Are the Astros at Fault for the Tejada Ambush?
Baseball, ESPN, Race April 23rd. 2008, 11:45amLast week, the reader consensus was clear: ESPN ambushed Miguel Tejada. Charles Barkley thought it was racist, Dan LeBatard didn’t think it was journalism, NYC radio puppy Chris Russo got all handsy last night talking about it on Letterman, and the Houston Chronicle goes after the WWL today. After watching the E:60 segment last night, we’ve got a few questions for the Astros and Tejada’s clueless agent:
- Your player/client is under FBI investigation and he was named in the Mitchell Report. Why’s he sitting down for an interview with anyone about anything?
- Is this a good time to remind folks that Houston traded for a guy who was always thought to be a steroid user … the day before the Mitchell Report came out?
- That last point leads us to believe that Houston clearly didn’t do its homework on Tejada. If ESPN could find the guy’s birth certificate, how come Houston had no interest in protecting its multi-million dollar investment and looking into it?
Finally, it was just pointed out to us on gmail chat: Does what Gary Sheffield said last year about the media “taking advantage” of minority players have any merit? Surely you haven’t forgotten Rick Reilly asking Sammy Sosa to pee in a cup, right?
Few give a hoot about Tejada’s age (Houston Chronicle)
48 Responses to “Are the Astros at Fault for the Tejada Ambush?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 am
This has nothing to do with Gary Sheffield. Why would they go after a player who is “easier to control?”
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 am
I’ll accept that it was kind of bush league to “go after” him like that … but please, for the love of Barck Hussein Obama, tell me what was “racist” about it?
Anyone?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
Trading for him the day before the Mitchell Report came out was easily one of the dumbest moves EVER. And I don’t say that lightly, the Astros gave away 5 players for this guy who could go to prison.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
That E60 segment made me feel like I was watching a tabloid headline report from Hard Copy.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
Please tell me that ESPN didn’t get what it wanted to get all along in this fiasco: RATINGS. It’s very disheartening when you read the Houston Chronicle article and he says that it’s bush league but he watched it anyway.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
was the E:60 just the interview or did they show more information about Miggy? Did they reveal his real name?
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Ever since Latin America started government sponsored breeding programs in an attempt to get more of their citizens to MLB, this was bound to happen. Can’t we just treat these Latin players like horses and have all of their ages go up by a year on January 1st?
/Now THAT is a racist comment.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
What’s been swept under the rug amidst the ESPN bashing is the fact that everyone has kind of accepted the fact that, hey, these latin-born players are told to lie about their age, so no harm there!
Clubs should be doing extensive background checks. The Astros are as much in this mess as anyone else.
Also, kudos to Russo for taking The Jug to task on television. That entire interview was sincere and felt like he and Dave were talking in a cab on the way to a ballgame.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Who is this Chris Russo? What kind of radio show does he do?
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
What’s been swept under the rug amidst the ESPN bashing is the fact that everyone has kind of accepted the fact that, hey, these latin-born players are told to lie about their age, so no harm there!
No. This is about busting a guy that everybody disliked anyway on an issue that isn’t steroids.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I find it hard to believe that Oakland, Baltimore, and Houston were not aware of his real age. When a MLB team signs a player from the Dominican Republic MLB sends an investigation team to do a background check on the player (if anyone is into following baseball prospects there is a huge controversy surrounding an Indian’s signee from the DR; MLB had to fire all the investigators).
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
This is like Dateline ambushing Charlie Manson for cheating on his taxes.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
The ‘Stros didn’t make a dumb move. The O’s were the ones who got had. Troy Patton, the jewel of the trade, is injured goods. Most likely, he will never pan out. No one believes that the ‘Stros never thought about the Mitchell Report. However, by claiming they didn’t think about it, they can try to look less guilty about trading a talented local kid for a known juicer.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:11 pm
How exactly did the O’s get had? They got rid of an aging, overpaid, over the hill shortstop.
The Astros gave the O’s Luke Scott, who looks like a potential star, don’t know crap about the other guys but Tejada didn’t want to be in Baltimore and he was doing nothing to make the O’s any better.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Astros? More like “Dis-Astros”! (cuz it sounds like disaster, you see)
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Luke Scott his horrible, trust me, I’ve been watching him. Troy Patton was the guy the O’s traded for, and he’s out the whole year. The ‘Stros probably knew this when they traded him, but the O’s can’t prove it. Word is that they’re pissed. First Glenn Davis, now this.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I’m pretty sure none of the Astros fans care that he was on the Mitchell Report as long as he is hitting .370 and hitting HRs.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Well if he continues to bat over .300 and that makes him horrible then I will take Scott’s horrible skills anyday.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
WFAN host of their mid-day show, Mike & the Mad Dog
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Chris Hansen should ambush the Astros GM. “Mr. Purpura are you aware of the age of Miguel Tejada”
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
This is a legit story, but it would have been back-page news at any top-tier newspaper. What’s infuriating about it is how ESPN is pumping it in every medium they can and FLAT-OUT TRYING TO RUIN A GUY.
