"Suppan a good guy?" or "Why the Brewers have the Same Record as the Pirates"
I'm trying to figure out why I'm seeing so many people make comments about Jeff Suppan being a “good guy”. Is it because he smiled a lot? Or because he claimed to have Christian values? I don’t know too many people who truly follow the words of Christ that think they should be paid 40 million dollars to do ANYTHING, let alone completely suck ass at it the way Suppan did (god it feels good to use the past tense).
Based on all I know about him, he is a greedy bastard who didn’t care one bit about his team or its fans. If he did, he would have quit baseball a long time ago and given the Brewers and their fans their money back.
Obviously, I don’t really think that Suppan should have done this, as no professional athlete is that generous or honest. But I also don’t think we should spend one second feeling bad for him, especially since the Brewers through away a handful of games and valuable experience that players with a future could have used, just to gently keep him on the roster for a couple of months.
And we wonder why the Brewers aren’t winning games. Winning is obviously not the most important thing on the organization’s agenda. And the worst part is the good players can sense it. Why is Trevor Hoffman still on this team? He has proven for two months straight that he cannot pitch to major league hitters without giving up home runs. But we won't cut him because "oh, he has the most saves ever" and "he was good before". Why is Rickie Weeks still leading off? He's within striking distance of being the first leadoff hitter ever to lead the league in strikeouts. But no, "Rickie likes to bat leadoff" or "he'll have to adjust." When the Brewers organization decides to make decisions based on winning, and not on the pride or feelings of the players, we'll start to win games again.
And don't even get me started on why Ken Macha should have been fired a month ago.
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"Based on all I know about him, he is a greedy bastard who didn’t care one bit about his team or its fans. If he did, he would have quit baseball a long time ago and given the Brewers and their fans their money back."
have you EVER known a professional athlete to do that? Point is, the Brewers made a contract with him. He fulfilled the contract, as there is no specific language of how good he had to be to get paid. All he had to do is show up for work every day, which he has done.
Let the Suppan bashing end with his stay in Milwaukee. It’s time to move on.
P.S. “Threw away” not “through away”
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 8, 2010 6:39 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Saying he's greedy because he tried to play out his contract makes no sense
Also, saying he is a good guy is not the same as feeling bad for him.
Failure is just success rounded down.
by TheJay on Jun 8, 2010 7:29 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Why wouldn't they let him?
It’s not like his pay would have been slashed.
Failure is just success rounded down.
because it could cut his future earning potential
I dunno. I guess I perceive the MLBPA as being bullheaded and not seeing that players can actually improve their stock by working on some things in the minors, especially relative to getting cut.
But you’re right…maybe they’d be just fine with it.
As Morgan Ensberg just happened to say...
in an interview the other day:
Fans don’t know a thing about players. They know a "character" out on the field. They read their comments and they listen to their interviews and think that they know them. It is so far from the truth. Fans think that because they see guys every night in a game that they somehow have a understanding of if a guy is considered a "good guy or bad guy." The reality is that most fans think the "good players" are good guys, and the "bad players" are bad guys. It’s easy to trick fans.
But we think a bad player is a good guy.
by BrewCrewBrian on Jun 8, 2010 8:19 AM CDT up reply actions
To follow up on this:
We generally think Braun is pretty arrogant, and we love him for it.
by BrewCrewBrian on Jun 8, 2010 8:37 AM CDT up reply actions
Lets not let facts get in the way of a good Suppan bashing
I hate Jeff Suppan the baseball player as much as the next guy, but your assertions about him being gredy are completely unfounded. He is greedy because he made a lot of money? What was he supposed to do, counter the Brewers contract offer with a 4 year, $10 million contract?
As ironic as it is, the two Brewers of the last 5 years who have been the most charitable are probably Jeff Suppan and Eric Gagne. Suppan was the Brewers nominee for the Clemente award.
Who bats leadoff if you bump Rickie? I don’t even know if it is worth my time responding. Rickie has a .341 OBP, gets walked a ton. You want our 21 year old shortstop batting first? Free-swinging Gomez? Counsell? How about Fielder?
If you were manager or GM for a team you would never get any player to come play for you because you would cut everyone after going 0-4. Maybe I am just in a bad mood today, but the idiocy of your post just made me downright angry at your sophomoric attempt at fake knowledge, and angry that I wasted my time responding.
by LosinCatmansLove on Jun 8, 2010 8:39 AM CDT reply actions 8 recs
He gives thousands and thousands of dollars every year to charity
He was a terrible pitcher and I don’t feel sorry for him while he finished the rest of his days swimming in 40+ million dollars. But to say he is greedy is ridiculous. The Brewers gave him that insane conract.
My goodness.
by BrewHaHeather on Jun 8, 2010 8:44 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
As to Rickie
he hasn’t been bad enough to be benched. Although Kottaras has a better OBP, and thus would make a better leadoff hitter if he maintains current stats, if you slot him in as #1, he’s going to have a dropoff in walks, as our #2 hitter is more of a threat than #9. Then again, he’ll probably eventually see a rise in his BABIP, so his AVG may go up and his OBP might be stable. In any case, Weeks will likely soon take more walks and HBPs to help out his OBP.
