Love Letters: The journey from 'punk' to 'idiot'
Insider | Short Hops | Love Letters
Updated Nov. 29
Hacking away in the Hot Stove League ...
From: Willie B.
Re: Are Bonds' days' in San Francisco over?
You're a punk. If Bonds was white, you sorry writers would be falling over yourselves to cover his pursuit of 756 -- just look at the summer of '98 and big Mark McGwire.
Dude, times have changed and we know a whole lot more now than we did then. As such, I'm not voting for Mark McGwire in the Hall of Fame elections this winter, either. So back off with the racism crap and go find another excuse for your sorry views.
From: Marcel
Can you spell "a heart full of hatred"?
Yes: W-I-L-L-I-E B.
From: Vickie Langille
Does anyone really want to see Bonds break the record? I for one hope nobody steps up and pays him to further taint baseball.
Best guess at this point, Vickie, is that he re-signs with the Giants for a little less money.
From: Robert Parsons
Scott, I have an idea of a team where Barry Bonds could go and play for. How about the Philadelphia Phillies? They are looking for a big bat to bat behind Ryan Howard, and there is no more feared hitter in baseball then Barry Bonds. Furthermore, they have the outfield bats to be able to rest Barry often. Maybe have him play something like 120-130 games. Philadelphia fans are tough on players, but they would love Barry instantly once the Phillies signed him.
I've heard more outlandish ideas -- starting with the Phillies giving Adam Eaton $24 million over three years. For one, the Phillies do need another hitter and their fans were surprisingly tame on Barry during his pre-Babe-Ruth-passing stop there last May. Which leads me to believe your last sentence is pretty close to the truth. Just one quibble with your theory, though: There is no more feared hitter in baseball than Barry Bonds? That was three or four years ago. Bonds isn't the same player that he was, and I'd much rather face him than Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Gary Sheffield or any number of other sluggers right now.
From: J.W. Durham
Re: Webb's Cy Young an example of reliever bias
The moment Webb's award was announced, I predicted that sportswriters from the big markets would snipe at the choice. Safest prediction I ever made. And here's a test: If you were starting from scratch to build a pitching staff and could have just one of the Cy Young contenders, would you choose Webb or Hoffman?
Depends on whether I had a head start on a decent rotation, and on whether I had a closer.
From: Dean Francis
Scott, I agree with you completely on the reliever bias, but nowhere in your column do you mention last year when Colon beat Mariano Rivera in what was the best year of Mariano's Hall of Fame career. That was a travesty and injustice.
Yeah, but at least Bartolo Colon had a very good year and helped pitch his team to the division title. Brandon Webb's Diamondbacks finished fourth in their division.
From: Pam
I don't think there was anyone more deserving of the Cy Young this year than Brandon Webb! He may have had a few rough spots, but what pitcher didn't? To use the phrase "ho-hum" to describe his season is ridiculous. I wonder how well you would do against his sinker, Mr. Miller. And as far as Randy Johnson, he has the utmost respect for Brandon. Not only is Brandon a great pitcher, he is a fine example of good character and sportsmanship. He and my boss are very good friends so I see him frequently on the offseason, thus I know first-hand that this is true. He is someone we can feel good about our children looking up to. There seemed to be about 103 people, twenty-six more votes than the runner-up got, who agree that he is the most deserving on the merit of his stats, regardless of what an outstanding young man he is.
We can agree on two things: Brandon is a terrific guy ... and maybe we'd better not let your boss know that you're typing these notes from work.
From: Andy
Re: BoSox pull out pocketbook for Matsuzaka
God forbid the Sox do something to improve their pitching staff after a truly disappointing year. You're a complete idiot for criticizing them for this move. Schilling, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Papelbon, Wakefield. That rotation has the potential of at least two or three 20-game winners.
True, we have no idea how Pap is going to be in a starter's role, and Matsuzaka hasn't pitched in Fenway, but Papelbon has proven to be a solid pitcher in the majors and Matsuzaka has faced ML hitters before.
And explain to me how you can go on and on about the high possibility of a 26-year-old kid who's known for going deep into games is likely to get hurt? I've written to you before about your Sox-bashing and interpreted it as Yankee praise, but now I see that you just have a grudge against the Sox, which is pathetic and unprofessional on your part. This kid could be the future premier pitcher in baseball. And apparently you know better about this then the teams and the scouts that praise him on a regular basis. You're an idiot.
Ah, an idiot and a punk in the same week. All I'm saying is, if the Red Sox invest $100 million in him, and he doesn't live up to expectations, don't come crying to me.
From: Jon Glazer
Re: Your Matsuzaka column Scott, this was an excellent piece of sports journalism -- thanks for your good work.
Thanks, but despite Andy's response in the last letter, I was pretty confident of your point already.
From: Jake Humbert
Facts. The Cards set the record for least interest, no matter how you writers hype the Series. These are record-setting TV ratings. Record Low 2002 West 11.9. 2005 Central 11.1. 2006 Central 10.1. Face it, who cares?
I'll pass your thoughts along to my friends in St. Louis.
From: Jack Greer
Scott ... I've never read you until tonight. Who are these guys that write and torment you? Apologetic Cardinal Fans? I'm a Cardinal fan who's seen Gibson pitch, and Carlton when he was a Redbird! I do NOT apologize. The passion is real and so are the Cardinals. Long live the Cardinal Nation!
Keep reading, and write back soon. I can never be tormented enough.
