The Tigers’ Latin savior

[GreatLakeState]

From detroitsportsrag.com :

THE TRUTH ABOUT PUDGE
08/18/2005
For the last day or so I have been working on a column that
was going to attempt to defend Tigers catcher/perennial All-
Star/Future Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.

Yeah, I know that is a long way to go to introduce the guy (by
my count, the longest introduction since Apollo Creed's in
Rocky IV), but that is how much I have thought of Pudge as a
player in this league for the last decade or so.

For days this whole Pudge story had really been bugging me.
Things just weren't adding up at all. It was like watching Marc
Spindler trying to balance his checkbook.

Why were members of the Detroit Tigers organization openly
supporting a backup catcher in Vance Wilson who had a
Slugging Percentage that was under the Mendoza Line until
earlier this week?

Why were rumors creeping out of the Tigers clubhouse that
Pudge's apology to his teammates for arriving late from
Colombia to Kansas City last Friday was not being accepted?

Why were the Tigers alienating one of their best players and
the one guy who might have the ability to recruit potential free-
agents to Detroit this off-season (including former teammate
A.J. Burnett?)

It made no sense to me so I was going to defend Rodriguez not
knowing the truth.

I was going to criticize Tigers manager Alan Trammell for not
giving Pudge permission to leave the team during his four-day
suspension last week

I was going to make the case that superstars should be treated
differently and that there is a history of that happening with Ilitch
owned sports teams. (Please see: Steve Yzerman getting an
annual vacation to South Florida before the playoffs during the
Demers Era and Sergei Fedorov taking Red Bird One loaded
with flowers to get Anna Kournikova back.)

I was going to make the case that Pudge has been playing hurt
all year and it probably didn't help matters that his storybook
marriage (that began with a wedding ceremony at home plate)
was ending.

But after learning what I have in the last 24 hours, man am I
glad I put that column 'on the backburner for a couple of days.

I never thought the most dysfunctional team in pro sports not
owned by Donald Sterling could top:

1.12-losing seasons in a row (won't be official for another six
weeks)
2.Sexual harassment of flight attendants
3.The Randy Smith Era
4.Not being able to take the team picture because no one was
talking to each other
5.Rumors that the payroll wasn't going to be met due to
financial problems
6.Players getting busted for having weed shipped to them
7.The Randy Smith Era
8.1st round picks injuring themselves throwing octopi
(allegedly) and in other creative ways
9.The owner's daughter getting offended at being called a kid
by a player
10.The Randy Smith Era

But it seems we now have a few new entrants into the Top 10.
(And seriously, how bad is that list that it doesn't even include
Luis Pujols' tenure, Bobby Higginson's contract and Sparky
Anderson going into the Hall of Fame as a Cincinnati Red out
of spite towards Mike Ilitch? Those probably don't even get
honorable mention. Excuse me while I go throw up in my
mouth.)

But after today, it seems we are going to have to bump a couple
out those out of the Top 10.

Why?

This is what we here at the DetroitSportsRag.com have learned
in the last couple of days regarding Pudge and other Detroit
baseball issues. And please keep in mind, THIS IS COMING
DIRECTLY FROM THE TIGERS' LOCKEROOM:

*To say that there are a separate set of rules for Pudge and the
rest of the team would be to insinuate that there have been
ANY rules for the catcher at all. Ever since signing with the
Tigers (when his only other viable option would have been to
play daily against the Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes on a
daily basis) Rodriguez has been treated with kid gloves by
Tigers management.
*Pudge's son is not only allowed on the team plane, but also is
allowed in the Tigers dugout. During games. No other player is
allowed to have their children on the Tigers plane or in the
dugout. This has caused problems between the team and the
other players who have kids. It has also bred contempt
between the other Tigers players and their catcher.
*Pudge openly disrespects Alan Trammell and the coaching
staff. According to a Tigers player there was an incident
between Pudge and Trammell last season in Chicago. It seems
there was an argument about the radio on in the clubhouse that
involved Pudge's kissing buddy, Ugy Urbina.
The situation escalated to the point that Trammell came out of
his office to see what was going on and a fight ensued. In front
of the team, Pudge had to be restrained from beating the crap
out of Trammell. Not only did Juan Samuel pull Rodriguez
away from the Tigers manager, Pudge called his boss "a piece
of sh*t."
Rodriguez wasn't suspended at the time of this clear
insubordination because the Tigers did not want their "golden
boy" free-agent to be besmirched by a negative story. After this
incident, players viewed Trammell as General Manager/
President Dave Dombrowski's puppet.
*He is highly critical of his teammates on a regular basis and
has been known to be belligerent towards them. His general
feeling is that he is surrounded by a bunch of losers.
*For his latest transgression of not showing up in time for the
Kansas City game last Friday (which was eventually rained-
out), Pudge was fined $52,000 by the team.
*Not only does Pudge want out of Detroit BADLY, the Tigers
other last chance freeway signing, Magglio Ordonez wants out
of the "D" as well. He has been overheard stating that he only
signed here to prove his Austrian physician repaired knee was
A-OK and now wants to go to a winning team. Or at the very
least an organization that has had a winning season in the last
dozen years.
*Not only have the players totally lost respect for Trammell
because of incidents previously mentioned in this article, but
that pales in comparison for their hatred of Dombrowski.
They view the Tigers GM as a snake in the grass who lacks
integrity. Some players are not happy about the trade of Kyle
Farnsworth, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes
to their feelings towards Dombrowski.
*After getting fined the 52 large, Pudge left the clubhouse and
made a half-ass effort attempt to practice with the team. Soon
after he started complaining about a hip flexor injury. His
teammates do no believe that Pudge is injured.
*The reason you haven't read about this in the Freep Press or
News or Booth Newspapers? Tigers management is trying to
use their power to strong-arm the media so this information
doesn't come out. Beat writers do not want to lose access by
pissing off Dombrowski. He isn't exactly the friendliest, warmest
dude to deal with as it is.

