O'Connor: Selig a professional loser

VNV Nation · 07-13-2002, 01:03 AM

Gannett columnist Ian O'Connor summed it up perfectly:

http://www.thejournalnews.com/TJNspo...nor_index.html

By IAN O'CONNOR

(Original publication: July 12, 2002)

Bud Selig was wringing his hands and shrugging his shoulders and grinding himself deeper and deeper into his choice box seat during that 11th-hour, 11th-inning drama at his very own Miller Park, playing the role of Willy Loman in Death of a (Car) Salesman. He would make the right call in stopping the All-Star Game and yet still find himself imprisoned by the incompetence that has locked down his reign, manifested this time by a failure to communicate with a hometown crowd inspired to chant for his head.

Selig lost on a night he should have won because that's what he does for a living: he loses. Viewers. Ticket holders. Credibility. Control. Whenever baseball has needed its commissioner most he's come up smaller than Eddie Gaedel, and now Selig has one month to rescue himself from a legacy as one of the least effective leaders big-league sports has ever known.

If he surrenders yet another World Series in that self-defeating, what-do-you-want-me-to-do way of his, tilting his head and throwing his palms toward the sky, Selig himself should be contracted into oblivion. Even his small-market cronies would concede that someone, anyone, even that Yankee-worshipping Captain America, Rudy Giuliani, would be a better choice to govern a game that makes Enron look like a well-oiled machine.

Duque · 07-13-2002, 02:55 AM

Yup. Dan LeBatard over at ESPN was making the point earlier this week that baseball, more than any other sport, is awash with marketable stars and money-making opportunities, yet management, inexplicably, at every turn insists on this incessant doom-and-gloom stuff, instead of trying to sell their product. If you're an executive, you want to tell people what is right with your business, not what is wrong.

satchel · 07-13-2002, 05:49 PM

Thanks for the story, VNV. As an aside, it's generally preferred here at NDF if you can supply a link to the story and a summary of its contents, rather than merely posting a story in its entirety.

However, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read this: "If he surrenders yet another World Series in that self-defeating, what-do-you-want-me-to-do way of his, tilting his head and throwing his palms toward the sky, Selig himself should be contracted into oblivion."

He's an awful leader. He's not even a very good mouthpiece for the owners (a more accurate evaluation of his responsibilities than "commissioner") because he is so ham-handed that he utterly fails to gain sympathy or credibility for their position. He stinks.

SmedIndy · 07-14-2002, 12:11 AM

Echo the link + synposis. Makes NDF reading sleek and seamless...

Selig is the guy who couldn't manage a Dairy Queen. Imagine him talking about Mr. Misty's or Braziers like he talks about MLB?

VNV Nation · 07-14-2002, 12:24 AM

Edited the post to comply with standards...

moose · 07-14-2002, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by VNV Nation
Edited the post to comply with standards...

minor stylistic point: be clear that what's in the point is a summary, so people don't think you posted the entire story and dont bother to read the linked page

VNV Nation · 07-14-2002, 02:47 AM

Golden Bear · 07-14-2002, 06:17 AM

This sums it up quite well.

It was sort of what I was trying to get at with my "Is there ANYTHING Bud Selig can't screw up?" thread.

(I was kind of disappointed that thread didn't take off more.)

soxfan121 · 07-14-2002, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Golden Bear
This sums it up quite well.

It was sort of what I was trying to get at with my "Is there ANYTHING Bud Selig can't screw up?" thread.

(I was kind of disappointed that thread didn't take off more.)

There isn;t a whole lot more to say other than:
1. Bud's an idiot
2. Bud seems intent on sucking out any joy fans might experience through baseball
3. Bud is doing what Bud thinks is right and everyone else thinks is ludicrous (except the 28 other billionaires)
4. The MLBPA is also greedy, misguided and uncaring
5. The whole lot of 'em should be locked in room until they work something out - no food, no water, no bathrooms. Let's get it on!
6. Bud's is an idiot
7. Talking about the problems of baseball (especially Bud) makes me physically ill and depressed

satchel · 07-14-2002, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soxfan121

7. Talking about the problems of baseball (especially Bud) makes me physically ill and depressed

I second this. I hate all the endless talk about this, that, and the other problem, about Bud's latest lie du jour and about the players' associations latest meeting or vote. It's sucking all the fun out of baseball for me and I'm tired of it.

