine, in which case Moore’s colums fit perfectly. My overall point is that it’s becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between the two.

  14. seank100 on February 23rd, 2007 10:27 am

    Poor writing or not, I’m a little jealous of Jim Moore. He’s paid to write about sports, but doesn’t appear to be held accountable by his superiors for what he writes; he’s sent to spring training on the company’s dime; he has the pulpit he wants to be able to rail against his arch-rival (UW); when all else fails (i.e. he can’t come up with anything sports related to write about), he gives us 500 words about his dog. I’ll bet the SOB expenses all of his beer, too.

  15. yellowmoth on February 23rd, 2007 10:27 am

    12 – Yeah, I had to stop reading about halfway through, as I was starting to feel light-headed from the brain-suck.

  16. Nate on February 23rd, 2007 11:04 am

    heck, I’d do the bench & sunflower seeds job for $20M
    -nate

  17. _David_ on February 23rd, 2007 12:14 pm

    I’d probably go less than $20M, and I’d strike out less too.

  18. Jim Thomsen on February 23rd, 2007 12:27 pm

    Jim Moore is the print equivalent of a KJR talk-show host. He’s paid to cater to the frat-boy-beer-and-lifestyle-dipshit crowd, the readers who prefer ogling women to watching ballplayers, who would just as soon talk celebrities as ballplayers, who are more concerned about where to get the best steak after the game as they are with what happened during a game.

    It’s the P-I’s ingenious if cynical effort to draw in a whole new level of readership, and it’s working.

  19. Ralph Malph on February 23rd, 2007 12:32 pm

    How is “old fashioned red ass” a compliment?

  20. Ralph Malph on February 23rd, 2007 12:33 pm

    Sorry, posted that in the wrong thread.

  21. Cynical Optimist on February 23rd, 2007 1:32 pm

    Okay, semantic quibble. Of course Jim Moore is a journalist, he writes articles for a newspaper. Yes, he’s terrible at it. He’s a terrible journalist. Calling someone a journalist is not an accolade or a subjective descriptor of the quality of his writing or his intelligence or his integrity. It is an occupation, no more, no less.

  22. LB on February 23rd, 2007 3:02 pm

    has Jim Moore ever claimed to be a journalist?

    Maybe in the sense that Dave Barry is a journalist. Of course, one difference between the two of them would be that Dave Barry is really, really funny.

  23. Thom Jimsen on February 23rd, 2007 4:00 pm

    Jim Moore actually worked as a sportswriter for the P-I for nearly 20 years before becoming the “Go2Guy.”

  24. NBarnes on February 24th, 2007 12:55 am

    I think it’s important to point out that we’re not blaming Sexson for being overpaid. If someone offered me $45 million to sit on the bench and eat sunflower seeds, I’d take that deal.

    Screw that. If someone wants to offer me $45 million to play the game and do my damnest to hit 45 HRs with 130 RBIs a year, I swear on all I hold dear, I will do everything in my power to hit 45 HRs with 130 RBIs. Screw sunflowers, I will try to hit 45 HRs.

    ‘course, my SLG will probably be below the Mendoza Line (I have cruddy upper body strength), but I swear to you nobody will have tried harder than I. Not even Willie Ballgame.

  25. msb on February 24th, 2007 8:39 am

    just to show us up, Moore today

  26. Jim Thomsen on February 24th, 2007 1:20 pm

    Thanks, Jim Moore. Nobody’s told that story before. I appreciate you breaking important news there.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.