I received an angry e-mail the other day from a Rockies fan who apparently has overheard me on TV — many times, he said — asking players questions that “made them uncomfortable.”
“What right do you have to be asking those guys those questions? You never played the game, you don’t know what you are talking about,” he wrote.
Actually, I did play the game, up until the ninth grade. I was a truly terrible catcher. Ask my brother, Steve.
Anyway, that e-mail got me thinking. Here is my response:
Walking into a losing clubhouse to ask players for gory details about a defeat is one of the most painful parts of a baseball beat writer’s job. If a starting pitcher gets pounded for seven runs in three innings in a blowout loss, you have to ask what happened, what he must do to get right and maybe even explore his confidence level. If a shortstop makes a critical throwing error in a one-run loss, then you must ask for an explanation. Worst of all, if a reliever coughs up a key run in a walk-off loss, then you must ask what pitch was thrown and what mistake was made.
The latter happened Tuesday night. Dodgers right fielder Trayce Thompson clobbered Carlos Estevez’s 97 mph, 0-1 fastball into the left-field seats for a 4-3 walk-off win in the ninth at Dodger Stadium. To Estevez’s credit, he answered all the media’s questions. He’s a personable, professional, 23-year-old who already understands that along with public praise and big-money salaries also comes public scrutiny.
Walking into a losing clubhouse creates delicate and tense moments. Emotions are raw and sometimes a player’s career hangs in the balance. Teammates often overhear the interviews and they check them out to see: One, how their teammate handles the heat; two, how the reporters phrase their questions.
I know that some players are contemptuous of the media. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices. They usually don’t say anything about us until they are behind closed doors with their teammates and out of range of recorders and TV cameras.
I’m sure they wonder how we could possibly understand what it feels like to lose a game in front of 35,000 people. They get downright angry if they perceive that a reporter is baiting them with a “gotcha question.” I completely understand that.
The best Rockies player I’ve ever dealt was Michael Cuddyer. He was available, honest and articulate. If you were off base, he would tell you so, in bold terms. He would criticize his team, but he never singled out a teammate.
Rockies first-base coach Eric Young, who played 15 seasons in the majors, understands the athlete-media dance well.
“I’m old school, but I think dealing with you guys is part of our job,” he said. “We don’t always like it, but we know that the fans read you to find out about us. I just always asked that the reporter be fair.”
The bottom line is this: My job is to cover, analyze and write about the game and its players. I must be critical, but fair. Talking to me is part of the players’ job, even if they don’t always like it.
MLB three up/three down
UP
1. Nationals: Best team in National League; Stephen Strasburg is first NL starter to begin 10-0 since 1985.
2. Indians: Corey Kluber and Company softening the blow of Cavs’ collapse in “Believeland.”
3. Cardinals: Redbirds taking off, and pitcher Adam Wainwright hit tie-breaking, pinch-hit double in the 12th to beat Pittsburgh on Friday.
DOWN
1. Royals: Ian Kennedy gave up a career-high four home runs as K.C. lost eighth straight Friday night.
2. Diamondbacks: NL West cellar-dwellers are 10-23 at home and only Atlanta (7-23) has fewer home victories.
3. Athletics: Sonny Gray carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning Friday but slumping Oakland still couldn’t beat the Reds.
Spotlight on … Alex Rodriguez, DH, Yankees
What’s up: The Yankees come to Coors Field for a rare, two-game set against the Rockies on Tuesday and Wednesday. Unless the teams meet in the World Series this year or next, this will be A-Rod’s final appearance at Coors Field. For some hard-core Yankees fans it might be a big deal. For Yankee haters, or for those of us who recognize Rodriguez as a cheater, it will be a nonevent.
Background: The veteran slugger turns 41 on July 27. He has announced that he will retire after the 2017 season — the final year of his 10-year, $275 million contract. After missing the entire 2014 season because of being suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs, A-Rod hit 33 home runs last year — the sixth-most in major-league history for a player 39 or older. This season hasn’t been so grand. A right hamstring injury and a terrible slump to begin the season had him hitting .194 at one point. But he has bounced back over the past two weeks and has shown some power.
Saunders’ take: The last time the Yankees came to Coors Field was in 2013. Legendary closer Mariano Rivera pitched in that series, but Rodriguez and Derek Jeter were injured and didn’t make the trip. I don’t sense much buzz around the Yankees’ trip to Coors Field this year, and I can’t imagine many fans are buying tickets to see A-Rod. He’s a gifted player, indeed one of the most-gifted players in big-league history, but he doesn’t inspire great affection. He has 694 home runs, ranking fourth in MLB history, and is playing in his 22nd season. But he’s not a legend like Hank Aaron or even Jeter. He could have been, but we are left to wonder how many of his home runs were chemically charged. The bottom line: A-Rod’s final trip to Denver is minor stuff.
