The state of sports blogging: While We’re Waiting
August 26, 20162016 Northeast Ohio High School Football Preview
August 26, 2016Surprise? If anyone was shocked seeing the Texas Rangers light Josh Tomlin up, then they have not been paying attention in recent weeks. All fans of the Cleveland Indians should have mentally ticked the Tomlin (4.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR) versus Cole Hamels (2.67 ERA, 2nd best in AL) game in the loss column. Sure, Because Baseball there could have been weird happenings, but it was a matchup the Indians should not have won.
They didn’t.
The Rangers dominated from start to finish as Hamels allowed just two hits in eight innings, while Tomlin gave up six of his eight runs on home runs. No surprise the Rangers took the first in a four-game set, 9-0.
https://vine.co/v/5euu7jUxt66
What is mildly interesting is that no one on the Rangers had more than one hit or one run. Somehow the eight hits that accounted for nine runs were scattered across eight different batters, and every batter scored a run (Carlos Beltran was the lone Ranger—get it?—without a hit, but he had a RBI on a fielder’s choice just before Adrian Beltre hit his home run).
The Indians continued their lackluster offense on the road trip as they dipped from the one run scored in each game against Oakland to be shutout in Arlington. An offense that had been humming along is in a bit of a rut. With the struggling Martin Perez on the hill for the Rangers Friday, the offense would do well to remind everyone how the Tribe jumped out to a large AL Central division lead. Besides, if Carlos Gomez can find a way out of his slump, then anyone can.
https://vine.co/v/5euB5VjEalr
Bull versus Bauer
I see people now attacking me for trying to be honest and give insight into the teams psyche? But mad when I give cliches too? Pick one guys
— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) August 25, 2016
Uh oh. Normally, people are randoms on Twitter who enjoy to “@” athletes with their sweet takes.1 Trevor Bauer has shown in the past he is willing to have some fun with them in a mostly playful way. Not this time, however. This time it was Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber from CBS’ local affiliate 92.3 The Fan who Bauer felt was attacking him. Adam is a media personality with 35,000 followers on social media and the Cleveland radio airwaves at his beck and call. So, what he says travels and can become fanspeak.
The attack itself was about a quote Bauer gave discussing the Indians lackluster series against the Oakland Athletics. Here is the quote:
Bauer said the Indians are confident they can turn the page quickly on a tough series in Oakland: pic.twitter.com/15dFHEl5As
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 24, 2016
The series against the Toronto Blue Jays was emotional (they won two of three; Bauer fanned 13 during his start) and getting on a long plane ride directly afterwards impacted the team. It is nothing more than was being said about the Indians by many people. Bauer just happens to be on the team, which gives it more credence. Is it a bad thing that he did so? I actually appreciated he grounded the entire comment with the fact that the team would be fine moving forward.
But that is not how Gerstenhaber took the quote. He went live on the airwaves and said it was ridiculous that professional athletes can’t get up for a series because of travel, noting it was a weak “excuse” for losing 2-of-3 to a bad Oakland team. He did not make mention of Bauer’s comments about the emotional Toronto series or the team being fine moving forward—both elements were removed from the sound byte that was aired—and Bauer gets painted as an athlete making excuses, which he did not appreciate.
Bauer then responded on Twitter; Gerstenhaber quickly backtracked to try to have it both ways. He noted he is a both a big fan of Bauer and he thought he made a fair point, but also reiterated that he did not like the excuses.2
I didn't like the excuse as I have said but I think it is a fair point… https://t.co/SdLEngUXUl
— Adam the Bull (@AdamtheBullFAN) August 25, 2016
I'm a big fan of Bauer as well.
— Adam the Bull (@AdamtheBullFAN) August 26, 2016
Odor versus Kipnis
A Roughned Odor hard slide into second base led to some fun from Jason Kipnis. If you somehow missed it, earlier this season Odor and Jose Bautista got into a fight after a hard slide. Odor won the fight delivering a hard punch that knocked off Bautista’s shades. Kipnis coyly backs off from Odor after this play as everyone enjoys a good laugh.
https://vine.co/v/5eBLvu6P2aU
Then again, the Indians were down 8-0 in the fifth inning when it happened, so there might be some flak about how he needs to focus more on the game or something. Tune in today at 2 p.m. to find out!
