You've heard about the new book Joe Torre did with Tom Verducci. How could you miss it? The NY papers are going crazy with a few snippets from the book. When Alex Rodriguez first joined the Yankees some of the players called him A-Fraud.
This is supposed to be a big deal. A-Rod already admitted he came on phony so the controversy should have ended. It hasn't. The NY media is guilty of making a turmoil out of nothing. Not just the NY media. The sports media does it a lot.
And here's what bothers me. Verducci wrote what I imagine is a sincere serious book. People should read the entire book and judge it as a whole -- not as a snippet. Books are more important than sound bites. Of course Verducci is getting ink and that should help sales. I understand that. But his book is being characterized by one or two quotes. Books mean more than that. This whole controversy is shallow and stupid.
Excuse me while I pick myself off the floor. You're criticizing the sports media for blowing things out of proportion? Pass the smelling salts, please, I feel faint.
Now I am torn. Should I give you kudos for being right on the money about this situation? For taking a stand in favor of fairness and perspective? Or should I honor my skepticism, since the comment goes against your own long history? Does this mean you have a new perspective of seeing the whole picture? And will it guide your commentary about the sports you cover? Gimme something stronger than smelling salts, and hurry.
I agree with you that this has been overblown. At least for the moment, the book seems to have been unfairly reduced to a "tell-all." This knee-jerk-reaction label is not consistent with any of Verducci's SI columns, which are heavily researched, thought provoking, and insightful. (The Tim Lincecum article was particularly awesome.)
I am, however, irked that the A-Fraud comments were legitimized by his former manager, Joe Torre. As Buster Onley deftly stated in his blog, it's not so much about whether the statements are accurate or not, it's that have Joe Torre's Hippocratic seal of approval. This bugs me.
Link here: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster
As for Verducci, if his book is a truly a good read, then it will be remembered as that (and not what we're talking about today). The news cycle tends is quick and our memories are short.