The Curious Case of Ken Rosenthal and John Gonzalez: Retard Speculation Perhaps Unfair, but Lecture To Blogger Raising Eyebrows
I know I should be careful what I say before I press enter, sending this blog post spinning out around the world, but—and maybe this is just something that I should only whisper about among friends—eyebrows are being raised about whether John Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Kenny Ken Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports are, in fact, retards.
No, not retards in the colloquial, pejorative sense. Retards as in seriously developmentally disabled—and in Rosenthal’s case, it’s said to be much more profound.
Of course, nobody can prove this. Right now it’s just talk. But when two reporters go on ESPN, smugly lecturing a blogger about their own misinterpretation of an article neither of them appear to have read, clutching to vague notions of “standards” which, despite all their words, they never quite define enough to explain how a Midwest Sports Fans post about how people are talking about Raul Ibanez’s hot start has violated them, there are bound to be a few raised eyebrows.
Is Ken Rosenthal seriously sitting there saying these things? I thought they tested these reporters for birth defects before sending them out into the world??? (Oh, wait, he’s employed by FOX…)
Does John Gonzalez actually claim to read blogs—and therefore that he knows how to read—and yet have the balls to imply that there’s a single fucking thing in the post that wouldn’t be fit to print in a newspaper, or that does anything more than say that, naturally, Ibanez’s outlier season will lead to PED speculation?
Forgive me for delving into some boring territory for most of you, but holy shit, these retards can’t be fucking serious. . .
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50 rational and reasonable comments:
Raul Ibanez shouldn't direct his anger to JRod (the blogger) but to MLB and the MLBPA for allowing it to get to this point. You can't unload on a guy's opinion (however unfair it may be) when its your collegues and the league that are perputating this problem, not singularly but the majority of the blame, IMO at least.
PS-I love how Ken Retardenthal says its ok to make generalized statements regarding drug use in baseball but not specific examples. How the fuck do we get to a generalization if we don't have multiple specific examples to base it on first?
Wow.
Ken Rosenthal, in my opinion, really made himself look like an idiot in this interview. the power of the written word? On some guys blog site? What a moron.
I read Jerod's 'blog post', and NO WHERE does he say that Ibanez is on PEDs. He simply breaks down all the factors that could be contributing to his red-hot start this season. I'm sorry, but seeing Ibanez's numbers so far this year, I've thought to myself, "Wow, PEDs maybe?".
Your bang on, Stoeten, when you question whether the two ass-clowns not-named Jerod had actually even read his blog post from beginning to end. Perhaps more telling, though, is the fact that if they DID read his blog post in it's entirety, how the hell did they misinterpret it so badly?
Sadly, Stoeten, your 'retard' comment is completely legit in this case.
Rosenthal really pissed me off in that interview. Shaking his head, interupting. What an ass.
Exactly the same with me. What a clown.
This is the stupidest argument ever. And yeah, Anon, exactly, it's ok to imply that some players are using drugs, but not give specifics? The fuck? One guy speculating about an older player's sudden break out and PEDs is a big story how?
And ew, Raul, you can keep your shit.
Retard is a huge understatement.
How is that blog any different from the speculative articles written in print media? This was just 9 minutes of Rosenthal and Gonzalez making the same non-point over and over again.
The whole thing is just mind-boggling.
By the way, anyone who uses the retarded "blogger in his mom's basement" line should be get the Wu-Tang treatment:
I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin tie you to a fuckin bedpost
with your ass cheeks spread out and shit
Right?
Put a hanger on a fuckin stove and let that shit sit there
for like a half hour
Take it off and stick it in your ass slow like
Tssssssss
Yeah, I'll fuckin
Yeah I'll fuckin lay your nuts on a fuckin dresser
Just your nuts layin on a fuckin dresser
And bang them shits with a spiked fuckin bat
Ooooohhhh
Whassup? BLAOWWW!!
I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin pull your fuckin tongue out your fuckin mouth
and stab the shit with a rusty screwdriver, BLAOWW!!
I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin hang you by your fuckin dick
off a fuckin twelve sto-story building out this motherfucker
I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin
sew your asshole closed, and keep feedin you
and feedin you, and feedin you, and feedin you
Oh, I forgot one thing from my above post:
Little-Known Blogger - 1
FoxSports Senior Baseball Writer - 0
I mean, how many times did Jerod have to say, "I've been misquoted. Read my blog post again"?
Retardenthal. I like it.
Also, Joanna, you made me laugh out loud sitting all alone in my office here at work at the 'Ew, Raul, you can keep your shit' comment. Well done.
Who needs implication? I am flat out saying that Raul Ibanez is on steroids.
POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD!
Also, how are we supposed to take hair samples from that bald fuck?
Here's a good little piece from ESPN's Rob Neyer on this whole issue:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-3-69/Defending-maniacal-bloggers.html
UGH! That was frustrating to watch. I guarantee that no one read the whole article. That Gonzalez shit disturber probably approached Ibanez and was like hey this little kid is saying your on steroids. Care to comment? And then it blows up. It has nothing to do with the Subway muncher. Rosenthal, just became the biggest piece of shit in my opinion. He sounded so completely fucking ignorant. Unreal!