Last Word
The Indians have lost three in a row and are 20-18 since the All-Star break. There are obstacle s they must overcome before October, but none of those obstacles involve local talking heads. Bauer should have just let the comments go, but it is not who he seems to be. Getting emotions out in the open can be a good thing (unless you’re Chris Perez, of course). Like striking Stephen Vogt out after Carlos Santana drops a pop up, it can be uplifting to a psyche to have expelled the negative energy. Regardless, let’s hope everyone can just move on.
For now, enjoy a Corey Kluber start tonight and hopefully watch the Indians get back to winning baseball games. Oh, and maybe we can stop playing Benny Hill music while we’re on defense?
https://vine.co/v/5euz5ZZdaPd
- Worth noting: This is not a good look and there is never reason to do so. [↩]
- I’m confused. If it is a fair point, then it’s an explanation not an excuse. But, then again, I’m not the one with the radio show where offering insight is secondary to incite. Hey, there should be plenty to talk about today too! [↩]
41 Comments
I think you are hinting at what I have been seeing lately… There just seems to be a lack of focus that is leading to little errors, frustrations and missed opportunities that are starting to mount into big errors, frustrations and losses. Keanu Reeves described it as “quicksand” in that movie where he played that dude that said that line.
They are losing their resilience to overcome early inning deficits. Two games have gotten out of control on silly errors and that has to stop.
They need to get through the order a couple of times scoreless on defense and jump out to a lead.
They have been facing quality pitching especially the last two lefties. That can’t last forever.
the kipnis thing was pretty funny …
I just noticed the page Bauer and Bull FU-ed while…
LOL
Regarding the Trevor Bauer vs. Adam the Bull “feud”…it’s apparent after following both people for over 3+ years, that they’re both *very* sensitive to criticism and are quick to engage in a heated manner with anyone that disagrees or dislikes something they say. Bauer moreso than your average professional athlete, and Adam the Bull moreso than your average local media personality.
I like Bauer as a pitcher and a person and listen to 92.3 The Fan all day while I work (against my better judgement), so I don’t really have a dog in this fight. But as these chain reactions usually go, Bauer got irrationally upset at a sports talk personality (doing his job) and having an opinion about his comments, and then Adam the Bull got fabulously offended at Bauer blocking him on Twitter because of it.
Nobody did anything wrong but both sides reacted in a petty and childish manner, and I’m sure everyone that knows or works with either guy is embarrassed to be affiliated with this “controversy”.
I’ve long been a member of Team Honesty when it comes to players/quote/etc. I can’t stand the clichés and robotic replies that many give—it’s why guys like LeBron are so captivating as they are calculated, but offer substance. I defended Chris Perez when he went off on fans because the booing was completely absurd and started to become a “thing” to do every time the guy took the mound.
It’s a weird dynamic as talk radio (which is the absolute worst outside of Dan LeBatard and a handful of others) because it’s oftentimes a one-way street. Guy/Girl spews opinions, oftentimes unsubstantiated by anything outside of gut reaction, and moves on to the next topic. Rarely do players react or are they given the opportunity to defend themselves outside of a “come on our show and do it!’ style of quip/ploy. I think back to when Phil Taylor was criticized for posting guns on Instagram (on a show that’s no longer on the air, mind you) and it was littered with racial undertones, only for the hosts to find that Taylor is a licensed carrier and the guns were used for hunting. A little reporting or inquiry prior to the opinion would’ve helped, but that’s work.
I support Bauer’s initial quote as well as his initial defense of it. I understand where Bull’s coming from, and feel like he’s a victim of the direction his profession has veered more than anything. It’s also a good time to remind all that arguing on Twitter never makes anyone look good. We all lose.
Posting this separately as it’s a two-pronged post, but Tomlin absolutely cannot start his next time up. He should’ve been skipped in Baltimore and should’ve been skipped last night.
