C'mon, let's go! I can take you!
John Gibbons challenged Shea Hillenbrand to fight prior to dismissal
Suzie and I haven't seen eye to eye about Shea Hillenbrand since the incident mentioned in the article where he expressed... displeasure with Theo about being traded for B.K. Kim after Bill Mueller showed what an asset he was going to be down at the Hot Corner. Honestly, I thought Shea's actions were very immature and inappropriate at the time, but at the same time, if I'd gotten traded for the guy who not two years ago blew two saves against the Yankees in the World Series, I'd be pretty pissed too. Despite that, he'd been tied for my favorite player (with Tekker) during his brief tenure on the team- he had a very impressive rookie year and IS GOOD LOOKING I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY SUZANNE- and I'd been willing to let it slide as a moment of pique.
This whole situation in Toronto, though, begins to make a disturbing pattern start to stand out. Shea seems to have a pretty hot temper, and says pretty much whatever is coming through his mind, appropriate or not. Writing on the bulletin board is childish, and not exactly what you should be doing to win the POSITIVE attention of your club (ask Suzie or I about a funny parallel involving a red pen and a party). Whether or not Shea had right to be angry (which I'm leaning towards not), Gibbons had every right to be pissed off at Shea, although public shaming is not exactly the most mature "higher ground" response. In a way, I think it's good he was made an example of, if only to show other major leaguers (COUGH*BARRY BONDS*COUGH) that no one is above the team, and that if you cause trouble (ala Gary Sheffield), no one will want to keep you around for very long.
My sympathy for Gibbons ends, though, at the point that he challenged one of his players to a physical fight. As the manager, you need to show the team that you're in charge, and sinking to the level of a player who is acting childishly is hardly the way to do that. Be mad at him, yes, show other players that such behavior will NOT be tolerated, yes, get him fired, I suppose if the situation is that bad. This whole incident and the continuing coverage of it is rapidly becoming a stain on the Blue Jays organization almost as much as it is on Hillenbrand. In the same vein as Pam's last article, I guess it's just a sad reality of professional sports that little boys will be little boys, as much as we'd often wish they'd act like men. In the sometimes-but-not-usually-humble opinion of this MLB fan, the best thing Shea and the team could do for themselves is stop talking to the media about it, trade Shea to a team that is willing to take the chance on him, and let the whole spitting contest that this has become die.
Suzie and I haven't seen eye to eye about Shea Hillenbrand since the incident mentioned in the article where he expressed... displeasure with Theo about being traded for B.K. Kim after Bill Mueller showed what an asset he was going to be down at the Hot Corner. Honestly, I thought Shea's actions were very immature and inappropriate at the time, but at the same time, if I'd gotten traded for the guy who not two years ago blew two saves against the Yankees in the World Series, I'd be pretty pissed too. Despite that, he'd been tied for my favorite player (with Tekker) during his brief tenure on the team- he had a very impressive rookie year and IS GOOD LOOKING I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY SUZANNE- and I'd been willing to let it slide as a moment of pique.
This whole situation in Toronto, though, begins to make a disturbing pattern start to stand out. Shea seems to have a pretty hot temper, and says pretty much whatever is coming through his mind, appropriate or not. Writing on the bulletin board is childish, and not exactly what you should be doing to win the POSITIVE attention of your club (ask Suzie or I about a funny parallel involving a red pen and a party). Whether or not Shea had right to be angry (which I'm leaning towards not), Gibbons had every right to be pissed off at Shea, although public shaming is not exactly the most mature "higher ground" response. In a way, I think it's good he was made an example of, if only to show other major leaguers (COUGH*BARRY BONDS*COUGH) that no one is above the team, and that if you cause trouble (ala Gary Sheffield), no one will want to keep you around for very long.
My sympathy for Gibbons ends, though, at the point that he challenged one of his players to a physical fight. As the manager, you need to show the team that you're in charge, and sinking to the level of a player who is acting childishly is hardly the way to do that. Be mad at him, yes, show other players that such behavior will NOT be tolerated, yes, get him fired, I suppose if the situation is that bad. This whole incident and the continuing coverage of it is rapidly becoming a stain on the Blue Jays organization almost as much as it is on Hillenbrand. In the same vein as Pam's last article, I guess it's just a sad reality of professional sports that little boys will be little boys, as much as we'd often wish they'd act like men. In the sometimes-but-not-usually-humble opinion of this MLB fan, the best thing Shea and the team could do for themselves is stop talking to the media about it, trade Shea to a team that is willing to take the chance on him, and let the whole spitting contest that this has become die.
posted by BAC at 12:17 PM
3 Comments:
Oh, Shea. He was my favorite when he was on the Sox... and then my neighbor, who's a baseball coach, informed me that he was an arrogant tool, even as a high schooler. Unfortunate.
BETH SLYTHERIN HOUSE IS JUST MISUNDERSTOOD
-- Whoops, wrong argument.
I seriously doubt that letting him go was wise, despite his nasty behavior. However, it seems he was acquired by the Giants, and we all know how much they LOOOVE arrogant tools. Everything works out in the end, especially if you're a relatively hot and relatively talented baseball star.
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