It's really hitting the fan now in Philadelphia. As the Phillies sink lower and lower into the standings, the frustrations were sure to mount. Is it really any surprise that the first Phillie player to let his frustrations boil over would be reliever Brett Myers after giving up two home runs to cost the Phils a win they desperately had to have ... and especially after a reporter seemed to bait him into losing his cool?After the game, Myers got into a shouting match with a reporter and had to be restrained by teammate Pat Burrell.If you have any pre-conceived notions on who the reporter was, think again. Michael Radano of the Courier-Post explains after the jump:When Myers was asked about the two home runs, he said they were really "just pop ups." A reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer questioned whether Myers really thought they were pop ups, and Myers got angry.
"You're not even a beat reporter, you're a fill-in, you don't know anything about baseball," said Myers, who then called the reporter "retarded." The Inquirer reporter asked if Myers could spell retarded, and Myers stood up. Burrell then restrained Myers, and Myers refused to speak any further.
Brett Myers did indeed have a run-in with a reporter and for those of you that know this beat, not the one you think. Myers and many members of this team have long considered this reporter to be confrontational and when pressed, Myers called the reporter a name and questioned his knowledge of the game. At which point the reporter turned confrontational and the two got into a shouting match. No punches, no blood, really no big deal.So you have the one side of the story where Myers blasts a reporter. And you also have the other side of the story where Myers was goaded by a member of the Philadelphia media. The media has a history of allegedly orchestrating blow-ups (Radano himself said that this happens "several times a year"), and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that this Inquirer reporter knew that he was making a better story by being a smart aleck. It will be interesting to hear this reporter's side of the story, whoever he may be.
My feeling is if Myers really was angry enough to hit someone he would have and then we'd really have a story. Instead, we had a heated debate which we have several times a year. Should Myers apologize, probably but it's not as big a deal as some will have you think.
But Myers should know better than to give in to this circus. Yes, it was a tough loss ... and yes, the Philly media can be smarmy sometimes. But losing it in front of reporters, even in the heat of the moment, isn't going to do him any favors. And "retarded" may not have been the best choice of words. So yes, Brett was wrong too. Can't anybody in Philadelphia get along?
Upon Further Review: Major arm bash to Beerleaguer to posting the audio clip of the blowout (and to a commenter who pointed it out as well). While the reporter (Sam Carchidi) may have been partly at fault for pushing Myers over the line, the bulk of the flames were fanned by Myers, whose "retard" comment came on the response of an innocent remark by Carchidi. Although the circumstancial evidence pointed towards both men, the audio proves, at least for me and my ears, that Myers deserves most of your scorn. Or as they say on the playground: "He started it!"
Previously on FanHouse:
Did Howard Eskin Orchestrate his blow up with Charlie Manuel?
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Brett Myers- really, just an all around good guy.
Posted at 1:15AM on Aug 26th 2007 by Vegas Watch
2. Why should Myers be any different than the Phillies' batters...they can't hit anything as well.
Posted at 6:25AM on Aug 26th 2007 by Joe F
3. Gotta love the way the media works, eh? Your team's struggling, got injuries. . . let's go see if we can irritate the guy who just had a bad game, get him to lose his temper. What the hell is that? No class.
Posted at 10:58AM on Aug 26th 2007 by PFS
4. When you call two home runs in the ninth inning pop ups you simply have no credibility.
Posted at 7:00PM on Aug 26th 2007 by Eric Wisener
5. What the reporter did was completely unprofessional and childish. Of course, Myers is at fault himself, but there are some mitigating circumstances with him (i.e. he just lost the game on two cheap homers, and he's a spaz to begin with)
What's the reporter's excuse.
Posted at 11:25PM on Aug 26th 2007 by Bender
6. At least that tough guy picked a fight with a man this time. probably went home and took it out on his wife
Posted at 9:02PM on Aug 27th 2007 by rob s
7. Using the R word should be the real issue here. Unfortunetly, many people don't understand that this is just as offensive as using the N word.
Certain shock jocks use it like it's going out of style and so it has gained popularity with the general public, mainly desensitized teens. If he used the N word he would probably be put on probation, minimum.
Stop & think. This is a very hurtfull word. Time to grow up and realize that some people are dealt a bad hand to no fault of anyone. Misusing this word is one of the worse things you can say. Thanks for reading.
Posted at 11:47PM on Aug 28th 2007 by Joe
8. You can hear the audio at Beerleaguer. The reporter (the Inquirer's Sam Cachidi) asked Myers about the two home runs, Myers said they were pop-ups and asked Cachidi what he thought. Cachidi very diplomatically said he disagreed, and that's when Myers lost it, calling him f-ing retarded. Cachidi then jokingly asked "can you spell 'retarded'?" as if he were jotting down notes, seemingly to try and defuse the situation and not to goad Myers into a further blowup. Unfortunately, Myers went into flip out mode. Listen to it for yourself.
This is not a situation of the Philly media being jerks. This is a situation of a classless, angry, wife-beating pitcher getting asked a question he didn't like by a reporter who was just doing his job. Case closed.
Posted at 9:21AM on Aug 29th 2007 by mike
9. Oh, what the hell. You go and piss off a guy who's just blown a game. Add in that he's a bullpen guy, and they tend to be *weird*. Add in that he's a closer, which is high-stress in the best of times. What did the news dude expect him to do, stick his tongue out?
No, Brett shouldn't have lost his temper, but no sympathy to the idiotic reporter who pushed him that way.
Posted at 12:11AM on Aug 30th 2007 by snood199