I like Rolen, and I'm happy for him. But I think he's more of a Hall of Very Good guy. Maybe the WAR argument might convince me otherwise if I look at it a little more, but his inclusion probably enlarges the room a bit. And if we're going to count defense for Rolen, Ozzie Smith, etc, what do we do with Andruw Jones who was an elite defender (better than Rolen) at a premium defensive position for 10+ years, and had 10 straight years of very good offense? Is 10 years enough? I don't know, apparently not according to the writers. Albert Belle also had an incredible 10 year offensive stretch, but he was a meanie-pants. It's really hard to take the HOF seriously (and maybe we shouldn't?) knowing how, why, and by whom a lot of these players are/are not selected.
I will say Rolen's candidacy undoubtedly benefitted from him having his prime years in St. Louis and winning a championship there. The HOF is littered with borderline players that, because they were a Cardinal, won the affection of a few more writers. See Schoendienst, Ted Simmons, Sutter, Ozzie (gasp... yes, I said Ozzie Smith), and now Rolen. If Ozzie had the same numbers, but played his defense and did his backflips in San Diego for 20 years, you think he's a HOFer? No chance.
I have no problem with the Bengals becoming the villains. When ridicule and condescension gives way to disdain, disgust, fear and jealousy-it means that you've truly arrived as a franchise.
The one thing I never understood was the reported feud between Rolen and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. That supposedly led to his departure from the Cards, whom Rolen should have played for through the end of his major league career. Lucky for the Reds.
Simple today: Very happy to see Scott Rolen get the Baseball HOF nod. Congratulations to Scott. Oh yeah, wish I was out there in Bloomington, IN playing catch with him and his son - or even just watching. Side note: If you haven't been there, make the trip to Dyersville, IA and visit the "Movie Set" Field of Dreams. Then, especially you Doc, enjoy the simple quiet town and its people.
Jan 25, 2023·edited Jan 25, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
It's amazing to me how a future HOF guy can come to a new team late in his career and still provide that extra missing piece needed to get everybody to the top of the hill. It just shows how much greatness is inspirational, even when physical skills are sliding slowly into the back side of a career. Brady's Tampa Bay ring has the same feeling to me. Happy for Scott Rolen. He displayed quiet greatness for a long, long time. Ultimately the voters recognized how spectacular his numbers were and did the right thing. Credit to Jocketty for getting him here, btw.
He could definitely make a good manager, but not here now, with the situation the Reds are in. I see him elevating an already good team to the next level. Guys enjoy playing for quiet, no-nonsense, smart managers.
My theory on JV's selection of Jolene: Being a man of eclectic tastes, he has found room in his heart for the song. Knowing that the likelihood of the opposition possessing such a broad palette is small, he believes that Dolly's Appalachian twang and heartsick lyrics might destroy the pitcher's timing and perhaps temporarily disable a position player or two. Or, you know, maybe he just digs Dolly. I know I do!
I am not sure we need to lionize Kyle Kempt. 71st best player in Ohio that year, went to Oregon State for two years and never played, transferred to a juco where he did not play, scout team at Iowa State for a year, finally played his fifth year before getting injured in his sixth. Give me Gunner Kiel and Hayden Moore instead of a guy who could not see the field for 3 years at two of the most mediocre P5 schools. Lots of reasons to hate on Tuberville, but I don't think this is one of them.
The garish J Burrow fashion show on the national stage last year struck me as incongruous with his personality, and came off just short of him trolling the big stage. It got him a lot of ink, and digital ink these days translates to sponsorship greenbacks. Someone’s gonna get the deal, so why not Joe? So I appreciate what has so far this year appears to be a conscious choice to look this a guy picking up his kids from school between Zoom meetings.
I disagree with many people that believe that statistics alone should determine who gets in the HOF. Players like Rolen and Perez were leaders who made their teams significantly better. They were willing to hit behind the runner or take a pitch so a runner could steal a base. They brought character and a winning attitude and kept teams together. Rolen was a key factor in turning the Reds around, and Perez kept the Big Red Machine together. The Reds never won another World Series after the Reds let him go.
