Dumbest reader ever

[hankschu]

I've got to share with you this e-mail exchange I had this morning after covering the Giants-Rockies game last night.

READER: I was watching the Giants on TV yesterday, got called away, and when I returned Bochy was ejected for complaining about a balk call against Lincecum. I could get no further details and so fully expected to read about it when this morning's chronicle hit my door.

Nope. Not a mention. As this game was in Colorado, it was over at a reasonable time for a full account in the next day's paper. So why the omission?

Good thing there's the Internet where I can check out stories about which the chronicle seems most negligent. And I have to do this quite often these days.

Really not much of a reason to keep subscribing now, is there?

MY RESPONSE: Huh?

I think you and I were watching a different game. Either that, or you went to sleep April 29 and woke up this morning. That was the night that Lincecum was called for a balk that cost the Giants a game, against Colorado, at home.


READER'S FOLLOW-UP E-MAIL: You are absolutely right. Thanks for replying so quickly and being nice about it: you could have taken me to the mat and I would have deserved it. I guess what happened was I returned to the game during a replay of that balk/ejection and confused it with the same game

 

[Moderator1]

Wow. If that's the worst you get *** reader admitted he was an F-up, his response was basically bowing down to you and saying "My bad."

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

That's not the dumbest reader ever. Not by a longshot. The dumbest reader ever, first off, would have made a much stupider fool of himself than by mistaking a month old replay for something current. Then he would have used many more obscenities, most of them spelled wrong (moran). Then when/if you pointed his mistake out to him, he would have used many more incorrectly spelled obscenities to explain how it's somehow still your fault.

 

[BTExpress]

Sounds like a reasonably sharp --- and humble --- reader.

I've been fooled by seeing a replay of something and thinking it was live.

 

[Moderator1]

Hell, last night I got jacked up by seeing a Zimmerman home run - from the third game of the season. Had just walked back into the room. Didn't even occur to me for a second that he was wearing a road uniform when they were at home *** DUH, slapping head.
I think he then struck out, which made it worse.
I fired off a note to the paper anyway for not including the home run in the game wrapup. ))):>

 

[Write-brained]

I received death threats after writing a straight news story about the Dixie Chicks.

This guy is far from being the dumbest reader ever.

 

[Moderator1]

Well, they're commies or sumthin. What did you expect?

 

[beardpuller]

Hell, last night I got jacked up by seeing a Zimmerman home run - from the third game of the season. Had just walked back into the room. Didn't even occur to me for a second that he was wearing a road uniform when they were at home *** DUH, slapping head.
I think he then struck out, which made it worse.
I fired off a note to the paper anyway for not including the home run in the game wrapup. ))):>

Like Zimmerman was going to jack Cole Hamels!!!!

 

[Moderator1]

He did - in the season's third game. Only run.

 

[beardpuller]

He did - in the season's third game. Only run.

Good point. OK, like Zimmerman was going to jack Cole Hamels again!!!
The new ballpark looks pretty good.

 

[forever_town]

This reader was not dumb. This reader acknowledged the mistake after you pointed it out. That, and I think the reader at least tried to provide constructive feedback.

Believe me, I've seen Stupid Reader Tricks. This ain't one of them.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Hell, last night I got jacked up by seeing a Zimmerman home run - from the third game of the season. Had just walked back into the room. Didn't even occur to me for a second that he was wearing a road uniform when they were at home *** DUH, slapping head.
I think he then struck out, which made it worse.
I fired off a note to the paper anyway for not including the home run in the game wrapup. ))):>

I've done this. Drunk. At a bar. Seen a Tiger hit a homer on a replay and I went nuts. All my buddies were like "What. The. ****?"

 

[Moderator1]

Hell, last night I got jacked up by seeing a Zimmerman home run - from the third game of the season. Had just walked back into the room. Didn't even occur to me for a second that he was wearing a road uniform when they were at home *** DUH, slapping head.
I think he then struck out, which made it worse.
I fired off a note to the paper anyway for not including the home run in the game wrapup. ))):>

I've done this. Drunk. At a bar. Seen a Tiger hit a homer on a replay and I went nuts. All my buddies were like "What. The. ****?"

Hey, they're just as much fun the second time. I could watch Zimmerman's opening-night HR all the damn time. In fact, some days I do.
Still only counts once, though.

 

[Write-brained]

I get a lot of emails from readers who come armed with some misplaced anger about this or that. I just respond with a polite explanation. Usually they'll apologize. I think it just shows the disconnect between them and newspapers.

They don't understand. I make it my job to explain it to them.

 

[fishwrapper]

I had one yesterday. Nice fellow.
I was eating my sandwich and drinking my Diet Pepsi.
Office assistant said she had a reader on the phone that seemed intelligent enough -- she's good at weeding out the wackos for me -- and would like to discuss a newsplay decision we made the other day. I said sure. She transfered the reader into the office.

Me: Sports, this is Xxxxxx. How can I help you?
Reader: Would it help if came in there and took a **** on your desk? Would that wake you up?

 

[Moderator1]

Well? Would it?

 

[mike311gd]

What'd you say?

 

[fishwrapper]

I had the same reaction you guys did. It kind of made me laugh.
Believe me, it was the most interesting thing he had to say. He wanted to get into the old philosophical debate about horse racing being a sport.
"If you took the betting windows out of race tracks, no one would show up...." And on...and on...and on...

 

[dieditor]

Here's the worst "getting fired up about a replay" story I can remember.

On one Pearl Harbor Day, we ran stories about the remembrances and services, and then ran a sidebar with an original AP story from Dec. 7, 1941 that had moved again. We put an editor's note at the top of the story with a note explaining that this piece was an original story from 1941 that explained what happened, so readers could get a feel for how the story was covered when it was breaking news.

The ME gets a voice mail overnight.

Reader: "Ummm, I read in your paper that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor again!!!! I couldn't find it on the TV or internet but your paper had a story that said we got bombed again! I can't believe it, I'm so scared and angry that this happened again!!! Can you please give me more information???"

We prayed that this woman was not in a position to procreate and further her family line.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

We prayed that this woman was not in a position to procreate and further her family line.

If that were the case, she might at least have been a little out of breath.