Who knew that Reds left fielder was so sensitive regarding remarks from local (about to be national) radio host, Bill Cunningham?
The next day, Cunningham said Griffey should never wear a Reds uniform again, and said Dunn was drunk during the game.
"Adam Dunn looks like a monkey with a football in left field," Cunningham said. "He has to have consequences for what he does. That is again a loafing ballplayer who ... would have blew a .15 if someone gave (him) the intoxilizer last night. I say .15. The son of a gun is drunk. And he's playing baseball in left field for the Redlegs."
Before Tuesday's game against the New York Mets, Dunn said Cunningham's comments were out of bounds.
"Isn't there a line?" Dunn said. "I think that goes over the line. We might want to do something about that."
Rob Butcher, the Reds' media relations director, said he's trying to obtain a tape of the show.
Cunningham said Tuesday that his comments were in good fun.
"It was hyperbole," he said. "I play a lot of softball. I play with guys who drink beer. They treat a flyball like a hand grenade and miss bases."
Cunningham said he has no facts to support that Dunn was drunk during the game.
"It was simply a sarcastic comment made tongue-in-cheek," Cunningham said.
Dunn found nothing amusing about Cunningham's statement.
"That's pretty bad," he said.
Remember the episode of As Cincinnati Turns (the most dramatic city in America) when former Reds pitcher Danny Graves was booed off the field causing him to do his best Michael Vick impression (no, not that) flipping off a fan? Oddly enough, he was quickly let go. After stints with other MLB organizations, Graves finds himself pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Is it me or are players publicly expressing a new level of ultra-sensitivity these days? Lately the Mike and Mike show dove into discussions about fans booing players after Carlos Zambrano (what's the right word, over-reacted?) was shelled against the Dodgers.
As he walked to the dugout after being removed in the fifth inning of an 11-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Zambrano pointed to his head, nodded repeatedly and said, "I hear you."
"I don't accept that the fans were booing at me," a seething Zambrano said afterward. "I can't understand that. You know, I thought these were the greatest fans in baseball. But they showed me today that they just care about them, and that's not fair, because when you're struggling, you want to feel the support of the fans.
Zambrano, after the hothead calmed down, apologized for (what's the right word) over-reacting.
I understand that these guys are human. They react every bit as you and I would. It's in their nature to instinctively defend themselves. But come on, thicken the skin a little, eh? It's not like we're coming up with new "yo momma" jokes. They needn't react to fans for being booed. We know managers in baseball aren't quite the disciplinarians they used to be. Some are. I'm sure Lou is. A fan is empowered by the ticket he purchases. A fan invests countless hours and money into that product. Booing the team for playing horribly or lacking effort (see, Dunn) is perfectly acceptable and, god-forbid, expected. There are lines that should never be crossed. Personally insulting the guy or his family that sits in the stands, jumping onto the field/court -- unless you intercept a Brett Favre football -- and beating on a first base coach, inciting a riot with NBA players that constantly feel they're supposed to react if "dissed", or whatever. But booing a player, or an entire team, is an act in sports that should never disappear. Hell, even Congress does it in the form of jeers. And we all know that Congress is the beacon of our moral compass.
(there's even talk of banning booing at high school football games... good lord)
Believe it or not, my grammatical do-icky have prompt my credibility. No, truthishly. And to this day, I don't think of my grammer any gooder than a English 101 student. Then again, me don't claimed to journal or major words. Moving on...
Mike and Mike made the point that some players are exempt from being booed. Partially, I agree. I doubt any Bengals fan will consciously boo Carson Palmer after struggling against a division rival without that gut-wrenching feeling that you're conducting some sort of heresy.
But I also don't think booing is an art of hate. You could make the case that booing is similar with a wife's fiery because you forgot to take out the trash before the week-long vacation, or you didn't scrape the plate completely causing the dishwasher to clog, or saying the words "at the commercial" for any reason, or telling her that you had to go into work Saturday morning but took a detour to the local golf club with your buddies. She loves the hell out of you, but she's most definitely going to boo your ass.
Just realized: Don't feel insulted that I compared fans to wives. That was unintentional. But guys will know the point I'm making.
(Note: Bonds is completely void of this argument, BTW)
Hey, dude. Bengals?
T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a sexy-beast, yea baby yea!