Just to clarify… I will call a player out if he’s not performing. That’s easy. I won’t be personally mean to a player unless he says or does something outrageous. Dan Kolb, with his “leadoff walks don’t bother me” nonsense and his apparent feelings of entitlement to the closer role, has become the seventh Brave to meet this lofty standard. The others, in reverse chronological order:
Rafael Furcal… For DUI #2.
Keith Lockhart… For attacking Bobby Cox for not playing him when he was hugging the Mendoza line and Bobby had been propping his sorry career up for three years.
John Rocker… Oh, you know this one.
Kenny Lofton… For the whole “The Braves wouldn’t let me play my music loud” thing.
David Justice… For fanbaiting at the World Series.
Deion Sanders… For just being himself.
Therefore, attacks on Kolb in the future will have less to do with his sorry play and more to do with his sorry ass. Expect to see moronic ramblings supposedly written by the pitcher. Attacks on his fitness, personal hygeine, and family. Finding out his email address and signing him up for spam. If anyone out there can draw a little (I can’t) or has some Photoshop skills (I don’t) I have some cartoon ideas I’d like to do.
Here’s what I overheard him saying on the Marta train the other day (he was driving it).
“Saves are overrated. All it means is that your last pitcher doesn’t give up enough runs for the other team to win. How do I have a chance at a win if I always come in when we are ahead? I only have one win. If I have 65 apperances a year and got a win instead of a save in 40 of those games, it would be some kind of record, wouldn’t it? Cy Young may have over 500 wins, but how many saves does he have? So, if I could do that for like 15 years, I’d be the all-time winner guy and make $45 million per year. Furthermore, what I am going through right now is worse than anything Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson or John Rocker have ever been through.”
Did you notice that leo responded to his “leadoff walks don’t bother me” bit? From the AJC:
“Some pitchers make it a lot more difficult than it should be,” Mazzone said. “You can’t [walk the leadoff man] in a one-run game. Or any save situation, really. It comes back to get you.”
I suspect that as much as anything is why he lost his job.
Mac,Remind me a little bit on the whole Justice fan baiting at the World Series. Justice was my idol when he was there and I guess my rosy colored glasses missed that. I hope it won’t make me turn to hate him, but I am mature enough now to start resenting if need be.
u forgot Robert Fick in your list
Regarding why Justice is on the list, see this article:
http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/worldseries/1995.html
See the section beginning with:
“Only Justice knows why he criticized Atlanta fans a day before Game 6. Perhaps he was trying to motivate fans, or himself, or his teammates. What he said, was, “If we don’t win, they’ll probably burn our houses down . . . and if we win, it’s for the 25 guys in here, the coaches and Bobby.” He elaborated. “If we get down 1-0, they will probably boo us out of the stadium. You would have to do something great to get them out of their seats.””
My only problem with hating him for this is: he came through.
Another reason to redeem him from the list (from the same article):
Through a mist of champagne, Justice apologized: “The fans were the biggest factor. They proved me wrong. They definitely proved me wrong.”
You can dislike justice for the pretty face, the prettier wife and the “sweet swing” vanity plate, but he was right when he called us out and I’ll give you 15,000+ jack-ass cubs fans per game in the 2003 NLDS to prove it.
I might have forgiven Justice except that I wasn’t a big fan of his, largely because he was getting paid a whole lot for a guy who kept getting hurt.
Maybe Fick should go on the list. He certainly deserves the abuse though I haven’t dished it out as much as on the others.
Downtown ATL:
The only thing I would say is that when Justice “called us out,” I think the fans were still going and still caring. I could be wrong about that.
Clearly, after 12 years of “Great Regular Season, Underperforming Post Season,” the fans have stopped caring. And why should they care? The players and management don’t seem to.
I didn’t like Justice at the time because he seemed not to care either. He was content to swing for the fences every at bat and sit down when he missed wildly (reminds me of a certain other hyped outfielder).
However, he goaded the fans and backed up his complaints. Until today’s Braves show us a little of that fire, you’re not going to see a change among the fans.
“Clearly, after 12 years of “Great Regular Season, Underperforming Post Season,” the fans have stopped caring. And why should they care? The players and management don’t seem to.”
What the HELL do you mean by this? The players don’t care? The players that have won the division for THIRTEEN straight years–they don’t care? The front office that goes out and gets Tim Hudson and finds ways to win EVERY year–they don’t care? So winning in the regular season over 162 games means THEY DON’T CARE? That is the most asinine statement I have ever read. Why don’t you go watch a game at Tampa Bay and see some players and a front office that don’t care.
uh… I guess maybe their uniforms are too clean at the end of the game ya Dawg? We’ve been over that certain other hyped outfielder many times on this board (I know it disgusts me when that damned useless Andruw hits another home run when the score is *already* 3-2). You really think they don’t care? I mean… oh forget it… why am I trying to argue this.
‘Until today’s Braves show us a little of that fire, you’re not going to see a change among the fans.’
Dawg, do you really pay AJC to read those Terrence Moore columns?
I know this is wayyyyyy off topic but is anyone else but me kind of glad that Barry Bonds is on the shelf?
Very glad. I absolutely cannot stand Barry Bonds. The guy is a complete egotistical, self-pitying jerk who’s supposedly become the best player in baseball by cheating and then lying about it. And if you still aren’t convinced he’s been on steroids, you need to have your head examined. It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if he never played again, but coming back and breaking Babe’s and Aaron’s HR records is just the kind of classless, self-absorbed thing he’d do. Sorry to any Bonds fans out there, but he makes me sick.
Not to add fuel to the fire or anything, but I have been surprised over the years by the apathy of Braves fans. Nobody on this site comes anywhere close to that, but I’ve been at times repulsed by the lack of turnout at important games for a winning team with mostly exciting players, and it’s been an ongoing thing. Part of the problem may be that the Braves have a really widespread fan base, since the games are on TBS a lot and many people get that. I’m going to try to come to Atlanta this year and see a game, and I did go to that 8-7 comeback last year over the O’s, but I think the fans are pretty spread out. Possible explanation. I don’t know what the local issue is. But I would never, ever say the players and management don’t care. That is just wrong. The facts speak for themselves.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the reason so many fans don’t go to the park in person is because every game is on tv in the Atlanta area with three networks carrying the games. You don’t have to wade through the crappy traffic in Atlanta and you can get inexpensive food out of your frig rather than pay $8 for a hot dog and for those that drink beer, $4 for a beer. Parking also sucks. The fans are around and we do watch every game and you can believe that AOL/TW makes a killing off that. That is why they have no wish to sell the team.