Another head-scratcher

[newinthefield]

From a Dallas Observer blog posting.

"In Game 2, Colby Lewis is scheduled to start after missing his last regular turn in the rotation because -- I'm not making this up -- his wife, Jenny, was giving birth in California. To the couple's second child."

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2011/04/welcome_back_to_earth_texas_ra.php

 

[rmanfredi]

"Departures? Totally get it because at a funeral you're saying goodbye to someone for the last time. But an arrival is merely saying hello to someone you'll see the rest of your life."

Oof. I can't imagine something that wouldn't have kept me from being with my wife when she gave birth. Then again, it wasn't something as mundane as our second child, just our first.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

What a fantastically asshole observation from this guy.

 

[Versatile]

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Anybody who misses the birth of a child by choice, is a complete douchebag.

 

[DanOregon]

Maybe in the old days there wasn't enough "interest" in why a player wasn't in a lineup or whatnot - but you do seem to hear about more players (mostly basketball and baseball) taking personal days to attend funerals, visit a sick relative etc. than you used to. I always figured players should plan their families around the season, or induce the kid so it didn't interfere with what was REALLY important (to me) - whether they played or not.

Or maybe it's just the Family Leave Act

 

[Armchair_QB]

Maybe in the old days there wasn't enough "interest" in why a player wasn't in a lineup or whatnot - but you do seem to hear about more players (mostly basketball and baseball) taking personal days to attend funerals, visit a sick relative etc. than you used to. I always figured players should plan their families around the season, or induce the kid so it didn't interfere with what was REALLY important (to me) - whether they played or not.

Or maybe it's just the Family Leave Act

Used to be they'd just say the guy was out with the stomach flu.

Or maybe that's what they said when a guy was hungover. Can't remember.

 

[dirtybird]

Anybody who misses the birth of a child by choice, is a complete douchebag.

Cmon, this isn't just anybody. This a pitcher with a truly mediocre career missing an April start. There are only like 161 other games or around 30 more starts he can make. Clearly he can't afford to miss that for a kid, especially a second one. Second kid's births are the most overrated sort. Priorities man. #sarcasm

 

[lcjjdnh]

Is it possible the post is sarcasm? Really just a dig on Shane Battier for skipping his child's birth to play the other day (hence the link at the end)?

 

[Gomer]

If it's sarcasm, it's poorly written sarcasm. If you're going to make a joke like that, you have to go a lot further than this writer did or else your readers may never forgive you for it.

 

[Versatile]

Is it possible the post is sarcasm? Really just a dig on Shane Battier for skipping his child's birth to play the other day (hence the link at the end)?

I think he's pointing to Battier as a good example.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

This is just some guy's rag on a blog for some rag.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

I have no idea why he thinks it's OK to miss a game to say goodbye to someone at a funeral. The person is DEAD. They will not hear you say goodbye. There will be just as much opportunity to go to their gravesite and say goodbye afterwards. They still won't be able to hear you, but it will be much more personal.

 

[SF_Express]

To me, I'm afraid Richie Whitt can't win here.

He's either simply an asshole -- most might have two or three kids in their lives (many of us stop at two), and being there is a no-brainer if at all possible. What if he's giving up seven hits in 5 2/3, and there are complications?

It's also April. As noted, if he had a sore back, nobody would say a word.

If Richie's kidding, he does a crappy job of it.

So he's wrong either way, which is a nice black-and-white kind of deal.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

What a fantastically asshole observation from this guy.

^

If it was sarcasm, it flew over my head at 35,000 feet.

 

[Stitch]

Richie is a hack as proved by this post. I don't care if he's "great", as the post proved he's a loser.

I don't care if it's Game 7 of the World Series, a father need to be there when child is born, unless it's a member of the military deployed overseas.

 

[txsportsscribe]

To me, I'm afraid Richie Whitt can't win here.

He's either simply an asshole -- most might have two or three kids in their lives (many of us stop at two), and being there is a no-brainer if at all possible. What if he's giving up seven hits in 5 2/3, and there are complications?

It's also April. As noted, if he had a sore back, nobody would say a word.

If Richie's kidding, he does a crappy job of it.

So he's wrong either way, which is a nice black-and-white kind of deal.

yes, whitt simply is an asshole

 

[lone star scribe]

To me, I'm afraid Richie Whitt can't win here.

He's either simply an asshole -- most might have two or three kids in their lives (many of us stop at two), and being there is a no-brainer if at all possible. What if he's giving up seven hits in 5 2/3, and there are complications?

It's also April. As noted, if he had a sore back, nobody would say a word.

If Richie's kidding, he does a crappy job of it.

So he's wrong either way, which is a nice black-and-white kind of deal.

yes, whitt simply is an asshole

Agreed. Richie the Twit.

 

[MrBSquared]

Wonder what this bozo would have said about Derek Fisher missing the clinching game when the Spurs beat his Nuggets in the '07 Western Conference Finals? He was in New York with his daughter, who was about to lose an eye to a rare form of cancer. Made it back for the second hafl of that game, but c'mon ... I mean, she had ANOTHER eye, right (#sarcasm)

 

[NightHawk112005]

Richie is a hack as proved by this post. I don't care if he's "great", as the post proved he's a loser.

I don't care if it's Game 7 of the World Series, a father need to be there when child is born, unless it's a member of the military deployed overseas.

I don't know about that. I think that's a matter of personal choice there if it's for a title, because either way, the chance might never come again. I wouldn't criticize a guy for playing in Game 7. I wouldn't criticize him for skipping it to be with his wife. It's up to him.

Now, an April game? Absolutely skip your start.