ESPN acknowledges that "everything has changed" in baseball and sports media, and yet the only way they've seemed to modify their behaviour is repeating the mantra of "everything has changed" over and over again. On the plus side, this current round of lecturing and handwringing from various newspapermen has been thoroughly enjoyable. Has Richard Griffin spoke up yet? Tear out a patch of hair for every time he says the phrase "mom's basement."
I think it was another Inquirer reporter who approached Ibanez, but yeah, same idea.
ESPN acknowledges that "everything has changed" in baseball and sports media, and yet the only way they've seemed to modify their behaviour is repeating the mantra of "everything has changed" over and over again.
It worked for Obama.
Heyo!
I can't get over how PISSED OFF Ken Rosenthal looks. Every time I see him, he's smiling his head off - which I find refreshing. All I see in this video is a dormant volcano ready to EXPLODE.
I really wish Jerod went harder at those asswholes because they clearly were not interested in his completely legitimate defense. He should've pointed the print media journalists completely missing the steroids era while it was happening in front of their eyes. Instead they spent their time writing fluff pieces fawning over the cheaters and when the truth finally came out those same sanctimonious fucktards had the nerve to feel hurt and betrayed by it all.
I think Rosenthal and Gonzalez are not only retards, they are ruhTARDS. They went full retard like Simple Jack, instead of redeeming retards like Forrest Gump and Rainman. It's very disappointing.
He should've point out how the print media...*
These last two entries will silence those who say you guys should post more often. j/k... kinda.
SP, asswhole? that's a strange way to spell asshole . . . I tried to imagine a meaning, but it was lost on me.
I like to think of it as meaning a complete asshole, leaving no doubt about the level of asshole someone is being
who gives a fawk?
we have gone from an era where we believed everything we saw, to now where we question everything we see. I agree with SP when he said he wished Jerod went more aggressively at the two "print" guys but he was already being attacked and I imagine it was not easy being in his position not wanting to say something that will no doubt be taken out of context again. He showed a lot of reserve and respect for two guys who just wanted to bully and put him in his place.
Stoeten, this is hardly boring territory!! This issue is, in fact, what legitimates your blog (or anyone else's) to begin with.
Some people who actually publish books about this stuff argue that this is not only a debate about the relevance of blogs today, but more to the point, of the possibility of a healthy and vibrant democracy!! Seriously! Participation in the means to generate and distribute information is sign of a strong democratic system. Blah blah blah...
But here's the rub: Rosenthal had to go through the formal training required of anyone who desires to work in the mass media (the media corporations). His bitterness is a product of his training: journalists *wish* they could write what they want (they way bloggers do), but they can not. If they did, they would not be journalists--editors edit to reflect the interests of owners and the conventions of the trade. In order to keep their job (or, to get hired to begin with), journalists must tow the line. Rosenthal is pissed that Jarod did not do this (apparently); and poor Jarod--he will never, ever, get a job in the mainstream media (not now anyway).
Anyway, I read this blog every day!
A blog gives the opportunity for those with out talent, skill nor credentials to voice their 'opinion'. It gives those who have nothing to say, a place to say it. period.
^ what he said
not what he said
" I'll fuckin
I'll fuckin
sew your asshole closed, and keep feedin you
and feedin you, and feedin you,
and feedin you. "
Professor G, I do agree that this is interesting stuff, but we've been told before, and I do understand, that many people coming here to talk Jays/baseball don't really give a shit about the whole Blogger vs. MSM argument, which I think is fair, and which is why I apologized. But yeah, this is Kenny Ken Ken's Bissinger moment, only he had the sense to not be a maniac about it.
I think it's relevant here when it's a baseball thing.
I still haven't seen one person comment that they agreed with what "the two other guys" were saying. Clearly the baseblogger had the stronger arguments. If I want "news", I read the AP or whatever raw stories. The only thing these "journalists" have is access to the players who throw out crappy quotes. I find when Wilner just talks to the players casually, it is a far better interview and more interesting.
-brent in Korea
As for the source of Rosenthal's bitterness... I do think that's part of it, and I kind of understand it too. Fuck, we just had Parkes on the field, with the same access as a broadcasting legend like Barry Davis-- I can see how that's a bit of a slap in the face when you really believe that there's only one way to do these things. But-- and we hammered this point home so often for so long that it seems kind of redundant these days-- banking on the "expertise" of these writers to justify their lofty sense of self really falls apart when you start to actually read what a lot of them are writing, and notice that it's just horseshit, and that their precious "access" is, a lot of times, more a way to insulate themselves from any old slob with an opinion than it is to actually inform the public. Like all bullies, these guys see how utterly fucking unremarkable they are, and in a situation like this, use everything at their disposal to keep anybody from figuring it out.
wait a minute..when did blogs go from some hack writing in his parents basement to legit sources of media to these fuckers?
fucked, eh?
so basically rosenthal validates jerod's blog when he says "we're all skeptical". someone in the print media needs to quote rosenthal on that. what a douche.
