Buster Olney Feels Bad For Jose Altuve. Oh, Well!
Jose Altuve has a case of the yips. The Houston Astros' second baseman is throwing the ball all over the field right now and has three errors in the last two games. After the game, Buster Olney tweeted his support and empathy for the struggling Altuve.
Jose Altuve's throwing struggles are really hard to watch. He's a good person and really cares, and even under the best of circumstances, he takes it to heart when he lets teammates down -- for example, failing to get a hit with runners on base. So this must be crushing for him.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 14, 2020
As a fan of the sport and a person who has played baseball, it's tough to watch something like this happen and know that it is mental. It's a persistent problem that some guys never are able to shake. It's the kind of thing that can derail a career and devoid of any context, you really do hate to see it.
*CLEARS THROAT*
[Stephen A. Smith voice]: HOWEVER!
Jose Altuve is the mayor of Yip City right now. You really do hate to see it. pic.twitter.com/1xLSJdusgd
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) October 14, 2020
Nah, bruh. Screw that cheater. He doesn't deserve any sympathy from anyone. He and his buddies cheated their way to a World Series and he stole an MVP. He was the face of the worst scandal in modern baseball history. Too bad, so sad. You only hate to see it in the most schadenfreudian way.
He's a good person? He's a cheater. He really cares? So did the pitchers when they threw him a breaking ball he knew was coming. He doesn't like letting his teammates down? Wow, that must be rare in sports. He wants to drive in runs? Even more rare! It's crushing him? Big f'n deal, buddy.
There are plenty of guys who deserve our empathy right now and Jose Altuve is not high on that list. If Buster Olney wants to feel for him, that's his right, but you didn't need someone to bang a trash can to let you know people were going to disagree.