It should be beneath ESPN and the journalists they employ, but instead it fits right in to their petty, sensationalist MO.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
cbh, as a long time Astros fan, believe me when I say that Luke Scott will show flashes of brilliance but it’ll never quite come together. Ever time he was given the starting job in the outfield with the Astros he failed to produce up to expectations. You can expect about 15-18 home runs and maybe about 50-70 RBIs from him. So he’s an alright player, but don’t make any mistake, the O’s wanted Patton in the deal and now they’re left with egg on their faces because of his season ending injury.
Yes the Astros trading for Tejada the day BEFORE the Mitchell Report came out was extremely short sighted and fans in Houston love him right now as much for the fact that he’s 9 for his last 11 and his downright raking, but what about when his 33 year old body starts to slow down in August?
My humble opinion is that the Orioles will be better off in the long run (if Patton can make a full recovery) but right now, neither club looks good in this trade.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I don’t think Scott will keep hitting .300. He hit .255 last year and is hardly young at 30.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
YYSA, Ed Wade is the Astros GM. Purpura was fired late last season.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
excuse my ignorance, but is he the mad dog?
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
@August
It’s all about image and popularity. If ESPN would use these powers for good, or use them fairly, it would be a good thing. My problem is that there are a lot of “popular” bad guys out there, and they let them get away with it (Reggie Bush comes to mind). But if there’s a jerk that nobody likes anyway (Pacman, Chris Henry, Tejada), they “release the hounds.”
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Great points MS, gives me some insight to Scott, which I admit, I had very little of.
I was a huge Tejada fan when we signed him but then he started complaining, he was playing crappy in the field, and he wasnt running out ground balls, I just wanted him gone.
I am going to an O’s/Astros game when they play this year, just for the fact that I want to boo Tejada every time I can.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Who didnt like Tejada?
Pacman and Chris Henry have been arrested over 17 times in 2 years. Thats a pattern that deserves a story.
I dont have an explaination for the Bush thing except to ask you what the NCAA has done about it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
My bad ms621. Judging on the Valverde trade and Tejada trade they probably should have kept Purpura
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I know a lot of people who didn’t like Tejada. He’s the Brady Anderson of ten years later.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I don’t think Scott will keep hitting .300. He hit .255 last year and is hardly young at 30
Robert, he hit .355 the year before. He’s only played 2 full seasons, so it’s hard to say what his average will be. in fact, .300 is the median here.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Does anyone care that Tejada is 33? What does it matter? I think thats the bigger news. ESPN took a story that doesn’t make a difference at all and tried to embarass a guy. Danny Almonte lying about his age is one thing considering there are age restrictions.
A former MVP lying about his age shouldn’t be a big deal. Should it? Baseball is more about your numbers than your age anyway. What if it came out tomorrow that John Smoltz was 48? Who cares?
Thats the bigger point. ESPN tries to be hard hitting and takes the wrong story to do that with and now looks like clowns.
Am I the only one that likes Tejada? He is carrying my fantasy team right now.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
YYSA, I certainly don’t disagree. Purpura made some mind numbing trades too though: Jason Hirsh and Willy Taveras for Jason Jennings? I nearly drove down to Houston to shoot Purpura in the kneecap for that one. I think the Chronicle beat writer for the Astros said it best when he wrote that though the Astros traded Brad Lidge he was nice enough to leave some of his closing curse behind for Valverde.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Brady Anderson was juiced up for 1 season. Miggy has been excellent for 9 years running. A specious comparison.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I had to stop reading after I saw someone describe Luke Scott as a potential star. That’s funny.
I loved the potential of Luke Scott. I did not love the actual production of Luke Scott. He’s too old now to still be a “prospect” with “potential”…
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
It was weird seeing the Astro highlights in SportsCenter last night then when he had a couple big hits…are the anchors allowed to say anything about this (like could Berman call him Miquel “Danny Almonte” Tejada?)
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Glad I could make you laugh grunge, I laugh when people call Tracy McGrady a superstar, one of the most overrated NBA players in the league.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Coming with the fire today, cbh!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
cbh, I don’t recall calling McGrady a superstar. I think I called him the exact opposite yesterday in my diatribe!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Am I the first one to suggest that this story is newsworthy but the execution was what is bothersome to viewers? The fact that ESPN felt it necessary to show the video of Tejada being embarrassed. There was no need. Was the interviewer trying to get a name for himself? Why not just write a standard story and post it on the WWL? It’s the squirm factor that is upsetting to most people.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
You did Grunge, I just needed to find a Houston dig in there somehow, Tejada will only disappoint you Astro fans, trust me. He always starts hot, but then the errors will pile up and the average and power will dip.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Then his skin will sag and his grandkids will start to bug him about taking them to the zoo. He’s done for by June 1.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Does it really matter? I think the Astros were mathematically eliminated by Tax Day.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Haha, he might be deported by then.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
@ grungedave
In the NL Central, nobody except the Reds and Pirates is eliminated until about August… I swear nobody wants to win this division the past few years.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
unfortunately, chris russo is the mad dog, owner of the 20+ year radio show that can at times be AWFUL to listen to.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
This just in: Ed Wade couldn’t manage a bakery. I blame him.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Next week they will stake out Roger Clemens’ house over some unpaid parking tickets when he was in Toronto.