It was originally my intention to take a pass on the situation with Jimmy Rollins calling Philadelphia fans "front-runners" (clearly, they're not, although perhaps fickle might have been a more accurate word). The whole thing has been covered ad nauseam and we're probably the only Phillies blog (applied loosely at the moment given the lack of attention over the past few months) that hasn't weighed in on it yet. But after reading his attempt to clarify his comments, I had to get in the game.
Speaking to local reporters yesterday in the wake of the heavily circulated video clip in which he expressed some discontent with Philadelphia sports fans, Rollins said he was simply sticking up for some of his teammates who have been booed mercilessly this season.
But that wasn't the question. The question was, essentially, are Philadelphia fans as bad as the media makes them out to be? Both Rollins and Ryan Howard responded, almost in unison, "they can be." And that should have been the end of it, because, let's face it, they can be. But Rollins didn't stop there and, well, you know the rest. Now back to his clarification.
"A lot of times, fans worldwide in general, they say, well, you are making all this money, you are supposed to [take it], or I paid to come to the game so I can let you know anything and say anything I want," Rollins said.
True. He may not like it, but it's true. I may not boo, but it's true.
"Well, I have kids, I've got a wife, I've got mom and dad. Before I was a ballplayer I was a person and I am a person the same way you are. So you say something as a person, forget the uniform, as a person I could say something back. But because of the uniform, I [the fans] can say anything I want to you, and that's your armor, that's your shield. It's just not true. Not at all."
Hold on Jimmy. Now you're talking about something completely different than booing. In fact, I agree with you here in that fans shouldn't say anything they want. There should be some boundaries. But there aren't. Which is why I won't take my daughter to Mets games - I don't want her to have to listen to all the nonsense - often profane - coming from the jerks around us.
Though Rollins attempted to clarify what he meant by the word "front-runners," saying he wasn't calling Philadelphia a city of fair-weather fans,
Yeah, he dropped the ball on that one, figuratively. And, no doubt, fans somewhere booed.
he also didn't back down from his stance that the populace takes its negativity toward individual players too far.
I realize "populace" is the writer's word and not J-Roll's, but herein lies the problem. You can't paint an entire fan base with a one broad brush. While some fans were relentlessly hounding Pat Burrell over the past few years, there were others like me who calmly and rationally defended him. As for Pat, he kept his mouth shut and played baseball. Maybe there's a lesson there for Jimmy-Legs.
"It's not me, it's booing the guy who is out there working hard and busting his butt," Rollins said. "That's when I really get upset. I've always said that. Whatever you want to do against me, I can deal with myself. And I'm sure he could deal with it, too. But that's my teammate. I know the work he is putting in, I see what he is doing, trying to get better, and you are crushing him. That's what makes me upset."
So doc, I've got this friend who has this rash - it's not me! - but my friend, yeah, my friend... and... well... it's really irritating, and it's not getting any better, and he's not sure what to do. What advice would you give him?
Rollins acknowledged the fact that Philadelphia is a city that hasn't seen much athletic success in recent years, and that some of the frustration may lie in the one World Series title the Phillies have won in their history. But he also said current players shouldn't be targets for the frustrations of years past.
Buckle up, this is my favorite part.
"I've been around 8 [years]," said Rollins, who added that he is happy playing for the Phillies and isn't looking to leave. "In the 8 years, we've been getting closer and closer."
No! You haven't! Don't believe me? Read this. [And on an unrelated note, is there a reason the writer wrote "8" instead of "eight" like you're supposed to?]
"Last year we finally got over one obstacle and we are still working to get over another one. And it's our fault as players for saying, well, we understand why, because of this. You know what, let them get over it. You weren't even born yet. Some of you were just born in 1980. That's like saying, well, the Oakland A's haven't won since '90-something, and I was an A's fan growing up. If we're not in it, that's still my hometown team. I never want them to win as long as I'm playing, don't get me wrong, but take the team that you have and push them to be better. Don't take Black Friday - I just found that out - don't take Black Friday and put it on these new guys. Half of them don't even know it. I didn't know it until 15 minutes ago, 20 minutes ago. Black Friday, I was like, is that like Palm Sunday?"
Fuck the heck? Jimmy, just stop talking.
"You know about the history of the team, don't get me wrong, but when you are there, you are trying to change that for that time period. My tenure here, were we successful? That's all you can control."
But you haven't been Jimmy - and that's why they're booing. Or at least why some of them are. If there is any good news to take out of this situation, it's that many Phillies fans (not all, so put away that broad brush mr. tmmullen!) are fickle. That means when Jimmy wins a game with his bat or his feet or his glove, with open arms he will again feel the embrace of the City of Brotherly Love.
So Jimmy, just shut up and play.
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3 comments:
Jimmy may not have expressed his thoughts in the most clear way, and as a result, no one can be quite sure exactly what he is truly thinking. But I know how I feel about many of the fans that I have seen at Citizens Bank Park and, while I do not have any illusions about my abilities to clearly express those thoughts either, I must say that I agree with what I perceive to be the main idea of Jimmy's complaints.
