DBacks Daily 9/30/07 - Who needs a good run differential, anyway?

by snakecharmer on Sep 30, 2007 3:05 PM EDT in Diamondbacks News

Yesterday can kind of tell the story of our season - we lose big, the Padres lose close, and we still end up a winner! That's right, NL West Division Champs!! But it isn't over yet. Still a lot of games going on this morning that will determine who we face in the first round. My remote's going to get a workout...

And since I've been watching instead of writing this, I'll hurry up and wrap it up!

Diamondbacks celebrate in style courtesy of Livo before the game yesterday.. a stark contrast to the night before. Nice article.
AP Recap talks more of the post-season hopes (of both teams) than game action
Looks like the MLB.com writer followed suit with the team's lack of performance in not writing very much of a recap. Story? What story? Meh.
Another "Recap? I have to write what?" Nick Piecoro doesn't cover game action in this article either, instead discussing remaining playoff possibilities.
MLB.com notes: Bonifacio's start, Cirillo's first playoffs, and BK Kim's contribution. (Yes, really.)
Cubs fans seem to think their team is coming here for the NLDS, because they were in line yesterday picking up a bunch of tickets too.

Finally, there's a nice article by Doug Haller in the Republic on this year's team reaching the playoffs five years later.

Doug Davis's start was postponed and Petit will start today against Jimenez. Almost game time - let's do this!

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Stay classy, Gonzo...

"There were high expectations, and it's been a disappointment," said Gonzalez. "It's been a weird year for a lot of us. They will re-evaluate the team and a lot of us will move on and continue playing." He pointed out that the Dodgers were winning in spite of the sub-par seasons by he and Nomar Garciaparra. In the second half, he said he struggled when used only part-time.

"I'm a competitor," he said. "A lot of times, people see us as selfish, that we don't want the young kids to play. That's not true. We just want to win. Guys can hit .330, and it doesn't mean you win. When we struggled, I just wish they would have stayed with us.
"We would have found a way to fix it. We know the numbers weren't there, but we were winning games. We're good players, we'd find a way. The lineups were different, and it makes it hard for everybody."

Context: dodgers.scout.com/2/685386.html

by dahlian on Oct 1, 2007 12:42 AM EDT reply actions

It should be noted that

when he says "Guys can hit .330, and it doesn't mean you win" that he isn't just pulling some random impressive number out of the air to prove his point. He's doing it as a direct shot at Kemp and Loney who were hitting, respectively, .333 and .331 on the year.

by dahlian on Oct 1, 2007 2:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Gonzo is a tool

He's no better than Moorad and Hall with his stupid commentary. I hope that he, Schilling, and Kent have some nice talks about the old days as they sip their iced tea and curse the younger, cheaper, and better players that came along.

This constant whining about how he lost playing time to players that were playing better really makes me lose respect for the guy as a baseball player.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Oct 1, 2007 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes...

...that's right, Gonzo... they may be hitting 50 points higher than you... but they sure don't have your wheels, gun, or defensive prowess, right?!

by johngordonma on Oct 1, 2007 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Not to mention...

...his ability to not ground into double plays.

Wait....

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Oct 1, 2007 10:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Tool or fool?

Gonzo is a tool. He's no better than Moorad and Hall with his stupid commentary

They all make self-serving, misleading statements from time to time, but the distinction, to me, is that there's a plausible possibility that Gonzalez actually believes what he's saying here. If so, that would make him more of a fool than a tool.

Look at it thru Gonzo-vision. He led the entire league in doubles last year. In April and May, I believe he was the Dodgers best hitter (or behind Martin), he draws more walks than the kids, takes a ton of pitches for the team, maybe he thinks he has better intangibles, whatever. I know it's only a small part of the story. You know it. Grady Little knows it. But I think it's at least plausible (if somewhat pathetic), that Gonzo still sees himself as a superior option.

Seeing as his 2006 was a "weird year", and 2007 was a "weird year", I agree it's past time he get a better grip on reality. But I dont think that makes him a bad person, or all that unusual, given the circumstances.

