Chris CrockettIt's Truly A Shame Watching Big Papi Morph Into Papi Paranoia Right Before Our Eyes
May 21st 2010 14:30
Man, in all honesty, I have to say, it is a shame to see David Ortiz turn into this type of whiny, overly sensitive, “everybody hates me”, type of guy. He ate up all the attention and media coverage when he was at his peak, but now is a classic example of a guy who can’t take the heat when times aren’t as good. It’s a shame. He got off as scot-free as anyone I’ve ever seen when it was disclosed that he was on the famed “PED” list and he was backed by the players association AND Red Sox team ownership, like no other player. It was embarrassing how John Henry just outright backed this guy like a parent who calls the teacher an effin jerk when their kid gets in trouble at school. Now, that same ownership, according to Ortiz, is conspiring to slander his name.
Don’t even get me started on how well received he was by the fans after all of this came out. Especially after you said you were “gonna look into the allegations and get to the bottom of it”, David.
All of my ‘Papi Paranoia’ or ‘Big Popout’ talk aside, when I joke and express my thoughts on this guy, Ortiz was one of my all time favorite ballplayers ever to watch play the game in this town. I marveled at his ability to hit in the clutch in the most crucial situations. I loved the gregarious, ‘don’t worry be happy’ personality that this guy brought to the ballpark every day.
They say that a person displays their ‘true colors’ when adversity strikes. David Ortiz has certainly dealt with his share of adversity (self induced or otherwise) over the past couple of seasons, and quite frankly, he struck out swinging long ago. This latest outburst was just him throwing his helmet on the field after the strikeout. It’s too bad.
Chuck
~TCFB~
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Comment by Holt Murray
Towards that end, here's the deal: in the 'all things even out world', he shouldn't say a thing, because the media are also the people that blew him up to begin with.
But you know what? I don't care what any player says about the media, because to them, it's fuel for their fire anyway... it's an easy story (and I'm talking mostly about the talk-radio/Ken Rosenthals muck-stirrers of the world).
I wince when I hear him say that, not because I think, 'Oh Geez, you're doing bad, what do you expect, though there is that too', but because I know I won't be able to escape a 60 minute drive home of listening to them rip him for ripping them on BOTH stations.
Funniest part? To a man, every one of those guys are as thin-skinned as they come, WAY moreso than any athlete bar none (ok, that's likely untrue); sometimes they come off copping to their faults, but that's only when they've steeled themselves for umbrage. Catch them offguards and they lash out at callers, athletes, you name it.
The final word and all control is in the sports talk hands, since sports reporting is no longer that, reporting, but a cash-cow in over-analyzing. When they get cranked up on this type of topic, it makes for lazy/redundant radio.
(BTW I don't consider TCFB as part of this, mainly because this is your passion and you'll write on whatever the bleep you like. It's your opinion, and it's real.)
Now, as much as they are different beasts, I do not consider Lowell's softspeaking management rip and Papi's media rip to be all that different, as they both come from their heart and they weren't seeking out people to tell it to -- it wasn't until they were pressed on the subject that they offered their respective pokes.
Comment by Chuck H
TCFB
I still feel though, Ortiz was caught cheating and the media for the most part did NOT attack him. A-Rod et al were ATTACKED. Why? IMO, because of Ortiz' great personality and ability to deal with media. He now has flushed that all down the toilet. Ortiz went from .270/ 20 dong guy to 'Big Papi' with 40-50 dongs and big bling earrings and fur coats. He became a character, not just a ballplayer. Now, he's struggling with the fact that the character is slowly dying and that .270/ 20 dong guy is back knocking on the door.
Comment by Joe Soriano
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