It was December 2005, a few days after Paul Lo Duca joined the Mets in a trade with the Marlins, and we were sitting in the lobby of a Manhattan hotel. We spent about 45 minutes that morning talking for an article about him that would be published a few days later,
Cheap Moncler T Shirts, and I remember coming away from the interview thinking that he would be a great addition to the clubhouse.
He more or less promised me that, good or bad, he would be at his locker after games,
Moncler Vest Women, ready to answer questions about his play and the team’s play. He has stayed true to his word.
By now, I’m sure the comments Lo Duca made after Thursday’s game was postponed have been pulled apart and discussed incessantly on WFAN. For those not in the loop, Lo Duca said he was tired of having to speak to reporters every day and suggested that they be more resourceful in seeking out the Spanish-speaking players, who, he said, “speak English, believe me.”
I was not in the clubhouse last night, having already traveled to Philadelphia in preparation for the doubleheader, but I suspect that this is what happened. Some of what Lo Duca said may not have been phrased within the proper context, but I think that there may be a kernel of truth in what he said.
Lo Duca, as I alluded to, is one of the team’s most accountable players. When the team was getting pounded in Detroit and Los Angeles, and then again at home against Minnesota,
Moncler Polo Shirts Sale, he was there at his locker expressing his frustration and saying that he wouldn’t put up with the team’s poor play any longer. Then they won 5 of 6 heading into this weekend’s series in Philadelphia.
After games, when deadline is creeping up, I look around the clubhouse and see who would be good to speak with. On days when he plays, Lo Duca is at the top of the list for his candor, insight and accessibility. And because he says things like this:
“It hurts me inside because this is your family here; this is your second family,” Lo Duca said. “When you say something about somebody in your other family and the guys you go to war with every day, that hurts, man,
Moncler T Shirts, because I want guys in here to trust me because I feel like I’m a leader on this team. I feel like I’m a big part of this team. And if you lose that, then it hurts. That hurts me more than anything.”
But Lo Duca is not the only one who is accountable and speaks in forceful tones. David Wright does, and Shawn Green does, and Billy Wagner does, and Jose Valentin does, too, no matter whether the Mets win or lose,
Moncler Jackets Men Sale, which is why reporters tend to gravitate toward them. Those players all happen to be around,
UGG Boots, more often than not, very soon after a game ends.
Most of the players whose first language is Spanish speak English very well, with only a few, like Jorge Sosa or Orlando Hernandez, sometimes requiring a translator. Four everyday players are Hispanic – Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes and Valentin – but, for one reason or another,
Cheap Moncler Vest Women, there isn’t anyone who is as regularly forthcoming or candid about such matters as Lo Duca or Wright.
I took Spanish in high school and college and, after a few-year hiatus, resumed taking lessons last winter because I understood how important an asset it is to have in baseball clubhouses. My Spanish isn’t great, probably not even good, either, but I hope to someday conduct an interview.
Even having that background would not necessarily help after games if a player like Delgado, who sometimes leaves before the clubhouse opens after games or chooses to work out afterward and does not come out until much later, is not around. The players unconditionally supported Lo Duca and debunked any portrayals of a clubhouse rift.
“It’s like, there’s a lot of guys here that speak Spanish — is that racial?” Delgado said. “There’s a lot of guys here that speak English – is that racial? Maybe he was implying that you guys don’t speak Spanish. Maybe he was kind of cracking a joke on you. I don’t know. I don’t find it offensive at all. It’s like two Japanese guys walk in here and say ‘there’s a couple guys who speak Japanese’ –- is that racial? Are you segregating anything? I personally as a teammate I don’t think that’s offensive to anybody. That was the quote? That’s it?”
My sense, however, is that this isn’t the last we’ll hear about it. This may continue to be an issue, though not publicly, if things stay the way they are.
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Permalink Billy Wagner, carlos beltran, carlos delgado, Jose Valentin, Mets, Paul Lo Duca, tom glavine Related Posts From Bats Delgado Out, Green InDay One in Port St. LucieWe Have a Moises Alou SightingSo, Who’s Left?One Man’s All-Stars Previous Post
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Bonfire of the Yankee 5 Comments 1. June 29,
Moncler Vest Men Sale, 2007 4:04 pm
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Get over it. This is a nonissue. This is Paulie saying: ‘why do you media types only talk to a handful of us? Are you afraid that some of the guys don’t have communication skills? They do. Try talking to them and you’ll see for yourselves.’
But I’m sure you’ll feed the frenzy with blog posts like this and game notes and other tidbits that do nothing else.
— Lizzie 2. June 30, 2007 10:42 am
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An organization can always use stand-up people willing to speak out on what they see is a problem, whether it is baseball, business or government. Too many organizations have too many that just echo the official talking points, even a Secretary of State. Fortunately for the Mets, Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya are not that way and know the value of free speech and the necessity of speaking truth to power. Paul Loduca is such a person and adds to his considerble skills on the field.
— Ronald Cowin 3. June 30, 2007 2:00 pm
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White sports reporters, who don’t speak spanish, look for another white guy to speak with. Doh!
Maybe your reporters should learn spanish.
Or better yet, hire some hispanic reporters.
Afterall, the number of latino baseball players had grown exponentially over the years. Why not hispanic sports reporters?
— jose martinez 4. June 30, 2007 4:38 pm
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Perhaps Delgado is the modern sports equivalent of the quotable US Marine commander during the wartime. Many big names journalists have told me that they would search out a Marine during a briefing because you could always count on him for a very juicy, printable – often boneheaded – quote. Readers might remember the famous Vietnam wartime quote reported by Peter Arnett of a Marine officer who when asked about the seemingly overkill use of heavy artillery against a small village replied, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”
According to two big league reporters standing next to Arnett the Marine said no such thing. He did say they had to destroy the village and later in a different context he spoke about saving the village. Near its end Arnett (Pulitzer Prize 1966) set him up by asking “So, Major, what you’re saying is that you had to destroy the village in order to save it?” The officer fumbled for a moment since his thought processes had already moved on and said, “Yeah… yeah… something like that.”
My question for Tyler,
UGG Boots Metallic Short, Ben, Jack et al is how can a person like that aforementioned officer or even a current sports figure protect himself when a reporter wants to make, in ‘Godfather-speak’, his ‘bones’? If the person is in the public eye in any way,
Cheap Moncler kids Jackets, shape or form the protection of Sullivan v. N.Y. Times (1963) seems to bestow on reporters powers akin to that of the Spanish Inquisition. How many times is the phrase unnamed sources or variations on that theme used in the paper of record? One needs only a glance at the Scooter Libby case to see the unholy alliance of reporters to sources.
Why doesn’t the ombudsman of the Times shine a light on an area of journalism that to my knowledge has not been investigated ever, save perhaps for the point shaving scandals of the early 1950s? Perhaps they see sports journalism to international journalism, analogously, as that of Tinker Toys to I-Beam construction.
Where is Red Smith when you most need him?
Dead, I’m afraid.
— Jeff Nardine, Vietnam 5. July 2, 2007 11:58 am
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When I see what goes on at the News and Post, and then the ripple effect in talk radio and the blog comments, I can hardly blame anyone for not wanting to talk to these guys/women– except you get punished for that too.
Actually, it seems that you get punished no matter what. You get punished for being a voluble guy like LoDuca, or you get punished for being a measured guy like Delgado. If I were a player, I wouldn’t play in New York for all the money in the world.
— Theresa Muir Add your comments...
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The Lo Duca Imbroglio
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