An Interesting Career Move

wouldn't you make that decision on a case-by-case basis, depending on the employee in question? if you're confident the quality of his work won't slip, there's no need to yank him immediately. you can ease him out gradually while you ease in the new person. that's better than snatching him off the beat. and the notion of punishing him for taking a job elsewhere is ridiculous, IMHO.

 

The piece I remember Snow most for out of the Minneapolis paper is his stuff on the death of Sergei Zholtok and the bond he had with Darby Hendrickson. It was a tremendous read. Sox beat at 24 is a tremendous coup. But it looks like a good front office gig for a young guy who can learn a lot from the likes of Doug Risebrough and Jacques Lemaire. If he's smart (and it seems he is) , and he soaks up what he can from those guys, he'll probably be a gm himself some day.

 

The day he has in a gamer lead "the Red Sox, who must acquire a first-line left wing and shore up an offense that ranked 25th in goals scored in the league in order to make a run at a Western Conference playoff berth ...", then it's over. As long as his head's in Fenway, he's going to do the Globe a lot more good by being active than having him hidden in GA or whatever.

 

Why are you all wasting time discussing the life of a child born with a silver spoon in his mouth?

 

Silver spoon or not, always seemed to me he had the talent to back everything he was "given".

 

The one story of his I read in the Globe was cliche from word one. If that passes for talent...

 

If you can judge talent on one story...

 

Well, that settles it then. The kid's a hack. No wonder he chose to get out of the business.

 

You've clearly never read him.

Another jealous never-was checks in. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Chris Snow is a tremendous writer. Anybody who says otherwise has as much credibility as a crackhead. I don't give a shit how he might have gotten a boost in his formative years. He was good enough to be at the Globe in that spot. He more than held his own against the Herald.

 

A friend pointed me to this message board after reading the threads on Chris and it wasn't hard to predict how many would react to his move. A few posts back someone mentioned that he'd decided Chris had no talent because one of his stories was supposedly filled with cliches and the funny thing about that is that more and more it seems like the biggest cliche in this business is quickly dismissing someone who has succeeded at a young age. Not only is it elementary but in many cases - and in this case specifically - it's erroneous.

I didn't know Chris before he came to the Globe but we became friends in the past year-plus as two guys in their 20s who happen to cover baseball teams that play each other a lot. To be honest, I think initially there was probably a part of both of us that wondered whether the other one really deserved to have the job he did but I can say now that there is no doubt that he did. Perhaps the highest compliment a beat writer can receive is the (often-grudging) acknowledgement from his competitors that he's a threat - and Chris had that.

Sure, he didn't cover high schools or work the desk before getting a big-time beat but he's hardly the only one to take a less-than-traditional path (myself included). It doesn't mean he didn't deserve it; it just means that methods change along with the times, and that's simply a fact that, at some point, has to be accepted.

As for the idea that someone leaving the Red Sox beat somehow says something about this business, I'd submit that anyone who has actually covered a baseball beat has probably considered getting out the field ... more than likely on a near-daily basis. Chris surely won't be the last to actually do it.

He got a unique opportunity and leaped at it. Those who rip him for what he did or has done only demonstrate that they're guilty of poor reporting on their subject.

Sam Borden

 

Sirs, Madames,

I know the GM, not Snow. DR and the Wild pride themselves on thinking outside the box. (Can anyone explain Brent Burns as a first-rounder?) The Wilds have some great guys on staff (Guy Lapointe) and a freak or two (Tom Thompson) not to mention a non-playing Gaborik. I was out last night with another GM (non-playoff team) and he was dumbfounded by DR's hire. Couldn't fathom it. I don't get it from either direction.

You went to j-school to get into the NHL? Can't see it.

You can't find someone who has either negotiated a contract or signed one who might have a bit more experience to offer? Well, maybe. Still, I can think of a few guys I'd be looking at (and NHL front-office contracts are up July 1, who knows who might be on the job market).

All that said, the Minnesota GM is a solid guy. Snow's not going to work for Pierre Lacroix.

YHS, etc