Fire Michael Urban Now!
Okay, so maybe I'm a little upset that he NEVER takes my questions for his mailbag or a little jealous that he gets PAID to follow my team around all season and all the other things that make his life (basebally speaking) better than mine!
But, I have noticed that, I only find myself agreeing with what he says, oh, I don't know, about 10% of the time!
For example, in his latest MB over at www.oaklathathletics.com he's for Erstad ("I think he'd fit in beautifully") and I'm against him. Not a big deal, given how rarely we agree, but I bring it up because I find it funny that he would print a question in favor of Erstad when I'd say the loud majority of us A's fans are against Erstad coming to the club.
The other mailbag question that killed me is Urban's usage of Jason Kendall as a comparison to Kurt Suzuki! Ouch! That's just down right mean! And he meant it to be a good thing!!!! Again, a stance I would submit to be against the majority of A's fans.
Then there was the whole Ken Macha vs Kotsay mess he says he knew about and keep quite and the fact that that I don't think I've ever read an article/opinion from him that's not right in line with Wolff and co. Hey, and now that I think about it, Mr. Urban's book, which I bought and read (things I rarely do both of) seemed a little too alright with the whole breaking up of the Big Three for my taste. Hmmm...could Mr. Urban be Wolff's own Fox News? I think so!
Therefore, without further adieu, I am calling for Michael Urban's firing. And, my subsequent hiring. All in favor, reply, those against...I think there's a great diary by a crackbaby you should read.
Seriously, is it just me or wouldn't every A's fan rather have a mlb source with a little more independent thought? I know he's speaks with you guys fromt time to time, what's the deal?
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A few things...
If we fired every journalist that the fans disagreed with... well, that's not a world I'd want to live in. Mainly because I am a journalist, but hey.
Fire oaklandfan40 Now!
Journalists have fact checkers?
Unless they work for the Enquirer ...
The Right has Fox, the Left has
Easy there, you two....
by Loon from Left on Jan 15, 2007 6:52 PM PST up reply actions
LOL...easy there Devo
Recently one of the tabloids announced Hillary's new running mate on the front cover....apparently it's Bigfoot. At least someone is taking this global warning crap seriously. That crap could be devestating to the pacific northwest, and I for one am glad Sasquatch is going to put a stop to it.
He's expected to carry
He just ate Wyoming.
Maybe He's actually a She..
Theres also research
Whew. Okay, got my political rant over with. No more on AN.
I love you devo. Let's go Oakland!
by nothinlikethetown on Jan 15, 2007 10:46 PM PST up reply actions
Actually, there isn't.
So, Focus on the Family
by Salvatore on Jan 16, 2007 11:32 AM PST up reply actions
No, I'm not.
And to prove my point, here's a nice snippet from Focus on the Family leader James Dobson's book, The Strong-Willed Child, in which he describes beating his dachshund with a belt to teach it it's place:
"Please don't misunderstand me. Siggie is a member of our family and we love him dearly. And despite his anarchistic nature, I have finally taught him to obey a few simple commands. However, we had some classic battles before he reluctantly yielded to my authority."The greatest confrontation occurred a few years ago when I had been in Miami for a three-day conference. I returned to observe that Siggie had become boss of the house while I was gone. But I didn't realize until later that evening just how strongly he felt about his new position as Captain.
"At eleven o'clock that night, I told Siggie to go get into his bed, which is a permanent enclosure in the family room. For six years I had given him that order at the end of each day, and for six years Siggie had obeyed.
"On this occasion, however, he refused to budge. You see, he was in the bathroom, seated comfortably on the furry lid of the toilet seat. That is his favorite spot in the house, because it allows him to bask in the warmth of a nearby electric heater..."
"When I told Sigmund to leave his warm seat and go to bed, he flattened his ears and slowly turned his head toward me. He deliberately braced himself by placing one paw on the edge of the furry lid, then hunched his shoulders, raised his lips to reveal the molars on both sides, and uttered his most threatening growl. That was Siggie's way of saying. "Get lost!"