I do not believe that purchasing a ticket to a baseball game gives anyone the right to abuse the players. Sure, go ahead and boo when you are disappointed in a performance, but do not constantly get on a guy who is playing his heart out -- a guy like Carlos Ruiz, who just isn't producing the way we need him to. Yes, get on guys like Freddy Garcia and Rod Barajas because they do not give their full effort, but not guys like Jimmy, Ryan, Pat, and Carlos. Boo them when they make a bad out or commit an error, but don't boo them for coming up to bat. Save that for Reyes and Lo Duca.
I give a lot of credit to Jimmy for saying what he said (other than the "front-runners" thing -- that was poor diction). He knew what the reaction would be, but he said it anyway. I respect that. Now get your game into gear, Jimmy, or you'll be hearing legitimate boos.
Shades of grey my friend, shades of grey - by which I mean I agree with some of your points and disagree with some, and all with varying intensity:
Jimmy may not have expressed his thoughts in the most clear way, and as a result, no one can be quite sure exactly what he is truly thinking.
Agreed. Which is why I thought he should have just stopped talking after saying, "they can be." Honestly, is there anyone who would argue against that? Or, if he had the public relations skills of Andy Thomas, spokesperson for TerMime-X, he could have made his point while making it sound like a compliment. For example:
"They can be. But what you have to understand about Philly fans is that they are passionate. They go full boar. They live and die with their teams. When they're cheering for you, man..."
[pause for effect, shake head slowly and smile as if reflecting on a fond memory]
"Like last year when they kept chanting MVP every time I came up to bat or made a play. You can feel the electricity, you get goosebumps. But hey, yeah, sometimes they boo. Sometimes we deserve it, but sometimes I think it's unfair. Sometimes it goes beyond booing and gets personal and that's uncalled for. But you see that at a lot of parks and I certainly don't think all the fans are like that. But yeah they can be hard on us. They boo as hard as they cheer, maybe harder [laugh like you're joking]. But that's called passion."
But I know how I feel about many of the fans that I have seen at Citizens Bank Park . . . I do not believe that purchasing a ticket to a baseball game gives anyone the right to abuse the players.
Agreed.
Sure, go ahead and boo when you are disappointed in a performance, but do not constantly get on a guy who is playing his heart out -- a guy like Carlos Ruiz, who just isn't producing the way we need him to.
I think this is a subjective. What one person might view as playing hard, another person might not. The bottom line is, I don't mind when fans boo home team players. Sometimes I may agree, sometimes I may disagree, but, as I've mentioned before, I don't boo. I choose not to boo. But if people want to, I say let 'em. Plus, I don't think booing is "abuse."
Still, without a doubt, some fans do abuse players and take it entirely too far. It's a shame really because I'm tired of my daughter asking me "Daddy, why is that man so angry?" When she's older, I can tell her, "because he's a sad, drunk, frustrated ex-high school athlete who thinks he was just one lucky break away from playing in the majors so he blames the guys playing now for his lot in life" For now I just say, "I'm not sure honey, but we both know we shouldn't act like that right?" She smiles, nods her head, and goes back to eating her ice cream.
Yes, get on guys like Freddy Garcia and Rod Barajas because they do not give their full effort, but not guys like Jimmy, Ryan, Pat, and Carlos.
You don't think Jimmy has dogged it a few times this year? I recall one benching for not running out a ball and another incident after which he should have been benched for not running hard with two outs, and ultimately not scoring, on a pop fly ball to the outfield that dropped in for a hit. Small sample size to be sure, but he has dogged it a few times this year dude.
Boo them when they make a bad out or commit an error, but don't boo them for coming up to bat. Save that for Reyes and Lo Duca.
See, maybe I'm too nice, but I can't boo Reyes. He's really good. Plus karma took care of LoDuca, so I'm cool with that.
I give a lot of credit to Jimmy for saying what he said (other than the "front-runners" thing -- that was poor diction). He knew what the reaction would be, but he said it anyway. I respect that. Now get your game into gear, Jimmy, or you'll be hearing legitimate boos.
I was going to say that I disagreed, but I really don't have an opinion either way. Perhaps if he had spoken out last year when he was putting up those great numbers and stuck up for his teammates, I might have raised my eyebrows approvingly. But to accuse the fans of wrongdoing when they're only booing because he was (relatively speaking, for him) stinking up the joint, well, that just reeks of sour grapes. Seriously, he liked when the fans were chanting MVP for him last year, but now doesn't like them booing?
Maybe Jimmy-Legs is the real front-runner here.
UPDATE: If this wasn't time-stamped a few hours earlier than my post, then I might have been offended by how similar some of his language is to mine. Instead, I will just assume that great minds think alike - for the most part.
Question: Who still pays any attention to Howard Eskin? Until they invent an "ignore" button that works on real people, I'm employing the "just don't look" strategy (The Simpsons, is there anything they don't know?) and hoping he'll eventually go away.
I was going to send Mr. Demanley and e-mail or add a comment, but you have to register and it's a whole production. So if someone else wants to do it and include a link to this post, that would be great. I'd love to know what he thinks of our little corner of the internets.
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