I'm certainly not rooting against the success of Tony Gwynn Jr., but I can't say that I'm rooting for it, either. I've long said that if this kid's last name wasn't Gwynn, he would have been out of the major leagues a long time ago. Too many Brewers fans thought this guy was going to be our centerfielder of the future - myself included - but we were all duped by him as he constantly underachieved when he did find himself on the Brewers roster. And even though the guy we traded him for, Jody Gerut, has turned out to be garbage, I'm not unhappy about the TGJ era being over in Milwaukee.
With this being said, you can imagine my dismay when the main article on ESPN.com was a puff piece about how Tony Gwynn Jr. is fitting in brilliantly with the Padres, following the footsteps of his dad. Check out Tom Friend's article here.
As a Brewers fan, you don't need to get halfway through the article before you realize just what a load of crap it is. That's where Quevedo at the Buffet comes in. Just one week ago, I was upset with this blog for their bashing of the Bucks' Brandon Jennings pick, but now I will happily sing their praises. Quevedo takes Tom Friend to task hardcore in their latest post, for overlooking many facts in an attempt to make it seem like the Brewers really let one get away in TGJ. Here's a preview (Quevedo's comments are in italics):
First, (Milwaukee) signed Mike Cameron, even though Cameron had to serve a 30-day suspension to start the season. And when Little T went down with a hamstring injury (after beginning the season 4-for-7)...
Yes, friends, your eyes don't deceive you – that's a sample size of SEVEN AT-BATS cited as proof that TGJ was off to a good start in '08. I also enjoyed the part where Tom Friend (he's another dude whose full name must be used at all times, I've decided) glossed over the fact that the guy couldn't even stay healthy for five fucking games at the start of the year; nothing like taking advantage of your (allegedly) long-overdue opportunity by blowing out a wheel in the first series of the year. Carpe diem, indeed.
...they fell in love with another center fielder, Gabe Kapler. The timing couldn't have been worse.
… except for the Brewers, who went 8-12 in April and May with Gwynn (when he wasn't on the DL), and promptly ran off a 58-30 stretch between the time TGJ got sent down (May 23) and got called back up (September 1).
2 comments:
You were pissed at us for bashing the Bucks taking Jennings? Why didn't you say something? It's much more fun to debate the pick than to have all of us (with one exception, if I remember correctly) agreeing that it was an exceptionally shitty choice in an exceptionally shitty draft.
So, do tell: What, exactly, excites you about taking Bra-Jen? The fact that he couldn't get on the floor for his Italian team? That he didn't show up for a work-out in Europe when a bunch of NBA GMs showed up just to see him? That he called Ridnour a "bum-ass n*****" (undoubtedly the only time the N-word has been used in connection with Luke Ridnour, BTW)?
Oh, you did say something; I just saw your post from the 25th. My bad.
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