Benson, Ramirez apparently held to different standards
PITTSBURGH – It was a rough week to be on the Pirates beat and not just because there was a daylight robbery in the media parking lot. There were ill feelings and not just because the centerpiece of the $7 press dinner one night was potentially lethal stuffed cabbage.
No, there were bigger fish to fry (By the way, greasy hunks of fish were the $7 fare on Thursday, the same day the pre-noon parking lot heist took place).
The problem was we didn’t get anything right.
Pirates hitting coach Gerald Perry suggested third baseman Aramis Ramirez’s lousy batting average was our fault.
“I think it starts with all the negative press that comes out about him,” Perry said. “There’s been a lot of pressure on this kid.”
Of course, if the Pirates wanted to ease the pressure on Ramirez, they could yank him out of the cleanup spot and they could have avoided signing him to a contract that pays him $3 million this season and $6 million next year. Those are the kinds of things that create expectations and the dreaded “pressure.”
Isn’t Ramirez the same player of whom Manager Lloyd McClendon said on April 20, “It’s time to grow up?” He said he delivered that very message to Ramirez in a morning one-on-one meeting on that Sunday.
But Perry is new here. When he’s more in tune with the vibrations of the clubhouse, he’ll discover that some of Ramirez’s harshest critics are also his teammates.
Then, after Kris Benson failed to hold a 2-0 lead, McClendon accused the media of hyping Benson’s potential while ignoring his relatively modest accomplishments.
Don’t talk about him as a No. 1 starter until he pitches like one, McClendon mildly scolded. Benson didn’t pitch an especially good game, allowing three runs in six innings. Kenny Lofton cost him one run by misplaying a ball in center field that was generously scored a double.
Benson wasn’t terrible, either. But these are frustrating times and Benson’s inability to morph into Curt Schilling is irritating a lot of people connected with the Pirates.
For him, there are expectations and the media is apparently at fault for not holding Benson to them.
But it’s wrong to expect more than .219 and one home run in 42 games from Ramirez who, two years ago, batted .300 with 34 home runs and 112 RBIs.
Trying to figure it out is enough to make you dizzy. Even if you had the good sense to bypass the stuffed cabbage.
Another on the long list of reasons why you should tune into Bob Walk’s version of Pirates broadcasts:
On Friday night, Walk immediately noticed that Arizona pitcher Matt Mantei was infuriated by Randall Simon’s showboating after a 12th inning tie-breaking home run. Walk noted that Mantei was screaming at Simon and that plate umpire Dana DeMuth positioned himself between them.
Play-by-play man Lanny (Hi, Friends) Frattare pointed out that both benches were warned by DeMuth. Those interesting details were missed by the TV crew.
Rumors have been around for a while that Fox Sports is anxious to dump the nightly “Sportsbeat” phone-in show.
In that context, last week’s dismissal of longtime co-host Guy Junker isn’t that surprising.
“Sportsbeat” draws an audience, but it galls the Fox suits because it’s a slow-moving radio show on television, not nearly cutting edge enough for Fox.
Fox’s idea of a sports discussion show is more along the lines of the national network’s “The Best Damn Sports Show,” which, of course, isn’t.
ESPN’s Chris Berman did a brief, mildly contentious interview with the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand last week.
Berman disputed the idea that he has a shtick or that what he does is a redundant, self-absorbed act that overwhelms the games he covers. In fact, Berman disagreed with most of Marchand’s analysis of his work and finally grew exasperated enough to say, “I think you are putting way too much thought into it.”
Which is something no one will ever accuse Chris Berman of doing.
John Mehno can be reached online at: begin johnmehno@lycos.com johnmehno@lycos.com end
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