"I had seen this defiant mood before, and knew there was only one way to deal with it. The ONLY way to make Siggie obey is to threaten him with destruction. Nothing else works. I turned and went to my closet and got a small belt to help me "reason" with Mr. Freud."
What developed next is impossible to describe. That tiny dog and I had the most vicious fight ever staged between man and beast. I fought him up one wall and down the other, with both of us scratching and clawing and growling and swinging the belt. I am embarrassed by the memory of the entire scene. Inch by inch I moved him toward the family room and his bed. As a final desperate maneuver, Siggie backed into the corner for one last snarling stand. I eventually got him to bed, only because I outweighed him 200 to 12!"
Extremist? The hell you say.
Somewhere out there
Someting is Smelly, Devo:
You know what that means?
You might want to look over the research that said last year that Fox News watchers were immensely more likely to believe that Saddam had WMD, and was connected to 9/11.
Just because a news outlet says Bush is a tool, doesn't make them liberal. It just means they pay attention.
don't confuse the issue 'oz
A) When ABC News White House correspondent Terry Moran told radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt that there is "a deep anti-military bias in the media." Added Moran, "One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying, and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I think that that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it's very dangerous";
B) When Newsweek's Evan Thomas said that media bias was worth five to 15 percentage points, meaning anywhere between five and 20 million votes for the Kerry-Edwards ticket in the 2004 election;
C) Bernard Goldberg's book "Bias," exposing the liberal environment at CBS and other networks, and the importance of holding the "correct" worldview.
D) Daniel Okrent, the former Public Editor of the New York Times, who wrote "if you think The Times plays it down the middle on any of them [social issues], you've been reading the paper with your eyes closed." As for its editorial page, Okrent wrote that it is "so thoroughly saturated in liberal theology that when it occasionally strays from that point of view the shocked yelps from the left overwhelm even the ceaseless rumble of disapproval from the right."
E) Thomas Edsall, former top political reporter for the Washington Post, told radio host Hewitt that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the press corps by a factor of 15 or 25 to 1.
I can go on and on. In fact, I have some really good Dan Rather quotes...if you want them.
If we're going there.
If you want to talk about media bias on Kerry, do you recall a certain Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and the reams of press they got questioning whether he awarded himself Purple Hearts? How 'liberal' was all that coverage exactly?
And Bernard Goldberg? Author of "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America" (and all happen to be liberal)? You're going there?
And the New York Times is liberal? Really? The newspaper that had the 'Bush is illegally wiretapping Americans' story and sat on it for a year while he won an election before finally mentioning it? The newspaper that ran pre-war front page daily breathless news items from Judith Miller, talking about all the WMD she'd seen in Iraq? That 'liberal' New York Times?
And Thomas Edsall... give me stength. Do you get all your information from listening to Hugh Hewitt?
Here's a link for you - Media Matters - go look at their front page. Go read the research. Go through it all and see how regularly the 'liberal' media is lying on Bush's behalf.
I mean, lansakes - the liberals were RIGHT on Iraq! Us 'hippy traitors' who said Iraq was a dumb move were all 100% right, but couldn't get a word in on the media, and you still want to play this 'the media are all lefties' game?
Good grief, CNN runs Glenn freaking Beck as programming. How much further right can you get?
Oz, Saddam
Yes, they did have them.
They haven't had them since '91. And if I was clever enough to read all the info that said as much before the war, I just wonder why Bush and his posse weren't.
Did that survey cover
oaklandfan40 is a journalist?
And fire his spellchecker!
I love how seriously everyone is here
- Did I write "fromt?" cuz I can't find it
- I REFUSE to spell Michael with a "y"
- Sorry I missed out on all this but was consumed with 24 (now there's a fox program worth watching)
- So then, it seems like everyone is okay with Urban's work b/c he works for the A's and they pay is salary? hmmm....that saddens me
- No, I have not been a journalist since I got kicked out of college journalism for writing Canseco's biceps were natural.
by oaklandfan40 on Jan 15, 2007 10:50 PM PST up reply actions
Nothing against you
You disagree with him. That in no way makes him a bad journalist.