KCBOOMER · 07-15-2002, 09:50 AM

I don't know why you guys are picking on Ol' Bud. Afterall he was handpicked by George and Jerry to run the show.

07-13-2002, 01:03 AM	#1
VNV Nation Membership Suspended 11/19/02 Join Date: May 2002 Location: VNV Nation Posts: 2,952	O'Connor: Selig a professional loser Gannett columnist Ian O'Connor summed it up perfectly: http://www.thejournalnews.com/TJNspo...nor_index.html By IAN O'CONNOR (Original publication: July 12, 2002) Bud Selig was wringing his hands and shrugging his shoulders and grinding himself deeper and deeper into his choice box seat during that 11th-hour, 11th-inning drama at his very own Miller Park, playing the role of Willy Loman in Death of a (Car) Salesman. He would make the right call in stopping the All-Star Game and yet still find himself imprisoned by the incompetence that has locked down his reign, manifested this time by a failure to communicate with a hometown crowd inspired to chant for his head. Selig lost on a night he should have won because that's what he does for a living: he loses. Viewers. Ticket holders. Credibility. Control. Whenever baseball has needed its commissioner most he's come up smaller than Eddie Gaedel, and now Selig has one month to rescue himself from a legacy as one of the least effective leaders big-league sports has ever known. If he surrenders yet another World Series in that self-defeating, what-do-you-want-me-to-do way of his, tilting his head and throwing his palms toward the sky, Selig himself should be contracted into oblivion. Even his small-market cronies would concede that someone, anyone, even that Yankee-worshipping Captain America, Rudy Giuliani, would be a better choice to govern a game that makes Enron look like a well-oiled machine. Last edited by VNV Nation : 07-14-2002 at 12:24 AM.

07-13-2002, 02:55 AM	#2
Duque NetShrine's Desperado Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Southern CA Posts: 2,638	Yup. Dan LeBatard over at ESPN was making the point earlier this week that baseball, more than any other sport, is awash with marketable stars and money-making opportunities, yet management, inexplicably, at every turn insists on this incessant doom-and-gloom stuff, instead of trying to sell their product. If you're an executive, you want to tell people what is right with your business, not what is wrong. __________________ Bad Andy It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.

07-13-2002, 05:49 PM	#3
satchel NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 2,601	Thanks for the story, VNV. As an aside, it's generally preferred here at NDF if you can supply a link to the story and a summary of its contents, rather than merely posting a story in its entirety. However, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read this: "If he surrenders yet another World Series in that self-defeating, what-do-you-want-me-to-do way of his, tilting his head and throwing his palms toward the sky, Selig himself should be contracted into oblivion." He's an awful leader. He's not even a very good mouthpiece for the owners (a more accurate evaluation of his responsibilities than "commissioner") because he is so ham-handed that he utterly fails to gain sympathy or credibility for their position. He stinks. __________________ Rare mold, old vomit - An anagram rejected by Tom Riddle

07-15-2002, 09:50 AM	#11
KCBOOMER NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Home of the T-Bones Posts: 11,116	I don't know why you guys are picking on Ol' Bud. Afterall he was handpicked by George and Jerry to run the show. __________________ KCBOOMER *Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball*

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07-14-2002, 12:11 AM	#4
SmedIndy NetShrine's Historian Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Zionsville, IN Posts: 10,569	Echo the link + synposis. Makes NDF reading sleek and seamless... Selig is the guy who couldn't manage a Dairy Queen. Imagine him talking about Mr. Misty's or Braziers like he talks about MLB?

07-14-2002, 12:24 AM	#5
VNV Nation Membership Suspended 11/19/02 Join Date: May 2002 Location: VNV Nation Posts: 2,952	Edited the post to comply with standards...

07-14-2002, 02:47 AM	#7
VNV Nation Membership Suspended 11/19/02 Join Date: May 2002 Location: VNV Nation Posts: 2,952	no

07-14-2002, 06:17 AM	#8
Golden Bear NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 1,100	This sums it up quite well. It was sort of what I was trying to get at with my "Is there ANYTHING Bud Selig can't screw up?" thread. (I was kind of disappointed that thread didn't take off more.)

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