Hoffman – I agree. Unless he improves dramatically, he’s even more useless than Suppan. Suppan could pitch a couple of innings in a blowout, giving rest to the rest of the staff. Hoffman can only pitch one inning. In any case, I’m willing to give Hoffman a little bit more rope based on legitimate past performance, but not a hell of a lot of it (rope). I’ve already got the noose tied.
Kottaras is a statistically aberration
He has historically been good at getting on base, even in the minors, but batting .217 with a .390 OBP just doesn’t happen.
by LosinCatmansLove on Jun 8, 2010 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions
Has “Rickie likes to bat leadoff” ever been given as a reason for why he bats first? I’ve never heard that.
Get a ife broseph
well..
AIR he did say in an interview 2-3 years ago that he prefers to hit leadoff.
I think it was a little bit before Soriano made a similar statement, so there was a bit of talk about both saying that they wanted to be leadoff hitters.
Makes sense, I would hope that a guy who bats leadoff prefers to bat leadoff. I think its a stretch to say that is why he is batting leadoff (which the original post implies, not you Pags).
I think most people would agree that in a perfect world he bats second, they just don’t have any other options to hit 1st, and haven’t for a few years now.
Get a ife broseph
Thank you for your wisdom, O Supreme Arbitrator of Value.
I don’t know too many people who truly follow the words of Christ that think they should be paid 40 million dollars to do ANYTHING
it's somewhat traditional for members of a church (Catholic? Lutheran?) to pledge (tithe) 10% of their income to the church
but I don’t believe there’s a biblical prohibition against the accumulation of wealth or the acquisition of material goods. Jesus didn’t have a lot of material goods, so some people attempt to emulate this behavior, but I don’t believe is was one of his teachings per se.
And (to the OP) it wasn’t Suppan that demanded $40M. It was the Brewers who offered that. He had other clubs (I assume) offering at least $30M. Why should he deny himself the receipt of legitimate legal and ethically obtained money if it is offered? He can always donate whatever he receives in excess of what he believes he’s earned to a suitable charity.
I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention Suppan's religious values
but Matthew Chapter 19 does make it fairly clear that getting into Heaven isn’t the easiest thing to do when you’re rich. Whether donating heavily to charity counters some of that… well, I guess only one way to know.
I don’t know Jeff Suppan personally but I have qualms believing he was a good guy who just couldn’t pitch very well the last couple of years.
Thanks for your contributions to the community, sucks it didn’t work out, have a nice life, book closed…
"I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention Suppan's religious values"
Google Jeff Suppan and Patricia Heaton
or Jeff Suppan religion. He’s been pretty open on his religious right views.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 8, 2010 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions
I guess I meant
I never heard anyone try to defend his play on the field by mentioning his religious values. Maybe that tends to be more of a subconcious thing? If I didn’t read it here, I’d have never known he was a religious person.
He did seem like a nice guy
But using your influence as a major league ballplayer to tell people that researching a cure for Parkinson’s is wrong is a stupid and selfish thing to do, especially when one of the leaders in genetic research is the University of Wisconsin.
by nullacct on Jun 8, 2010 9:35 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
on the other hand
the case for stem cells is grossly overinflated in the media, predominantly by Michael J. Fox himself.
stem cells alone are not a silver bullet in the treatment of Parkinson’s or any other degenerative disease.
(FYI, I worked with a lab for about 2 years that did and continues to collaborate with Dr. Jamie Thomson)
agreed
Stem cells are not the only solution. But it doesn’t make him any less of a douchenozzle for sticking his mug into the middle of a political argument. We watch things like sports to forget the madness of politics, not be reminded of it. And that goes for Kurt Warner and Reggie White and Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods and anyone else who thinks their aptitude at sports makes them credible – just shut up and play.
If you want to give to a charity and do nice things, go for it. If you want to use your status as a sports star to find another way to bring politics into my home, feck off.
by nullacct on Jun 8, 2010 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions 6 recs
I would like to Rec this twice
Once for the use of “douchenozzle,” and once for the actual statement.
by BrewCrewBrian on Jun 8, 2010 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
How is it any different
than using influence to try to manipulate any other issue? Are you saying that only people who have no influence in the public sphere should try to have an influence on issues like this? It’s an issue he cares about and feels strongly about on moral grounds. You can’t possibly fault a man for trying to fight for something he feels is right regardless of his position.
Now that I read your second post I see that you mean that
somehow someone’s existence as a professional athlete disqualifies him from having an opinion. Regardless the argument against this changes very little. Who are you to dictate that what a man does for a living should impact whether or not he can have an opinion and express it publicly?
by levnclf on Jun 8, 2010 11:38 AM CDT up reply actions 4 recs
Rec'd
because it’s exactly what I was gonna say. Lots of athletes actually take a lot of criticism for not speaking up about anything.