No
- I doubt he is under much pressure to make the organization's baseball decisions look good. In that case, it is entirely justified for oaklandfan40 to wish him replaced.
- To the exent that he does approach his job such that he toes the company line in the mailbag, he is a flak, not a journalist.
Don't get me wrong, he is far better than the likes of Ratto/Jenkins/Knapp, but the guy is just not a good journalist.
Finally if he has dumbass opinions (which I don't really think he has), that would be a perfectly fine reason to want him fired from the mlb.com job.
urban is a hack
he was a hack long before people turned against him for the MB story.
if he's better than ratto/jenkins/knapp, it's only because he doesn't have as many opportunities to make an ass of himself.
he probably had hack parents and hack grandparents and someday he'll spawn little hack kids.
Even used car
by Salvatore on Jan 15, 2007 6:02 PM PST reply actions
I just realized
Back on the topic, I think he's a pretty good writer. Except for the whole Milton Bradley thing last year, I think he puts the team and players in the best light possible, in general. In my view, he's on par with Ken Korach and Ray Fosse.
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2006/7/20/94752/0333
by Flyin As on Jan 15, 2007 6:20 PM PST reply actions
He does a good job while respecting
Before rushing to judgement write him a few emails and you might be surprised.
by A s Eh on Jan 16, 2007 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
Don't get
by Salvatore on Jan 15, 2007 6:24 PM PST reply actions
fire his parents
by fadedash on Jan 15, 2007 6:30 PM PST reply actions
And while we're at it
The phrase you're looking for is "Without further ado", not 'adieu'.
I was listening to a college jazz station the other day. The woman/girl introducing a piece said 'without further ado' 7 times. That's at least 7 further ado's.... about something, at least (I believe it was "A Love Supreme")
can college radio hosts be fired?
by Cutthemullet on Jan 15, 2007 9:17 PM PST up reply actions
Just like any other MLB.com writer
Of course, anyone familiar with marketing techniques knows that it's never a good thing to express doubt in your product, so Urban has probably been instructed not to do that, but rather contstantly present rosy pictures of the team in order to get butts in the seats and TV ratings up.
In this vein, MLb.com is not paying Urban for his "baseball expertise and critical analysis of the team's moves" but rather for the human interest angle in those moves...the angle that Urban, while admittedly a homer, is quite good at presenting by NOT critiquing the team publicly.
I think Mychael's aware of how he kind of has to keep his mouth shut and toe the company line in order to get the best access possible access to the information his employer really wants...and he's admitted as much in a couple of interviews I've read with him.
I don't think we are the target demographic.
Fortunately, when the anodyne just doesn't cut it, there is all the niche on-line coverage catering to our many and varied obsessions, from the statty (Baseball Prospectus et al), to the snarky (Fire Joe Morgan), to the slutty (On the DL).
by green star oakland on Jan 15, 2007 7:32 PM PST up reply actions
indeed
by Cutthemullet on Jan 15, 2007 9:09 PM PST up reply actions
JLAFF is right
never got a response. but a restraining order was mail to me lol jk
he's still a good journalist no doubt
by 15andLovinIt28 on Jan 15, 2007 6:58 PM PST reply actions
the day
be the day he loses his job.
that's why a communicative medium like AN needs to exist.
by ConditionOakland on Jan 15, 2007 7:45 PM PST reply actions
I'm actually a large
As a former medium, I should
But you're on the right track
Ah-h-h-h-h-h, but that is all now in the past
by A s Eh on Jan 16, 2007 8:34 PM PST up reply actions
Seeing as he was the beat writer before Wolff...
