Urban Responds to AN

Buuuuuurn!

I have never had a beef with any of his articles in the past so I would never hold a grudge anyway.  What an important asset Magnum P.I.??? really is and I hope he continues to regularly show up at AN.

Mychael - keep stirring up crap! Keep us informed on everything. :-)

Well dont Blez and well doen Mychael.

Oh, and thanks for the new signature line, too!

this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.  bradley wasn't exactly behaving like a model baseball player, urban's column may have gone too far, and ANers probably overreacted to the whole thing.

From all other accounts I've read, the players really seem to like him; he adds depth to a very weak lineup, and he threated to kick Boston fans' asses. Really, what's not to like?

It was just a little surprising reading all those accounts, and then reading your piece on how the players are sick of his act.

Maybe I'm biased; I think Bradley is one of the best things to happen to the A's this year, when healthy, and I'm not so much concerned with his innapropriatness at times. Lord knows, SOMEONE on the A's should be innapropriate. ;)

My beef was the whole fair reporting issue, but if it's an op-ed piece, that argument is bunk. So, while I may fear what the article does to the clubhouse, I can't really rally against with the points that I was.

Besides, maybe it got Milt fired up....didn't Milton's absolute bomb in Detroit just scream, "Urbaaaaaaaaaaaan"???

He is a good enough writer to be responsible for the words he writes.  He stands for what he wrote and admits that it was harsh instead of saying that it was a matter of interpretation or some other line that journalists use to dodge responsibility for their writing.

I still feel that he could have made the same points in the column about Milton without the unsourced insinuations, and it would have been a stronger column generating less 'friendly fire'.

M? Yes we were mean and cruel in the thread regarding you personally. I said then that I thought that and I still do. However,as for the criticisms of your article you have to expect criticism as a writer. Bradley has been a lightning rod for our A's when he plays and that inspires loyalty in the fans and appreciation. That was the catalyst for the anger. I like to see some sources sited when I read gossip. So keep that in mind ok? <g>

You gotta hand it Urban, he certainly knows how to work a crowd. First of all he writes a butcher job, a personal character attack, on a player and then he not only BLAMS the player for the peice but he then comes onto AN and justifies it! And he wonders why some on AN bit back in a personal way-"The personal attacks were a bit much". Gee, I wonder if Bradley said the same thing right after reading Urban's trash.

To recap, some of Urban's handy work:

"Now that Beane's success has increased the value of OBP, he's looking for weaknesses elsewhere, and what he's apparently discovered is that so-called "problem players" are undervalued"

"One of Beane's problem players is Milton Bradley, and he's becoming a bigger problem by the day"

"Bradley has five-tool talent, which is what enticed Beane into trading away his top outfield prospect, Andre Ethier, to get him. But he also has about seven screws loose."

"Until Saturday, Bradley had been on his best behavior. Of course, it's easy to behave when you're on the disabled list, which is where Bradley has been for most of the year."

And my favs:

"So on the A's moved to Baltimore, where the Orioles fans aren't exactly known for being harsh. But they certainly got under Bradley's skin, and Bradley gave them plenty of material with one of the weakest acts seen since the World Cup ended."

"After stumbling while rounding first base on Wednesday, Bradley appeared to be injured, and badly...There must have been some kind of medical magician in the dugout, because Bradley was back out on defense the next inning, even diving for a ball."

"So the fans let him have it, and rightly so."

Dat a boy Urban, you're a real hero.
 

It takes a lot of courage to face a site like this and give them your side of the story. Many may not agree with what you did, but like everyone else on this site, you are entitled to your opinion.

I have always looked at you as one of 3 reporters I believe and trust to deliver the truth. My confidence in one of the three was shaken earlier in the season and to see this article made me sad. But I knew that it was you, so there had to be something to it. Your response today solidified that thought.

I don't want to believe the worst about Milton, especially because he is quickly becoming one of my favorite players on the team. And honestly, if his issues are mostly with opposing teams' fans, I can absolutely live with that. It is when he starts to impact the other 24 guys on the team that I will begin to worry, and so far I have not seen that.

I truly hope that the mean spirited comments aimed at you in the last week do not effect your opinion of the site as a whole. I especially hope it does not effect your writing and your decisions to include certain details in your stories.

Thank you Mychael for having the guts and the grit to face us head on, and remind us all that we DO NOT know the whole story, and probably never will.

One not-so-hot article does not change the fact that you are one of my favorite sports writers. Keep up the good work!

And as for unnamed A's players voicing concerns? Sure, who isn't concerned? But named A's players are defending MB.

I'm glad Urban is willing to respond to Fan criticism of his article...but it doesn't cancel out that criticism.

I thought this was funny:

That, along with the fact that we find out he's been writing this column for a year-and-a-half--is that right?--goes to show one very important point that's being overlooked here:

Nobody reads the Examiner.

I think there was overreaction all the way around, and I think I'm guilty of it, too.  So...

<moves on>

Beat Boston, for the love of Pete!

I understand it is his opinions -- but where does he get off making these statements?  By his own admission in his MLB.com Mailbag

Here are, however some quotes from the Examiner article about this person that Urban "does not know"

So to summerize:  Bradley is the reason we will fall out of first, he of the seven loose screws.  Bradley then faked an injury on the field (why he would even think that is beyond me) and in conclusion all the A's are sick of MB and also sick of Macha letting him run amok.

I understand that these are his opinions, but shouldn't a journalist be responsible or at least accurate?  I mean the first quote about the A's not being in first much longer if the Bradley problem is not nipped in the bud makes no sense.  Is he suggesting trading him? benching him? Anger managment?   If you are going to make a statement like that at least back it up with what you think the A's should do to nip it in the bud.

Next, the "seven screws loose" comment.  Shoddy journalism at best.  I mean you are already trashing the guy, is it really necesary to resort to name calling?  But I guess that is what tabloid journalism is all about....

The "medical magician in the dugout" comment really pisses me off.  Is he saying that Bradley just does not give a shit to the point where he would intentionally make an out for some sort of sympathy play?  And then he is not even smart enough to pretend to stay injured (to keep up the ploy), as he later comes back to make a diving catch?  We have not seen Bradley play as much as we would like, but he has played hard the entire time we have had him able to play and I can't see any reason that he would pretend to be in pain.  To speculate that he does not hurt that much and should have gotten back to the bag is okay for AN blog posters, but journalists should have more integrity and realize that maybe, just maybe, it hurt like hell for a minute and then he was able to walk it off.  Guessing on the amount of pain a person is in is tough for doctors who are actually examining a patient.  Not sure how Urban would be better at it while watching from the press box.

Finally, the quote about how all the A's are tired of his act and that Macha is an enabler.  He did cover this a bit in his interview w/ Blez and backed off the entire team being tired of his act.  Still to even make that comment where every single quote from an A's player says how much they love Milton's fire is just incorrect.  You have to at least say (in general terms) how you know this.  Overheard clubhouse chatter?  A quote from a current athletic who will remain annonomous?  To make a blatant statement like that with nothing to support it is the height of irresponsible.

I could keep going (I really hated this hatchet job article) but I think I have ranted enough on this.  I just hate to see him getting so much props for coming on (which he does deserve some) and not enough accountability for what he actually said.

These stats astound me: .320 AVG, .413 OBP, 9 HRs, twice as many BBs (44) as Ks (22)--in 270 ABs.

Scott Hatteberg. Apparently not so done.