A $7 million dollar man's surely not as sympathetic a figure as the middle-aged employee being edged out at WalMart or Honeywell, but LG's brand of inflexibility and double talking defensiveness is actually extremely common amongst once great, ultracompetitive has-beens, in and out of sports. Doesnt make them noble, just human, I think.

by Diamondhacks on Oct 3, 2007 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Well,

it's still a stupid and somewhat selfish and egotistical statement. All it does is further prove that this Phoenician Gonzo-exceptionalism was ALWAYS viewed through purple-and-teal colored glasses. Sympathy be damned; if the 18 year old at Wal-Mart can bag groceries or shelf items faster, better and cheaper than the 55 year old, the 18 year old is going to win out.

"LG's brand of inflexibility and double talking defensiveness is actually extremely common amongst once great, ultracompetitive has-beens, in and out of sports." Agreed. Further debunks the exceptionalism argument. I'll criticize those other athletes when they make the same types of statements. It won't necessarily affect how I look at them after they've retired, though.

I'm still a fan of Gonzo, don't get me wrong; but he's doing less and less to earn my fanship these days. Really makes you look back with awe at Cal Ripken, doesn't it?

My final judgment? Gonzo's a little of both. He's a wee bit toolish and, at this stage in his career, quite foolish as well.

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Oct 3, 2007 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Dont think I get

the Cal Ripken reference? IIRC, Cal took on a part time role several years after talk started about how his pursuit of personal goals was perhaps not in the best long term interests of the team.

Not saying all the sniping was necessarily justified - and he eventually did share time. But, to me, he's more Gonzo-like than not, in the sense of being an ironman who didnt "sit down" voluntarily, at least not for a while.

by Diamondhacks on Oct 5, 2007 4:38 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes Hacks

I have no doubt that you will be right there with Gonzo sipping the coolers on Jerry Colangelo's back porch.

He's both and he should stop talking. There's being human and then there's being a dick and talking big in the media. Gonzo knows the difference, of that I'm certain.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Oct 3, 2007 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm sure that Gonzo thinks he's

the best option. All ballplayers do. I don't at all fault him for that even if he's out of touch with reality. It's the nature of competitive athletes to always think they can get the job done any given day.

The appalling thing about the quote is that he doesn't stop at just making the case for his own abilities. He takes it a step further and denigrates the people that would be taking his job. What kind of a team player would say, "Yeah, those other players on the team may know how to hit, but they don't know how to win." How could that ever be considered an acceptable thing for a player to say about his teammates?

by dahlian on Oct 3, 2007 8:27 PM EDT up reply actions

To be fair...

Gonzo didnt say the kids were losers or didnt know how to win, at least not directly. He said the old guys were "good players" whose numbers "werent there" but the team won when they played regularly and he felt that the team would've won more down the stretch if he and his old buddies continued to play more. Personally, I think the argument is nonsense, but I dont see anything terribly unusual, destructive or appalling about it either.

Gonzo's remarks werent as blunt as what Kent said, nor did Luis say exactly what (I believe) you were attributing to him in "quotes" above.

Guys can hit .330, and it doesn't mean you win.

I think you hear older players publicly chide younger teammates along these lines fairly regularly, at least by implication. Young talent that hasnt yet learned "how to win" at the pro level. A catcher complimenting a veteran pitcher who knows "how to win", implying that the team's kid pitcher with great stuff - but few W's to show for it - has more learning to do. Or a basketball player saying the team plays best with a veteran lineup on the floor, implying that the high scoring rookie hotshot doesnt play enough team D. Or a veteran backup quarterback explaining to the press that the new draft pick is marvelously talented but just needs "time" to learn the pro game and learn "how to win" in the NFL.

I admit there's something about Gonzo's remarks that make me wonder if he'd still be complaining about sitting behind someone like Magglio Ordonez or Matt Holliday, but his actual remarks are more about building himself up than denigrating teammates. Gonzo's making that implication, to be sure, and I agree it's an erroneous and unnecessary implication, but I just dont see it as unusually harsh, unacceptable or quite as "dick-y" as you guys do.

by Diamondhacks on Oct 5, 2007 5:44 AM EDT up reply actions