astros beat writer ripping mlb on outside the lines

[whatwoulddamondo?]

did anyone else see this on outside the lines just now?

they had the houston chronicle's astros beat writer -- i believe his name is jose de jesus ortiz -- ripping selig for moving the astros series to milwaukee last week, basically carrying drayton mclane's water.

at the end, said writer fires off a shot at some scribe, who he claims has "been trying to get a job with mlb for two years."

especially on a show such as otl, i was troubled by this. i don't have any dog in this hunt, but can't a reporter offer his opinion without being biased?

otl usually does some decent stuff, especially on the sunday show. i was disappointed in this "effort," though.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Selig deserved to be ripped.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

Selig deserved to be ripped.

why? mclane refused to have the series moved, period, until it was too late. and it was blatant that the chronicle writer was carrying mclane's water.

mlb did the best they could have done with a bad situation.

the real issue i have is claiming some writer is trying to get a job at mlb, hence why that writer defended selig...got any real proof for that, sensei?

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Hmm, what makes me think you <b>do</b> have a dog in this hunt?

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

Hmm, what makes me think you <b>do</b> have a dog in this hunt?

trust me, far, far from the sphere of mlb influence. or from houston fandom.

just thought it was a bush-league move on the writer's part. in an era where everyone says journalists aren't impartial, and in an era where credibility is paramount, it does nothing to help the cause.

 

[Ace]

the real issue i have is claiming some writer is trying to get a job at mlb, hence why that writer defended selig...got any real proof for that, sensei?

I guess I feel this way about that ... we are critical of people all the time as reporters -- fairly or unfairly. So if we are critical of each other, them's the breaks.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Hmm, what makes me think you <b>do</b> have a dog in this hunt?

trust me, far, far from the sphere of mlb influence. or from houston fandom.

just thought it was a bush-league move on the writer's part. in an era where everyone says journalists aren't impartial, and in an era where credibility is paramount, it does nothing to help the cause.

He's on the show to offer an opinion. Offering an opinion means you have a position on an issue. How does "impartial" play into this?

 

[albert77]

Selig deserved to be ripped.

why? mclane refused to have the series moved, period, until it was too late. and it was blatant that the chronicle writer was carrying mclane's water.

mlb did the best they could have done with a bad situation.

the real issue i have is claiming some writer is trying to get a job at mlb, hence why that writer defended selig...got any real proof for that, sensei?

McLane may well have dithered in the face of the obvious by not moving the Cubs series on his own, nevertheless I find it very disturbing that Bud Selig moved an Astros home series with the Cubs to a venue 90 miles from Chicago, especially when he had to know the outcome would positively affect the playoff fortunes of the Brewers, the team which he once owned. At the very least it gives the appearance of a gross conflict of interest on Selig's part. I mean, was Miller Park really the best option available to MLB or just the one most convenient for Selig?

 

[Cosmo]

This may be his second appearance on OTL. Or maybe it was BBTN. I swear I remember him having the same sort of take right after the series in Milwaukee.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

Hmm, what makes me think you <b>do</b> have a dog in this hunt?

trust me, far, far from the sphere of mlb influence. or from houston fandom.

just thought it was a bush-league move on the writer's part. in an era where everyone says journalists aren't impartial, and in an era where credibility is paramount, it does nothing to help the cause.

He's on the show to offer an opinion. Offering an opinion means you have a position on an issue. How does "impartial" play into this?

smasher, yes, he can offer an opinion, but to claim some guy is just running cover-2 for selig because he's trying to get a job with mlb? i thought that was a bush-league move. throwing colleagues under the bus? has this business turned into a 24-7 version of around the horn?

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

McLane may well have dithered in the face of the obvious by not moving the Cubs series on his own, nevertheless I find it very disturbing that Bud Selig moved an Astros home series with the Cubs to a venue 90 miles from Chicago, especially when he had to know the outcome would positively affect the playoff fortunes of the Brewers, the team which he once owned. At the very least it gives the appearance of a gross conflict of interest on Selig's part. I mean, was Miller Park really the best option available to MLB or just the one most convenient for Selig?

richard justice, who i respect a lot, was on espn last week mentioning this same thing, and saying how mlb demanded the series be played in a domed/roofed stadium -- and milwaukee was the closest not impacted by the weather (tampa was the other option, apparently).

look, this was a horrible situation all-around...i just found it funny that you had a writer carrying the owner's water on air, then broadsiding another writer and saying HE was carrying mlb's water in order to extract a paycheck from 'em. call it irony, bull****, whatever.

 

[Overrated]

WHERE IS ALL THIS WATER COMING FROM!?

It hasn't rained here in weeks.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

Agreed it gives the Cubs the advantage, as far as traveling (why they waited until Saturday night to make a decision for a Sunday night game is beyond me), but if it's the fan aspect, Cubs fans would out-number Astros fans 500-1 in any park under discussion.

Selig should get the blame for letting McLane drag his heels.

The claim that players were too worried about their houses and families to play is bogus. What if the Astros had a road series scheduled that weekend?

 

[WaylonJennings]

Who was the other writer he was criticizing?

 

[accguy]

I didn't think that moving it to Milwaukee was necessarily fair. Unlike when the Angels and Indians played there, this turned into an essential Cubs home series.

That said, there weren't a lot of options out there. I totally get that they wanted a dome to ensure games got played. The problem is that the only baseball only domes are Tampa, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Seattle. Toronto and Minnesota share with football.

The Mariners were out of town and that probably would have been a much more neutral option. But I'm guessing they also wanted to draw.

 

[whatwoulddamondo?]

Who was the other writer he was criticizing?

he didn't mention the guy by name. another chickens**t move, imho.

 

[fossywriter8]

I can't remember how close the series was to the storm, but why did MLB require a domed stadium? Couldn't they have played in Kansas City or Colorado after Ike blew through? Still a haul for fans, but not so much an advantage for the Cubs -- and this is coming from a Cubs fan.

 

[JC]

Here is what Bud was thinking

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8576516/Rosenthal-gets-answers-from-Selig

 

[accguy]

What he says does make some sense (I don't have a dog in the fight). Didn't realize that about the west coast stuff and that seems fair.

I think that if this had been earlier in the season, you could have gone somewhere non-dome. But with so little time left, I think they had to guarantee they could get the games in.

 

[Editude]

Once McLane selfishly waited until Saturday, he put the league in a tough spot. That said, the dome-only edict was not necessary.