When I used to spend (waste?) time on PRSI, I always enjoyed reading your posts, but, respectfully, I find myself somewhat in disagreement with you here. I'm not sure which outlet your are referencing as trash talk, but the story I read simply laid out the facts. And to me, a long-time Rivera admirer, those facts were surprising, to say the least, as they appear to contradict everything that I thought about him and his belief system. I hope it's just that he may be naive about certain things.
I'm not going to ask at this point that the thread be moved to PRSI so I have to watch what I say here in this post.
First of all I don't know if you saw the original piece with the inflammatory title and graphic or the quietly edited no-notes-about-edit revision that was put up later, or just an article about the piece. If you look in Breitbart you can find some info about the changes. I don't usually cite Breitbart but that piece is correct in what it shows and tells about the revisions.
Those would be three different things, the piece, the revision and commentary in other sources. The original came close enough to a "hit piece" that that is still how I would have categorized it, and not least for its timing just before the HOF induction.
Moving on: of course I was probably as surprised as you say you were by content of the piece as well, and because of my own views on assorted matters somewhat dismayed if all of what was left in the revised piece is factual.
That doesn't subtract one bit from the man's stellar pitching record and for my money the media outlet might have stood on its revelations for a bit instead of making a point to drop into the HOF induction weekend with info irrelevant to his well deserved and so far uniquely unanimous nomination.
After all Rivera was not nominated for his politics or beliefs or associations to those with certain politics or beliefs, was he. No. Nor did those somehow corrupt his ability to put batters back in the dugout and close yet again for the Yankees, saving the game 652 times.
One day in a lifetime, capping a matchless career and a media outlet feels it must strike while the iron is hot to maximize the clicks and ad revenue from their piece?
Sometimes the instincts of the media remind me of an orchestra botching its tuneup and managing to get itself just a quarter-tone off the 440 A that was offered up for the sake of the piano that's about to be found disappointing.
It was just extremely irritating for someone who respects both good journalism and excellent baseball. The journalist is perhaps a bit into protecting his own belief system, which is fine, but no matter the gap or abyss between belief systems or politics that might separate the journalist from the baseball player, in reality the journalist had no business taking out after Rivera in that manner on that occasion.
Not to get into politics or religion discussion further here but Ecclesiastes 3 from the old book was right and remains right:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
That was not the right time. The import of the rest could be debated somewhere else sometime. Obviously it would probably have to happen in PRSI. If you have privileges there and want to continue, please report the thread and ask the mods for it to be moved, I won't mind. Ciao.
