Richard Justice: Astros Have No Weaknesses

[lukevan]

Yeah, if Justice meant this as a total joke, which I assume is accurate, he did an incredible job of making it as murky as possible. I harped on Justice for calling the Brewers "dead" last year because he walked through the Brewers clubhouse once. Some Brewer fans even agreed with Justice.

Amazing how dumb people can get these high profile jobs and somehow be regarded as experts.

[Ennder]

I have read so many people on fan forums post that the Astros are going to be a good team this year that when I read it I figured he was serious since there was really no humor in it. I just reread it assuming it is a joke and really until the final line there is no humor in this article.

[joepepsi]

Amazing how dumb people can get these high profile jobs and somehow be regarded as experts.

There is no accountability in Sports Journalism, because it really doesn't matter. Other than the incessant travel it must be the easiest job in the world. All you have to do is make stuff up. No need to back up statements with supporting evidence. When a player or team is successful in a way that's not easily explainable you just call it "intangibles" or chemistry. When a team is struggling you pick out one of the best players on the roster and call them a cancer. Then when they start playing better you chalk it up to said player's new maturity and focus.

[Brawndo the Thirst Mutilat]

There is no accountability in Sports Journalism, because it really doesn't matter. Other than the incessant travel it must be the easiest job in the world. All you have to do is make stuff up. No need to back up statements with supporting evidence. When a player or team is successful in a way that's not easily explainable you just call it "intangibles" or chemistry. When a team is struggling you pick out one of the best players on the roster and call them a cancer. Then when they start playing better you chalk it up to said player's new maturity and focus.

That's probably harder than you think. On the soul, or what's left of it, at least. Imagine how you'd feel if every time you ever tried to say anything of substance, examine anything sincerely, or argue anything controversial using actual evidence, your bosses are totally miffed, but so long as you hand them totally inane puff pieces exactly like you describe here, they're thrilled. I would think that would get incredibly frustrating for a person of even moderate intelligence.

 

Understanding that, however, still in no way predisposes me to cut a jerk like Justice any slack whatsoever for despising his audience.

[sheethead]

are you leveling me here? I think it is pretty obvious he isn't being serious.

 

Not sure if I was trying to level anyone, but I don't see how anything about this piece was obviously satire. If I read it as an Astros fan assuming he is joking, I am utterly insulted. If I read it as any other fan assuming its serious, I am scratching my head. Either way, a piece like this should constitute a written warning, if not an outright dismissal of a below par sportswriter. Then again, maybe the Astros and their fans deserve this guy.

[joepepsi]

There is no accountability in Sports Journalism, because it really doesn't matter. Other than the incessant travel it must be the easiest job in the world. All you have to do is make stuff up. .....

That's probably harder than you think. On the soul, or what's left of it, at least. Imagine how you'd feel if every time you ever tried to say anything of substance, examine anything sincerely, or argue anything controversial using actual evidence, your bosses are totally miffed, but so long as you hand them totally inane puff pieces exactly like you describe here, they're thrilled. I would think that would get incredibly frustrating for a person of even moderate intelligence. ......

This is why the smart ones drink heavily.

[BCZF]

For GREAT JUSTICE!!

 

 

(free candy to whoever gets the reference)..

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously, he personifies homerism, I never understood why he is lauded as this fantastic baseball writer..

[cwolf2012]

Take off every ZIG! PM me my candy, please. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Anyhow, I tend to echo the sentiments of many of the people that this was probably written in jest, but it isn't well-written. Subtle satire is a great thing, but this isn't really satire. It doesn't have any elements of mockery or imitation, it comes off as completely genuine.

 

I'm not sure if that's a product of laziness or trying too hard.

[bucks2281]

Don't know if has mentioned this anywhere in this thread:

 

ESPN Magazine has picked the Astros to finish third, ahead of the Brewers. That prediction comes from the same "journalists" who picked the Bengals to win a Wild Card.

[fondybrewfan]

Regardless of if Justice was being serious or not, the Astros are off too a terrible start so far. 1-6 after the getting shut out by the Pirates today. Their pitching has sucked as expected but their offense is also off to a bad start. Whats even worse is that all of their games have been in the division thus far. Besides Justice there was a guy on WTMJ (Not Falconio, O'Donnell or Michaels) who said the Astros would finish ahead of the Brewers. The guy is usually on for weekends only and he didn't really sound like he really knew baseball at all. The Crew is only 2-4 thus far too but the Astros haven't even been competing thus far with losses of 7-0, 11-2, 3-0, and 11-6. At least the Crew has had a chance to win every game with the exception of Game #3 where Cain shut us down

[joepepsi]

They finished 86-75 last year, but their Pythagorean W/L was 77-84. It's unusual to see that big a difference between the two stats. When a team outplays it's Pythagorean estimate by 9 games it's a safe bet they were very lucky. I think Baseball Prospectus predicted the bottom would fall out for the Astros in 2009. Except for Hunter Pence they have no good young players and little help in the minors.

 

Coop will probably take the fall by the All Star break if they stay bad.

[Ennder]

1-6 and outscored 43-16 so far. Off to a good start I see.

[slack00]

No weaknesses...

 

We have a problem in Houston

[Brian the Automator]

Ed Wade? Negative Presence? no way.

[mls4]

Justice has changed his tune a bit, believe it or not. Here's the latest, in which he calls for Cooper's firing.

[snyttri]

It was an effective blog entry because it yanked people's chain and earned some hits for his blog and newspaper. It was dripping with satire at the beginning and at the end because the Astros are in last place and sportswriters are no one's idea of model citizens. The middle of the brief entry contained a rundown that didn't maintain the satirical tone so it wasn't well written. But it was just a blog entry, not a column, so he has to be happy with the results he got for probably not much work.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Bad owner, bad front office and old players...yep, fire the manager, that will do it. Usually you hear how bad the manager was after he gets canned, but it sounds like Justice knows he's on his way out so you might as well kiss the butts of those who will be left.

[pretendastronaut]

I saw a tidbit recently on chron.com (not sure if it was Justice or another writer) that talked about getting text messages from players complaining about Coop after a game. Firing the manager certainly doesn't solve their problems, but if the players are doing that kind of hit job, it's probably better for all parties to part ways.

[Invader3K]

Is the Astros' ownership really that bad? They seem to have a pretty healthy payroll.

[endaround]

Yes. They have the payroll but force the team to take on bloated contracts. Biggio last few years were all ownership. Lee's mess of a contract was ownership.

[dadofandrew]

This is the team that insisted Biggio play at home and let the manager decide who played on the road. It's a famously disaster of a way to run a franchise, and Cooper will be far better off once he's gone.