Friday, September 07, 2007
Oh Heavenly Catcher!
Bengie Molina is pissed. In today's Chron, the Giants catcher went on a seemingly unprovoked tirade, lamenting the team's last-place standing and calling this season "a freakin' embarrassment." I find this out-of-the-blue outburst strange for a couple of reasons.
One, this kind of thing usually happens after a particularly uninspiring loss in the middle of a losing streak. Molina's tirade came on an off-day, after a win, so I don't really get what set him off. Maybe he got one elephant ear too many and blew his cool.
Two, the timing of it is a bit odd, because Molina is going on and on about how pathetic the team is, when they've actually been playing quite well lately. They're still 14 games under .500, but they just finished up a solid month of August and have been playing some of their most inspired ball of late. Where was this rant in the first four months of the season, when the Giants were sucking like Mega-Maid?
Lastly, is it just me, or does Bengie seem like one of the least likely fellows to call out his teammates in the press? Usually we get this kind of thing from a malcontent like Milton Bradley or one of those wired-up media whores like Darin Erstad. Of anybody on the Giants, I'd nominate Klesko. But Bengie? He just seems so docile, like a big, lovable Triceratops. He's been so quiet and productive all year and yet now he's complaining about being surrounded by assholes. Random.
Who knows, maybe Molina is just trying to fire up the team for a run at .500. Not that it's going to do much good. At least Molina can afford to be the one dishing out the criticism. He's been one of the few solid regulars this season in a pretty anemic lineup, placing third among all NL catchers in VORP, and ranking third among Giants players.
-OK, people, the Dodgers have, according to BP's Playoff Odds Report, a 33% chance of making the postseason. That ranks behind five NL teams. That ain't good. So this weekend, chide, tease, get those Dodger-hating helmets on, and root hard for the good guys to knock that percentage down a few ticks. If nothing else, this season gets a silver lining if the Dodgers are sitting at home in October along with us. But you knew that already.
One, this kind of thing usually happens after a particularly uninspiring loss in the middle of a losing streak. Molina's tirade came on an off-day, after a win, so I don't really get what set him off. Maybe he got one elephant ear too many and blew his cool.
Two, the timing of it is a bit odd, because Molina is going on and on about how pathetic the team is, when they've actually been playing quite well lately. They're still 14 games under .500, but they just finished up a solid month of August and have been playing some of their most inspired ball of late. Where was this rant in the first four months of the season, when the Giants were sucking like Mega-Maid?
Lastly, is it just me, or does Bengie seem like one of the least likely fellows to call out his teammates in the press? Usually we get this kind of thing from a malcontent like Milton Bradley or one of those wired-up media whores like Darin Erstad. Of anybody on the Giants, I'd nominate Klesko. But Bengie? He just seems so docile, like a big, lovable Triceratops. He's been so quiet and productive all year and yet now he's complaining about being surrounded by assholes. Random.
Who knows, maybe Molina is just trying to fire up the team for a run at .500. Not that it's going to do much good. At least Molina can afford to be the one dishing out the criticism. He's been one of the few solid regulars this season in a pretty anemic lineup, placing third among all NL catchers in VORP, and ranking third among Giants players.
-OK, people, the Dodgers have, according to BP's Playoff Odds Report, a 33% chance of making the postseason. That ranks behind five NL teams. That ain't good. So this weekend, chide, tease, get those Dodger-hating helmets on, and root hard for the good guys to knock that percentage down a few ticks. If nothing else, this season gets a silver lining if the Dodgers are sitting at home in October along with us. But you knew that already.
Labels: bengie molina, gratuitous references to spaceballs