Bull and Fox is one of the only good shows on that station. I was able to meet them once and they were both really nice guys, so maybe it’s just a radio bit. I’m sure it will blow over.
Yeah, both of you caught on to my hints. you cannot continually rack up deficits early and hope to always pull yourself out of it. I think it’ll self-correct but still something to watch.
He’s hilarious. Did you ever see The Jerry Kipnis Show?
Guy has a future on MLB Network if he wants it.
Clevinger’s peripheral numbers have been pristine as well (even though he gave up some runs the other day in relief).
Go with The Flow! —> new motto for those wanting him to start.
Probably. Craig said something today about the current climate of chasing ratings / clicks.
Wait, where does it say that?
Tab title.
It’s pretty boring…..
Course it’s boring, that’s the point. Write it down.
Two points:
1.) I too hate when people confuse an excuse with an explanation.
2.) It’s depressing how sports and sports media discourage players from ever being honest.
Makes me miss the pre-Twitter world….
What do we want from Athletes?
https://frinkiac.com/gif/S11E02/1194960/1198760.gif?b64lines=RElOR0VSUyEK
Josh Tomlin helps out your request better than any other SP
Agreed
Not just depressing, but bewildering. “We want athletes to open up more!” Athlete opens up. “Burn the witch!”
What is bewildering about witch burning being great for ratings?
Because you quickly run out of witches willing to be burned.
Light a witch on fire, she’ll burn for a week.
Teach a fish to burn, she’ll eat for a lifetime.
That’s true, but we see such detest, anger, and gnashing of the teeth. People frankly don’t seem to like to hear what athletes actually have to say. At what point are they going to learn that?
when you run out of witches, you build a straw man, they burn real good
I think 95% of the fans don’t actually want to hear what an athlete has to say. It’s the media who wants them to “open up” so as to have something to write, discuss, stir the pot with the fans.
I’d personally be fine if they just smiled and waved to the crowd, gave their canned post game interviews, and went about their way. I’m not yearning for an inside look at an Indians’ starting pitcher and what opinions he has or makes him tick.
I’m only here so I don’t get fined
i’m a 5 percenter
I’ve got to say, there’s a really easy fix to this. Don’t follow Bauer or this Bull guy. It’s really easy to figure out who are the knuckleheads and who are the people reporting interesting or newsworthy items. You can get all the news you want in an instant without the headaches.
“it’s just a radio bit”
Just about everything is a radio bit. Talk radio is as real as wrasslin’.
The same base that takes it seriously.
Bauer is intriguing though. He keeps his troll wars to replies, so you don’t see them unless you want to see them. The actual tweets cover videos (such as playing long toss w/ Trop ceiling as backdrop – crazy) and physics of pitching, etc. Good stuff.
Fair enough and even better. I just think Twitter, more than quite a few other social media devices, can be what you make it to be.
Indeed. Takes a constant careful pruning.
Such an elitist!
I ignore them too. But I’m not going to fault them for showing a little of their personality on twitter or answering honestly when someone with a microphone asks them a question.
I’m an old man, disconnected from the modern world. When I bother to fire up the dial-up and see what’s going on, I enjoy the unfettered idiocy that is social media. When my hour is up, I give my Pentium III a rest and watch some PBS.
I’m actually pretty darn close to this myself, so I wholeheartedly understand. My comment, while seemingly directed at you, was meant for a general audience.
Side note: Who the hell would ever follow a sports talk radio host?
So what about Tomlin? Anybody worried? I wouldn’t be as worried about Tomlin’s or Bauer’s last outings if Danny Salazar didn’t COMPLETELY FALL OFF A CLIFF! Baseball is freaking crazy. In no other sport does a guy who makes the all-star team for the first half of the season follow that up with playing like he doesn’t even belong in the league. Crazy man just crazy
Not worried about Bauer. Shitty defense scored those runs. Not so with Danny and Josh…
Think Salazar will get right.
Clevinger has earned SP5 over Tomlin
#GoWithTheFlow
Tomlin was a complete surprise coming off of that extended DL stint. everyone was surprised to begin with that he was putting up zeroes while essentially playing fast-pitch softball.