So to sum things up, the team:

1.Despises its General Manager.
2.Doesn't respect their manager at all.
3.Their two best players do not want to be in Detroit.
4.One player in "Summary Item #3" is making $10 million for
the next two seasons and the other is owed the GNP of
Switzerland until he is close to 40.

Basically the team is f**ked. They can't win, they can't get
along and they have commodities they can't move because of
their salaries. It seems picking up high-priced free-agents who
have no other options hasn't worked out real well for team
morale.

Man, what a mess.

Makes you long for the days when the team got along great
while losing an American League 119 games.

Seriously, when has this team been happier than after those
wins against Ron Gardenhire's Rochester Red Wings during
the last weekend of the 2003 season?

That is what a once proud baseball tradition in the Motor City
has boiled down to.

The glory days when we were avoiding the all-time futility mark.

 

[Don Wassall]

That's a commendable article, in that it simply states the situation without bringing race into it. There are a lot more sites like that needed, even if they don't understand the Caste System. Just let American sports fans know what it's really like in pro sports.


Just as with politics, where so many people think that our "leaders" somehow act in the interests of the powerless middle class in spite of mountains of evidence to the contrary, there is still a widespread naive andidealized view of professional sports and professional athletes that has been carefully constructed and nurtured by the mainstream media and needs to be, to use a favorite word of theCultural Marxiststhemselves, "deconstructed."

 

[Bear-Arms]

Very informative article about the Detroit Tigers. I quoted the portion of the article I found most interesting.

THIS IS COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE TIGERS' LOCKEROOM:

*To say that there are a separate set of rules for Pudge and the rest of the team would be to insinuate that there have been ANY rules for the catcher at all. Ever since signing with the Tigers (when his only other viable option would have been to play daily against the Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes on a daily basis) Rodriguez has been treated with kid gloves by Tigers management.
*Pudge's son is not only allowed on the team plane, but also is allowed in the Tigers dugout. During games. No other player is allowed to have their children on the Tigers plane or in the dugout. This has caused problems between the team and the other players who have kids. It has also bred contempt between the other Tigers players and their catcher.
*Pudge openly disrespects Alan Trammell and the coaching staff. According to a Tigers player there was an incident between Pudge and Trammell last season in Chicago. It seems there was an argument about the radio on in the clubhouse that involved Pudge's kissing buddy, Ugy Urbina. The situation escalated to the point that Trammell came out of his office to see what was going on and a fight ensued. In front of the team, Pudge had to be restrained from beating the crap out of Trammell. Not only did Juan Samuel pull Rodriguez away from the Tigers manager, Pudge called his boss "a piece of sh*t."
Rodriguez wasn't suspended at the time of this clear
insubordination because the Tigers did not want their "golden boy" free-agent to be besmirched by a negative story. After this incident, players viewed Trammell as General Manager/President Dave Dombrowski's puppet.
*He is highly critical of his teammates on a regular basis and has been known to be belligerent towards them. His general feeling is that he is surrounded by a bunch of losers.
*For his latest transgression of not showing up in time for the Kansas City game last Friday (which was eventually rained-out), Pudge was fined $52,000 by the team.
*Not only does Pudge want out of Detroit BADLY, the Tigers other last chance freeway signing, Magglio Ordonez wants out of the "D" as well. He has been overheard stating that he only signed here to prove his Austrian physician repaired knee was A-OK and now wants to go to a winning team. Or at the very least an organization that has had a winning season in the last dozen years.
*Not only have the players totally lost respect for Trammell because of incidents previously mentioned in this article, but that pales in comparison for their hatred of Dombrowski. They view the Tigers GM as a snake in the grass who lacks integrity. Some players are not happy about the trade of Kyle Farnsworth, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their feelings towards Dombrowski.
*After getting fined the 52 large, Pudge left the clubhouse and made a half-ass effort attempt to practice with the team. Soon after he started complaining about a hip flexor injury. His teammates do no believe that Pudge is injured.
*The reason you haven't read about this in the Freep Press or News or Booth Newspapers? Tigers management is trying to use their power to strong-arm the media so this information doesn't come out. Beat writers do not want to lose access by pissing off Dombrowski. He isn't exactly the friendliest, warmest dude to deal with as it is.