Bill Ladson Mails It In
It's been a while since I've ripped Bill Ladson, so here goes...
One of my favorite features is his mailbag. He hasn't done one for months, and I was starting to miss his banal insights. Just when I was feeling depressed, he rips out a new one! Way to go, Rocket man!
I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that the insipidness of the questions was weighing down his meaty analysis.
Then I thought about it.
Isn't he the one selecting the questions? I wouldn't dare suggest that he's making the questions up, because he'd sue me. But could he pick questions that are actually... say... interesting? Or at least lead themselves to insights? But then that'd force him to work hard at answering them, cutting into his valuable time polishing Tony Tavares' shoes or playing the Mary Poppins role to one of Bowden's five children.
Where else can you get insights like:
or
Wow! Thanks for the info, Laddie!
One of my favorite features is his mailbag. He hasn't done one for months, and I was starting to miss his banal insights. Just when I was feeling depressed, he rips out a new one! Way to go, Rocket man!
I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, hoping that the insipidness of the questions was weighing down his meaty analysis.
Then I thought about it.
Isn't he the one selecting the questions? I wouldn't dare suggest that he's making the questions up, because he'd sue me. But could he pick questions that are actually... say... interesting? Or at least lead themselves to insights? But then that'd force him to work hard at answering them, cutting into his valuable time polishing Tony Tavares' shoes or playing the Mary Poppins role to one of Bowden's five children.
Where else can you get insights like:
What is the future of Tony Armas Jr. with the Nationals? -- Mayker C., Orlando
Armas is a free agent and most likely will not return. He made over $2 million in 2005, and the Nationals likely are not going to pay that kind of money for him next season.
or
Is Nick Johnson a free agent this offseason? -- J.P., Washington, D.C.
Johnson is arbitration eligible for the third year in a row, and he is expected to be back with the Nationals for the 2006 season.
Wow! Thanks for the info, Laddie!
posted by Chris Needham at
1:09 PM
5 Comments:
Those are straightforward answers to straightforward questions.
What else is he supposed to say?
By
Brandon, at 10/19/2005 1:36 PM
That's the problem. They're straightforward answers to mundane straightforward questions.
He's in a unique position to provide us with actual insight into things -- to paint a picture of the team.
Instead he gives us... well... not much.
By
Chris Needham, at 10/19/2005 1:37 PM
They're useless Baseball Digest - level questions, the answers of which are already contained in his articles anyway.
Panning Rocket Bill's mailbags is something of a tardition now. They're pointless . . . and they're ridiculous in their simplicity compared to the chats the Post guys do.
By
Basil, at 10/19/2005 1:46 PM
I just think we need to accept the fact that Nationals.com and probably every other MLB site designs its content to more casual fans, not people like us, and MoveOn already.
By
WeatherMike, at 10/19/2005 6:26 PM
Maybe so, Mike. OTOH, all the MLB team sites employ the same format and, presumably, are geared toward the same type(s) of fans. Here's the parallel Oakland mailbag, for instance. The questions are similar, but have more depth; the answers are similar, but have more depth. That kind of thing.
Of course, to be fair, this team needs an owner before hot stove stuff really gets interesting, I suppose.
By
Basil, at 10/19/2005 7:43 PM
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