Basebally speaking,
Waack
by Brian in 317 on Jan 15, 2007 8:21 PM PST up reply actions
You're not exactly
317
by Cutthemullet on Jan 15, 2007 9:03 PM PST up reply actions
watch out Nico
reference to the greatest thread of all time: http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/9/18/0432/46332
speaking of
by Cutthemullet on Jan 15, 2007 9:06 PM PST up reply actions
that is indeed...
by Cutthemullet on Jan 15, 2007 9:43 PM PST up reply actions
Problem is-
Side note: I abhor the convention of placing periods and commas inside ""'s.
Just adopt an English accent...
Thus: When Mr. Bounder of Adventure asked Mr. Smokestoomuch if people joked about his name "all the time", Mr. Smokestoomuch replied that he'd "never noticed it before."
by Loon from Left on Jan 15, 2007 11:15 PM PST up reply actions
"bolour" with a "k"?
Yes, well done Mr. Nico of Berkeley...
by Loon from Left on Jan 16, 2007 12:35 PM PST up reply actions
I don't know...
In lieu of haikus (secret ASian man, another AWOL ANer, only stops by to blast Ratto nowadays), this is how I've got to get by, heh. After that last sentence, now would be the time for some NYC college radio DJ to say "without further ado" seven times consecutively and not get criticized on the blog of a California-based baseball team for it (this is assuming that BronxAsFan doesn't make use of satellite radio to get access to like a college radio station from the UC system or something...hey, some people support alma maters in stranger ways than that. Actually, now pressed to think of an example of a stranger way to show support for one's alma mater, I can't. Subscribing to satellite radio in order to hear some freshman kill her radio career before it even started would indeed be the strangest.)
by Cutthemullet on Jan 16, 2007 12:10 AM PST up reply actions
or one well placed conjunction
by Cutthemullet on Jan 16, 2007 12:13 AM PST up reply actions
but if you REALLY wanted to keep the...
by Cutthemullet on Jan 16, 2007 12:21 AM PST up reply actions
can't help myself
Ok. That's pretty sweet.
by Cutthemullet on Jan 16, 2007 12:44 AM PST up reply actions
Ask and you shall receive
Wisdom, wit, irreverence.
Call on RLangford.
by Loon from Left on Jan 16, 2007 12:24 PM PST up reply actions
Only one inexcusable mistake....
For this, I agree, Michael Urban must be fired immediately and replaced by that brilliant, witty, literate and insightful writer, our good friend and faithful AN member, Mychael Urban.
by matthias on Jan 16, 2007 8:00 AM PST reply actions
Remember when Slusser wrote a piece on Swish...
She got frozen out for that, by players and management, and when Swisher got hauled over the coals by Beane (which was dumb, as the article didn't say anything negative at all), most ANers put crap on Slusser for saying what she said.
Now we put crap on Urban for NOT saying things that would cause problems.
You can't have it both ways, people. Either you want the guts on display, or you want it displayed only when necessary.
But I'll tell you what - if you think Urban can break a story that puts, let's say, Crosby in a bad light, and continue to get any useful quotes from him - or others - from that point on, you're kidding yourself. It'd be a suicide story.
If you want insider dirt, you go to the guys like Rick Reilly, who are big enough they can't be hurt by the blowback.
Favorite Reilly line:
"What did he eat? Fort Worth?"
I loved that article!
Another favorite line: "This interview is over!" He started looking around for security. "Over, motherf-----!!"
(Note to young sportswriters: Always make your steroid question your last question.)
I think I missed something
No, jeepers--
(Before anyone panics, a given user would not be given more than one "strike" for the string of comments they made in one conversation.)
If that's the case
<looks on hopefully>
Well, trouble is,
^^^^ bAnNeD ^^^^
Wait a sec
One lecture?
Just my opinion
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 16, 2007 7:07 PM PST up reply actions
Sounds like you have
That's sew typical
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 16, 2007 11:07 PM PST up reply actions
I don't want to turn into the politics police.
I'm with you there
But like talking about one's favorite fishing hole, I'm gonna shut up on the subject now.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 17, 2007 9:05 AM PST up reply actions

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