18 September 2009

I. Hope. He. Fails

We rarely dip into politics, being the tasteful, retiring blog we are, but something ugly forced our hand. If you were to poll my neighbors, seems our young Afro-American standard bearer, a renaissance man, is too into hisself. Hasnt delivered on all dem lofty promises. A fat blowhard went sofarazta sneer, "I. Hope. He. Fails." Now, Phoenix dont want him influencin' our childrun on tellervizun. Too much hero wushup, an awl.

Needless to say, my Phonetic neighbors speak of rightfielder Justin Upton. You hear it on local message boards, and not always thinly veiled. About how the 22 year old doesnt play 'smart' or exhibit sufficient 'humility'. Despite the fact he's already baseball's third best rightfielder (Ethier, Suzuki), a vocal element insists he'd benefit from a train ticket (upper berth, presumably) to Reno for "seasoning", where some white coach can whip him into shape.

To be fair, it hasnt all been about race. For some time, most fans didnt understand how good Upton was for his age. It wasnt their job to care, particularly, and they wanted to see good players now, regardless of age or color. And there's that ongoing "fielding" of Justin's. Statistically, quite good, because of the range and cannon, but frankly, enduring JUp muff grounder after grounder transcends issues of race. The glove's a pet peeve of mine, but that's all it is. Before too long, maybe he'll invest in a mitt smaller and more flexible than a jai alai cesta. He does too many things, too well, to get all bent out of shape about it, let alone suggest demoting him to the minors.

Diamondhacks sez: "Keep doing your thing, young black fellow. Dont let The Man in Phoenix get you down. The Man on talk radio. The Man in the forums. The Man in section 118. Just keep your eye on the ball, a bit moreso on defense."

Change we can believe in.

4 comments:

Russell said...

It's interesting why fans "take" to some players but not to others. I, for example, have never really "taken" to Drew for no good reason that I can think of. Often I think it's down to perceived "hustle", so the Augies of the world will always be fan favourites. Or maybe we project ourselves on to players like Upton and think what we could do if we had their talent, and so hate to see any sign that they lack respect for their gifts.

Of course part of the problem with Upton may be that he seems reluctant to produce his birth certificate to prove that he actually was born in America. What is he trying to hide?

Diamondhacks said...

There was a bizarre interval -after you mis-spelled missspelling - where I was briefly 'smarter and funnier' than you. Heady stuff, but your latest input restores azblogdom to its natural order. Of course, you were never in danger of being less smart or funny than Jim.

Maybe you dont "take" to Drew since he hasnt smiled (or gloved a ball up the middle) since 2007. Or, could be that abiding Euro-Canadian disdain towards U.S. 'born-agains'.

btw, did you happen to hear Garagiola Sr rip into Upton today?

Russell said...

Ha! I should never post after I've been drinking (this will therefore be my last post).

Didn't hear Garagiola. Did he shout "You lie"?

btw you missed an apostrophe from "hasnt" and therefore I regard your argument... (oh forget it).

Diamondhacks said...

Didn't hear Garagiola. Did he shout "You lie"?

Almost. He's been away, hospitalized, so they asked him what he doesnt like about this team. First, was the #3 hitter bunting (Upton), second was not running out a long fly (Upton). Daron egged him on, "Missing the cutoff man?"

"Oh, I hate that", Joe offered. Worse, not a minute passed before he deified Reynolds and Haren. The Upton criticisms are legit, of course, but not so much in the context of "what's wrong with the team", or other organizational flaws.

I actually respect Joe, and am not saying he's a racist, or that he had an irreversible moment. Just that it was awkward to listen to, and I hope he doesnt tarnish (or terminate) his venerable on-air career by blurting something ill considered.