My mornings lost something for a while.... I couldn't wait till 8am (MT) for the TML to drop. Then you retired and the enquirer lost a subscriber. Now all I have to do is enter my email and I get your column emailed... this is great! My morning is complete again! Thanks Doc.
Scott Rolen is great! I don't think he is a HOF'r. We love him because he brought the reds to maturity and the playoffs. Only a few leaders in the clubhouse had a similar impact just sheerly with professionalism and a business like approach, Greg Vaughn comes to mind in the 90s.
I don't care if they call the Bengals the villains. Eli Apple certainly embraces that role. It is just so fantastic that it is middle of January and the topic of conversation isn't about who we are going to take with our top 5 pick.
Jan 25, 2023·edited Jan 25, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
Interesting note on Rolen's walk up song. I was the one playing it for him day in and day out. I don't recall choosing a song for him as I have for several other players over the years, but it sure as hell doesn't sound like something I'd just pull out of the air! Must've been a suggestion from someone in the front office. I honestly just don't recall. 23 seasons as Game Day DJ tend to blur together a bit.
I binged Netflix's "Drive to Survive" last year and now I'm one of those idiots who's into F1 despite never watching a race. Verstappen and his boss, Red Bull Team Principle Christian Horner come across as jackasses, which I thought might have been the result of clever/manipulative editing of Netflix, until he refused to let Checo go ahead of him in one of the last races in 2022 despite having already won that year's title. Managers plead with him on the radio to let Checo pass and he still refused.
Anyway, Joe Burrow, cocky as he may be, is nowhere in the same level of villainy as Verstappen.
And yes, I am a Lewis Hamilton fan and "support" Mercedes-AMG (Toto Wolff fascinates the hell out of me). Must be my German upbringing.
Busbee...ugh! I've heard of guys being jealous, but this guy is disgusting. Someone always has to squash our pumpkin, don't they?
I love this music...it's a great driving in your car song. Nice sound...turn it up!
I like Rolen, and I'm happy for him. But I think he's more of a Hall of Very Good guy. Maybe the WAR argument might convince me otherwise if I look at it a little more, but his inclusion probably enlarges the room a bit. And if we're going to count defense for Rolen, Ozzie Smith, etc, what do we do with Andruw Jones who was an elite defender (better than Rolen) at a premium defensive position for 10+ years, and had 10 straight years of very good offense? Is 10 years enough? I don't know, apparently not according to the writers. Albert Belle also had an incredible 10 year offensive stretch, but he was a meanie-pants. It's really hard to take the HOF seriously (and maybe we shouldn't?) knowing how, why, and by whom a lot of these players are/are not selected.
I will say Rolen's candidacy undoubtedly benefitted from him having his prime years in St. Louis and winning a championship there. The HOF is littered with borderline players that, because they were a Cardinal, won the affection of a few more writers. See Schoendienst, Ted Simmons, Sutter, Ozzie (gasp... yes, I said Ozzie Smith), and now Rolen. If Ozzie had the same numbers, but played his defense and did his backflips in San Diego for 20 years, you think he's a HOFer? No chance.
Rolen was amazing. I miss that team.
I have no problem with the Bengals becoming the villains. When ridicule and condescension gives way to disdain, disgust, fear and jealousy-it means that you've truly arrived as a franchise.
The one thing I never understood was the reported feud between Rolen and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. That supposedly led to his departure from the Cards, whom Rolen should have played for through the end of his major league career. Lucky for the Reds.
Simple today: Very happy to see Scott Rolen get the Baseball HOF nod. Congratulations to Scott. Oh yeah, wish I was out there in Bloomington, IN playing catch with him and his son - or even just watching. Side note: If you haven't been there, make the trip to Dyersville, IA and visit the "Movie Set" Field of Dreams. Then, especially you Doc, enjoy the simple quiet town and its people.
Read the Yahoo column yesterday. Like you, I had no idea what the dude was talking about. Nonsense intended to get a click, I guess.
Love that Rolen is in the HOF. Great player and leader.
Thank you for continuing the TML. I just rediscovered it a couple of weeks ago. I'm a daily reader again.
