|
Written by Mark Healey
|
|
Monday, 13 October 2008 |
I don't think I can bring anything new to the whole “The Internet Is
Changing The Way Sports Media Does Business” mantra, but I can tell you
one thing, I seem to be working too hard. Or it seems, not hard
enough. I mean, working the phones all day to get some juicy New York
baseball stories during the World Series is obviously a waste of time,
since some people can miraculous find a huge nugget under all of our
very noses. It must be because he's really in the know. When most of
us are speculating about what these teams are going to do, there are
some guys out there that have enough moxie to get GMs and their cohorts
to gab about their secret plans to outwit each other on the grandest of
all baseball stages.
I mean, you'd have to be in the know to be able to get two of the most
powerful GMs in baseball (who each got multi-year extensions despite
not making the postseason, and having the largest payroll in their
respective leagues), to tell you that they are talking trades before
they've had their organizational meetings, or addressed their coaching
staffs, or finished watching the damn playoffs, right?
***
Much like “J-RodGate” a few months ago, this Cano-Beltran thing -- and
let's call it a fabrication, because that's exactly what it smells like
-- was another transparent event by a aspiring “sports writer” to
publicize an either long-dormant website or help an emerging blog get
some recognition. I mean, really, why else would anyone even think it
was newsworthy, relevant or even remotely possible?
Other than the aforementioned “PR grab”, why else would you publish it?
He's not actually working for a media outlet, nor is he a writer by
trade. I'm not aware that he's actually covering the people he claims
to have these intimate conversations with, or has to look them in the
eye and ask them questions at events like the Winter Meetings. That
may not mean much to you readers out there, but it means something to
me. I do this for a living, not a hobby. People who think it's
amusing to stir up an industry to prove some kind of elitist point,
pain me.
What is he risking by “giving” anyone this info? The answer is
nothing, Therefor the intent, execution and end result (or Journalism
101) must not only be questioned, but castigated. Why, you ask?
Because there are hundreds or hard-working online media guys like
myself that die a little bit every time some guy with no affiliation,
no credibility package and no accountability, floats one of these
rumors, that's why.
We have a living to lose, he has a website's audience to win. He
doesn't have press credentials at stake, or clubhouse access to lose,
and whenever any of us even attempts to bring objectivity to the table,
those things are held above our heads. Many of us report what we know
anyway, even if it does create difficulty for us. I really try true to
what I do, and I'll be damned if I am going to sit back and watch some
guy who I have never seen in a press box or press conference in my
life, help to injure a medium which thousands of people are trying to
make work.
***
First of all, the whole Mets-Yankees trade thing very rarely happens,
and when it does, it is for a far cry less than Beltran-Cano. The last
time a rumor of this type came out is was a Gary Sheffield for Mike
Cameron rumor, and even that got less mileage than this gem.
Look, as long as teams are still working out their organizational
meetings, determining their coaching staffs and addressing internal
decisions, GMs have little time (or desire) to talk about trades,
especially complicated trades with crosstown rivals that have serious
potential to blow up in their collective faces if it gos wring either
way. Kind of stinks when reality enters the picture, doesn't it?
Also, Omar Minaya and Brian Cashman are quite friendly, and would not
require any the usual Asst. GM-Asst. GM preliminary sit-downs, which is
where most of the trade rumor stuff gets leaked – usually as a
negotiating tool”. There's very, very little of this going on right
now.
Except in a select few corners of reality, it seems.
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 13 October 2008 )
|
|
|
GOTHAM SPORTS MEDIA NETWORK
Gotham Sponsor
Who's Online
Gotham Sponsor
|