Someone should have called out Bill Simmons for producing a counter theory about David Ortiz last week, too.
Stoeten says: "their precious "access" is, a lot of times, more a way to insulate themselves from any old slob with an opinion than it is to actually inform the public"--I agree. And, I'd add that journalists like Rosensnot are *nothing more* than cogs in an industry compelled to generate profit--they are workers providing content ("hosreshit"!!) and not informing the public. You can see by Ken Shit's comment above that he has completely forgotten this--as though his job selling ink by the barrel is somehow righteous!
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710--.htm
All of this is fucking fascinating.
And I used to like little Rosenthal.
If Ibanez wants to complain about steroid speculation, he should complain to Rafael Palmeiro and A-Rod for going to Congress and 60 Minutes to deny steroids and then getting caught doing the exact thing they denied.
Or perhaps Ibanez should go to his own union to demand stricter testing, seeing that the MLBPA has consistenly tried to avoid strict testing.
If Ibanez is clean, and no-one seems to be actually accusing him of anything, then it sucks that he's being dragged into this. But baseball has brought this situation on themselves by just hoping that loud denials would be enough for everyone to ignore the problem.
It wasn't, and today's players have to live in the world they created for themselves.
props to DJFs for calling these arrogant, pompous pricks (Gonzalez and Rosenthal) out. These douches manage to totally isolate themselves from every fan of the game of baseball who is not a journailist. Who the fuck are they kidding by saying you can have these conversations with friends, but once you put them on paperyou've crossed a line. Sorry we don't all work for newspapers that are going out of business. They're probably just butt-hurt from all the time that searching for new jobs has taken away from their circle-jerk sessions.
Dear you ass clowns who miss the point here,
"How the fuck do we get to a generalization if we don't have multiple specific examples to base it on first?"
It's called slander, and people who work for newspapers, or TV actually have to worry about people suing them if they make up random shit about them without PROOF.
Other than that fake LaRussa on Twitter, when was the last time you heard of a blogger being sued?
Rosenthal (or pick your favourite "mainstream" writer) took journalism law and probably ethics classes as well on this stuff.
Blogs are great, but its ridiculous to expect or even demand these guys to start stating without proof who they think is juicing.
You really don't think a journalist, or anyone seeking credibility, crosses a line when he accuses someone of cheating without proof?
I'm a young dude myself, but some of you angry, ignorant nerds make me embarrassed to be part of your generation and a baseball fan.
I'm pretty sure all the intelligent baseball fans read the comment section here (and anything written by Stoeten) for a good laugh and/or after smoking some douby.
Doubyies!!! YA
Back to editing legal documents for municipalities now.
Hey anonymous retard from 10:35 AM.
Have you read the blog?
Thank you, anon 11:31. Clearly Mr. 10:35 did not read the blog, and is just assuming there's something slanderous in there because everybody is making a big deal about it. There's not. There is not one single fucking thing in it that says Ibanez did anything wrong. It says that, naturally, people will speculate on it because of how crazy his numbers are. It says that people are whispering it, wondering what's going on. It says it's one of many possible explanations-- none of which can be definitively stated.
Way to get sanctimonious about shit you didn't even read, moron.
You really don't think a journalist, or anyone seeking credibility, crosses a line when he accuses someone of cheating without proof?
Just to add: of course I do, and if there had actually been any sort of accusation in the piece you didn't read, you'd have a point.
Fucking sucks for Ibanez if he's clean. He now has to feel like he's implicating himself with every home-run he hits.
Thing is, anyone who plays fantasy baseball knows that people were widely forecasting a career year for Ibanez with the move to Philadelphia. I drafted him in one of my leagues and he's carrying it - he's the #1 overall player on Yahoo.
So whether or not he's on steroids, an improvement over his career numbers is in no way a surprise - maybe the extent of his improvement is startling, but a sinificant improvement was widely predicted before the year started.
Hey Stoeten,
You're getting a lesson in journalism right now over at the Score, eh?
Nice work on the Pronger story. Too bad you guys don't know the difference, between "traded" and "are in talks to trade."
I think Humber's j-school might let you enter the remedial course if you ask nicely.
im pretty sure anon 1035 is ken rosenthal himself, the point is that in ANY situation where you have multiple cases regarding a certain group of people generalizations are going to arise...X number of specific incidents create the generalization, maybe you should have taken a course in common sense along with journalism law and ethics?
If baseball took the issue seriously, and at least for me its a way more serious issue than say when or when not to boo, they should have released the names of the other 103 guys on the 2001 list they do/did have PROOF on, why the fuck did the REAL journalist just roll over on that issue so quick?
THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN WORD is my new ringtone
Wow, I can't believe these guys ganged up on Jerod like that. Why do I have a feeling that Gonzalez or Rosenthal just googled "Raul Ibanez steroids", landed on Midwest Sports and then came out guns blazing before even finishing reading the article. Rosenthal was so adamant about being careful, and the "power of the written word", but maybe he should be more careful when examining the article.
Jerod was writing why he thought Ibanez WAS NOT on steroids, not the other way around. I can't believe how out of context some of the media has taken this.
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