It's amazing to me how a future HOF guy can come to a new team late in his career and still provide that extra missing piece needed to get everybody to the top of the hill. It just shows how much greatness is inspirational, even when physical skills are sliding slowly into the back side of a career. Brady's Tampa Bay ring has the same feeling to me. Happy for Scott Rolen. He displayed quiet greatness for a long, long time. Ultimately the voters recognized how spectacular his numbers were and did the right thing. Credit to Jocketty for getting him here, btw.
He could definitely make a good manager, but not here now, with the situation the Reds are in. I see him elevating an already good team to the next level. Guys enjoy playing for quiet, no-nonsense, smart managers.
My theory on JV's selection of Jolene: Being a man of eclectic tastes, he has found room in his heart for the song. Knowing that the likelihood of the opposition possessing such a broad palette is small, he believes that Dolly's Appalachian twang and heartsick lyrics might destroy the pitcher's timing and perhaps temporarily disable a position player or two. Or, you know, maybe he just digs Dolly. I know I do!
I am not sure we need to lionize Kyle Kempt. 71st best player in Ohio that year, went to Oregon State for two years and never played, transferred to a juco where he did not play, scout team at Iowa State for a year, finally played his fifth year before getting injured in his sixth. Give me Gunner Kiel and Hayden Moore instead of a guy who could not see the field for 3 years at two of the most mediocre P5 schools. Lots of reasons to hate on Tuberville, but I don't think this is one of them.
The garish J Burrow fashion show on the national stage last year struck me as incongruous with his personality, and came off just short of him trolling the big stage. It got him a lot of ink, and digital ink these days translates to sponsorship greenbacks. Someone’s gonna get the deal, so why not Joe? So I appreciate what has so far this year appears to be a conscious choice to look this a guy picking up his kids from school between Zoom meetings.
Thanks for shooting down the wahoo on Yahoo. I saw his column early, before reading TML. My assessment was some people just love sharing their crap.
I disagree with many people that believe that statistics alone should determine who gets in the HOF. Players like Rolen and Perez were leaders who made their teams significantly better. They were willing to hit behind the runner or take a pitch so a runner could steal a base. They brought character and a winning attitude and kept teams together. Rolen was a key factor in turning the Reds around, and Perez kept the Big Red Machine together. The Reds never won another World Series after the Reds let him go.
My mornings lost something for a while.... I couldn't wait till 8am (MT) for the TML to drop. Then you retired and the enquirer lost a subscriber. Now all I have to do is enter my email and I get your column emailed... this is great! My morning is complete again! Thanks Doc.
Scott Rolen is great! I don't think he is a HOF'r. We love him because he brought the reds to maturity and the playoffs. Only a few leaders in the clubhouse had a similar impact just sheerly with professionalism and a business like approach, Greg Vaughn comes to mind in the 90s.
I don't care if they call the Bengals the villains. Eli Apple certainly embraces that role. It is just so fantastic that it is middle of January and the topic of conversation isn't about who we are going to take with our top 5 pick.
Interesting note on Rolen's walk up song. I was the one playing it for him day in and day out. I don't recall choosing a song for him as I have for several other players over the years, but it sure as hell doesn't sound like something I'd just pull out of the air! Must've been a suggestion from someone in the front office. I honestly just don't recall. 23 seasons as Game Day DJ tend to blur together a bit.
Just saw a video of Scott telling his parents...
Heartwarming!!!
I binged Netflix's "Drive to Survive" last year and now I'm one of those idiots who's into F1 despite never watching a race. Verstappen and his boss, Red Bull Team Principle Christian Horner come across as jackasses, which I thought might have been the result of clever/manipulative editing of Netflix, until he refused to let Checo go ahead of him in one of the last races in 2022 despite having already won that year's title. Managers plead with him on the radio to let Checo pass and he still refused.
Anyway, Joe Burrow, cocky as he may be, is nowhere in the same level of villainy as Verstappen.
And yes, I am a Lewis Hamilton fan and "support" Mercedes-AMG (Toto Wolff fascinates the hell out of me). Must be my German upbringing.