ON THE DL

On the DL Daily - Loving the Game and Hating your Job

We touch on Obama’s presser last night and the Audacity of Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Man alive that was boring. I know he’s not going to speak to the press like he speaks to 50,000 people in a stadium, but give a little personality. Don’t make it sound like your asleep up there, man. Of course, Nick disagrees, saying he’s taking a paternal tone with America. Okay, to break the tie, we bring in Keith Olberman, who just this week, wrote:

“Do not be overwhelmed by the 15 homers propelled yesterday in Surprise by the Angels and Royals, nor any other offense you see in the Arizona boxscores.”

Wait - WHAT? Keith Olbermann has a Baseball Blog? We actually think this is pretty cool, but it leads to a conversation about MLBlogs.com and how exactly a man like Olbermann ended up writing a blog there. Are they paying him? Is this some sort of advertising deal? And what about the hundreds of other blogs on this network? How did they get some of these “celebrities” to join up? Are they paying the Phillies Ball Girls? Are they paying Screech? Why is the site not linked on MLB.com and who is going to these sites on a daily basis? So many questions. Anyone out there with an MLBlog, please let us know.

Inside the Press Box: We talk about the recent story involving Chico Harlan, Washington Post’s new beat writer for the Washington Nationals. He said in an interview with The Washingtonian that:

“I don’t like sports -- I am embarrassed that I cover them.”

He has since apologized to the Nationals Nation on his blog, but has the damage been done? How stupid can a guy IN THE MEDIA be by saying something like that to another reporter? Nick sheds some of the blame on the Post’s editors for putting this guy on the beat when other scribes around the country may be begging for a job like this.

“Wow, look a horse. What a great gift. Now let me check his teeth...”

I put it on Harlan, who has a background playing the game and basically put his foot right in his mouth, not only by saying “I can’t wait to stop. It’s a means to an end and a paycheck,” but by saying, IN HIS APOLOGY, “This is not intended as a defense. Parts of this job are a grind. Parts are thrilling. You lose some hair, gain some Marriott points.”

This is Harlan’s first season as a full-time Gnats beat writer. And it’s already a grind for him...in March. Something tells me his game stories will be rather interesting to read in August.

Thought you liked talking Baseball: We do, and we did. Now we talk football (don’t have a football drop yet). Nick brings up the new NFL rules and we discuss if they are good, or a silly waste of time. I think it might be for the kids.

Hey, you got email: Great email from a listener named Adam about our character assassination of Lance Armstrong from yesterday. Adam defends the fact that while Lance may have been dirty, but all accounts he’s not now. We rip him a new one. No, we read his points and give a brief counterpoint by wondering if he was cheating then, why the hell would he not be cheating now? And we bring up the hero worship for a guy like him, yet a guy like Barry Bonds who was a noted jerk is just a great baseball player. Why do some people ascend to higher status? Is that the reason we want to knock him down?

Housekeeping: Just some more plugs for what’s coming up, including some hockey talk next week and a look at the book Street Gang with author Michael Davis. And Trey Wingo tomorrow.

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