Sigh.
While reading Tom Haudricourt's JSOnline.com blog on Bill Hall's
request to be traded--and a number of the fans' responses--I realized that Brewers' fans have been especially harsh on a number of Brewers' players this season, at least as far as replies to this blog and in the Fan Forum on the Brewers' site.
To date, I recall reading multiple rants, digs, and criticisms of either the off-field or on-field performance of these players and coaches:
- Prince Fielder
- Rickie Weeks
- J.J. Hardy
- Bill Hall
- Ryan Braun (yes, the first few weeks of the season, many fans were pouncing on him)
- Mike Cameron
- Eric Gagne
- Derrick Turnbow
- David Riske
- Guillermo Mota
- Salomon Torres
- Dave Bush
- Manny Parra
- Carlos Villanueva
- Ned Yost
- Mike Maddux
Now, I'm all for free speech, and I know fans pay their hard earned money to go to ballgames and want to see perfection. And I know that it is relatively easy for fans to make harsh comments on blogs and websites calling for trades, firings, etc.... Fine. I suppose nothing I write will change that, nor even decrease it. But...ask yourself? What if the players and coaches somehow come across these comments...will that motivate them to try harder, practice more, and play better?
If you were Bill Hall, already frustrated from a bad 2007 season and a rough start to 2008 and ticked off at your employer, your boss, and under obligation to work for them for another year or two...would you really want your customer
also telling you that you're doing a bad job?
My brother conveyed a story to me about a game earlier in the season...Eric Gagne was entering the game from the bullpen...and fans started booing him
before he even threw a pitch! Yes, I know, it
is fun to express your emotions...but can we save it for the opposing team?
Let's not turn into Cubs' fans, okay?
