When I wrote my anti-Journal-Sentinel/Tom Haudricourt screed the other day, I wasn't planning on revisiting it, ever. But I got more emails related to it than I'd ever gotten for one post on this site, and I wanted to add a few things. Some of my new correspondents are in a better position to judge Haudricourt and Witrado than I am.
So here's what there is to add:
- As far as I can tell, no one likes Tom Haudricourt as a person. Nobody.
- Tom actually thinks--and I quote: "The most respected blog on the Brewers is our blog on the JS." Fantastic.
I do have one bit of potentially useful insight, too.
I've heard this before, but I was reminded: Tom is the one guy who challenges Ned in post-game pressers. That, I suppose, is to be commended, especially if your biggest beef with the guy is that he's an apologist for the team. (I never minded that--if I was living with these guys for six months out of the year, I'd only say nice things about them too.)
This time, though, it made me think. Haudricourt seems to be an insecure, unlikeable guy, and that's what Ned gets to deal with after every game. I rarely hear Uecker's pre-game show, but when I was in Milwaukee last month, I caught one of them--Ned sounded pleasant, and didn't even say anything objectionable.
My point is: I wonder if some of the testiness that some of us dislike so much in Yost stems from having to deal with Haudricourt? That isn't entirely an excuse--some managers are better at dealing with that sort of thing than others, which is why a small group of guys seem to survive in New York--but it does do some explaining.
Ok. Now that's out of my system, and I'm really done this time.