If he has strong views, it’s his right to use his platform to preach about them. Whether you agree with his views or not, why shouldn’t he be allowed to speak out?
http://www.mlbsoup.com
by tcyoung on Jun 8, 2010 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Bullhockey
If they want to speak out they can start by covering their own backyard – speak out about steroids, maple bats, and HGH. But they lack the courage to take responsibility for their own behavior and want to lecture me on politics? No thank you sir.
Are you saying that baseball players should only be allowed to speak on baseball-related issues?
There’s no reason why being famous should restrict anyone from being allowed to voice their opinion on any issue… not just ones related to their profession.
You may not like what his stance is on specific issues, but that’s no reason to say that he doesn’t have a right to support it.
Pujols is the Barack Obama of baseball.
This post is stupid.
1. Are you really THAT worked up about a BASEBALL player? You really felt the need to try to prove that this man, Jeff Suppan, who has donated more to charities than you will probably ever make in your life, is an horrible human being simply because he’s not that good at his job?
2. Weeks has a .343 wOBA (I know, I know, you probably have no clue what that is) which is above the league average.
3. Strikeouts have been shown to have no appreciable correlation to run production.
Now go away.
Are you trying to tell me Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?
by baumann on Jun 8, 2010 11:49 AM CDT reply actions 3 recs
I can't throw a curveball
but if I could, I’m not sure I’d throw one to Jesus. I’d probably stick with the Suppan BP fastball. That way, if he misses, no one could say I was trying to deceive him or anything like that.
I was throwing a nasty curve/sinker to the Braunophile yesterday
We’re playing catch after school, and he tosses me a ball that I notice has a slight tear on the cover right next to one of the seams. I went with my knuckle-curve grip, pressing my middle finger down on the torn spot, reared back and snapped one straight towards him. It went nice and level, then dove into the dirt about five feet in front of him. I was able to do that consistently about 4 or 5 throws in a row. Considering my general lack of pitching talent, it makes you appreciate why they don’t allow scuffed balls in MLB.
Whether or not JC could hit it, I don’t know. I’m sure Vlad Guerrero could, but he’s a notorious bad-ball hitter. I’ve heard that JC always goes up there looking for the middle-in fastball, then adjusts if the pitcher gets ahead of him. I’d probably start off with a brushback pitch to move him off the plate, then go for the outside corner. Worst case scenario is I bean him, but I know he won’t charge the mound or encourage his team to relatiate given the whole turn-the-other-cheek philosophy.
There's a pretty funny Bukowski short story about Jesus plaing baseball.
Pujols…he’s actually underrated
Probably wrong about this
And maybe going to hell, but I’d guess that Jesus would have been a Craig Counsell type, never hitting for power or average, but a decent OBP. He’d probably play short and be known mostly for his glove.
Now Saint Peter
He’s the rock you could your rotation around
by drezdn on Jun 8, 2010 1:13 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
What about Sea Man?
Failure is just success rounded down.
by TheJay on Jun 8, 2010 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
nice post
i dont agree, but at least you made a point. if you dont have a strong opinion, then you don’t have an opinion, i suppose.
sorry if somebody already posted this (got bored half way through after LosinCatmansLove’s post…but where was the part about “Why the Brewers have the Same Record as the Pirates”?
I think that was a
Dr. Strangelove-esque reference. Although then I’d go with
or: why I learned to love the suck that is the Brewers record.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 14, 2010 10:05 AM CDT up reply actions
Probably a nice guy but...
I have no reason to think that Soup isn’t a nice guy. What makes little sense is that the particular moniker is almost exclusively attached to him. After all, do we have cause to think that the rest of the team are not congenial, good people, just like Soup? It seems to me that it has more to do with the fact that he self-promotes his charitable involvement and wears his religious “values” on his sleeve. All of the brewers do charitable work and some of them do a lot of it, its just that it’s hard to notice because they don’t spend an equal amount of time telling everyone about it.
And btw Pags, “Jesus didn’t have a lot of material goods, so some people attempt to emulate this behavior, but I don’t believe is was one of his teachings per se.” I’m not a big Jesus guy but jesus that is a ridiculous thing to say.
Fair enough
it’s been a while since I read any New Testament stuff. Are you saying that Jesus (not Paul, et al) did prohibit the accumulation of wealth of his followers? I know he had issue with the money changers at the temple, but that wasn’t because they were becoming rich, but rather HOW they were becoming rich as well as the fact that they were violating the sabbath right outside their place of worship (which they did not attend).
I admit that which you quoted was a poorly constructed sentence, as the last phrase in the sentence referred to the previous sentence, so as pasted is a bit out of context. I just don’t see why it’s a ridiculous thing to say, but I guess this isn’t a religious studies blog so I (and sdsow) shouldn’t have brought it up to begin with.
by PagsBrewCrew on Jun 14, 2010 6:39 AM CDT up reply actions





































