2K24: Philadelphia Phillies

[chancellor]

totally depends on Hamels' relationship with the media and how long the prank lasted.

hard to believe, but this is an actual professional working environment.

so if someone pulled the fire alarm at an office, and it was taken so seriously that work product was lost in the scramble, that would not be treated as funny and someone would eat a shit sandwich. in this case, there is a risk of an actual viral public frenzy that gets away from even the Phillies.

for those of you, almost everyone, who don't put out public information in real time - as your competitors do - you have no idea what you are talking about. the quick screenshot suggests a reasonable scramble, but this is a clueless athlete.

that said, this bit could have played out with us 25 years ago, pre-internet, we'd have scrambled, no way to get it out to the public, then a confession - and all in good fun. but not anymore. doesn't seem malicious, but it was amazingly ignorant of the era.

as noted in the link, the writers can all spread an inaccurate rumor about him on an off-day, he starts scrambling - and then the joke is on him.

wrong era, sorry

anyone who still likes it, list your occupation and what similar real-time, publicly noticed scramble for you would be as amusing. or stand down.

again, I get that Hamels was just being playful. but he was also ignorant and clueless, as I explained. I do look forward to the details I will read about equally public pranks in other fields of posters that are just as entertaining.

I will not hold my breath, however, just because.

Wow. Now I understand Media Entitlement Syndrome a whole lot better. Some of you guys can dish it out, but you sure as hell can't take it. Hornsby, to his credit, actually gets it.

Shall I recount all the false trades the media has inaccurately recounted from "sources" - or, given some of them, I'm pretty damn sure were Jayson Blair'd - done to Hamels already? And those are just the "sure to happen" deals, not the "rumored" deals.

[Judge Jude]

"And those are just the "sure to happen" deals, not the "rumored" deals."

numerous examples of that would be helpful and easy, I assume, thanks to google.

and you are creating a straw man. anyone who actually reports a "sure to happen" deal that doesn't happen is unprofessional. and you conveniently ignored my observation about what can be sporting and playful in 1990 and what doesn't work (like this) in 2015.

even the media has a workplace, where people should be professional. maybe someone can offer a parallel gag in their industry that will immediately play out to the general public, note the havoc it could cause you, and explain to me why it would still be so amusing.

[wannabegriffey]

"And those are just the "sure to happen" deals, not the "rumored" deals."

numerous examples of that would be helpful and easy, I assume, thanks to google.

and you are creating a straw man. anyone who actually reports a "sure to happen" deal that doesn't happen is unprofessional. and you conveniently ignored my observation about what can be sporting and playful in 1990 and what doesn't work (like this) in 2015.

even the media has a workplace, where people should be professional. maybe someone can offer a parallel gag in their industry that will immediately play out to the general public, note the havoc it could cause you, and explain to me why it would still be so amusing.

Hey JJ. I think the point you are making has some life but it was HAMEL who made the joke about HAMEL. He didn't disrupt another player's life. He just had some fun at the relentless media's expense. I thought it was kind of humorous...

[chancellor]

"And those are just the "sure to happen" deals, not the "rumored" deals."

numerous examples of that would be helpful and easy, I assume, thanks to google.

Sure, he was all but traded to the Cards after the Wainwright injury; all but traded to the Cubs during the off-season; all but traded to the Yankees after Tanaka's issues arose. And I've lost track how many times he's been sure to go to the Red Sox.

Mind you, I'm aware MLB front offices have been involved in some of these - Mozeliak of the Cards has especially fanned the flames ("If you get into May and early June and you don't feel like the internal options are the solution you were hoping for then you might have to look outside", for example) - but, a lot of this has just been speculative crap.

So after all of this, Hamels cleans out his locker and takes his name plate off, and you guys get punk'd and you can't take it? Boo frickin' hoo. If you have sold the few shreds of media integrity you have left to get the first tweet out, and you get burned because you can't or won't take time to check a story out, you deserve what you get.

[Hornsby]

even the media has a workplace, where people should be professional. maybe someone can offer a parallel gag in their industry that will immediately play out to the general public, note the havoc it could cause you, and explain to me why it would still be so amusing.

Why do assume that the clubhouse is YOUR workplace? It most assuredly is not...it's the players domain that you are allowed to be in, by MLB rules, for a period of time every day. And I know for a fact that most of them tolerate it because they have to, not because they like it. And one of them decided to play a HARMLESS prank on a group of people that invade their space on a daily basis...hell of a lot better than having a guy be a total dick and give one word answers, no answer at all, or hide in the trainers room.

[overkill94]

can someone in the media make a joke about him being traded, to the point where Hamels' family gets all agitated because of the apparent new location where he is moving? now THAT would be hilarious. if not, why not? or all players not professionals?

and as I said - and it's an enormous distinction - 20 years ago, VERY different story. then it's all inside the clubhouse stuff, and that can cut both ways - and did. so either it can cut both ways again, now, too, or it can't. you pick.

Your counter-example is irrelevant - no one in the media thought they had to move when Hamels pulled the prank. At worst they get some egg on their face if they run with the story which gets refuted hours later.

[Pogues]

Why do assume that the clubhouse is YOUR workplace? It most assuredly is not...it's the players domain that you are allowed to be in, by MLB rules, for a period of time every day. And I know for a fact that most of them tolerate it because they have to, not because they like it. And one of them decided to play a HARMLESS prank on a group of people that invade their space on a daily basis...hell of a lot better than having a guy be a total dick and give one word answers, no answer at all, or hide in the trainers room.

I'm just here so I don't get fined.

[Judge Jude]

"no one in the media thought they had to move when Hamels pulled the prank"

great point. no need to scramble around trying to get ahead by getting confirmation. if 5 other outlets beat you to the punch, no boss would mind, not at all. the writers don't have to, and shouldn't, immediately assume anything. but if you think they didn't have to race around like a chicken with their head cut off, you don't understand the business.

I get that people would think it was funny at first, and at least one person seems to have realized the issue once it is explained. Not sure why it's hard to grasp AFTER it's explained, aside from reinforcing of stereotypes.

[Erik]

totally depends on Hamels' relationship with the media and how long the prank lasted.

hard to believe, but this is an actual professional working environment.

so if someone pulled the fire alarm at an office, and it was taken so seriously that work product was lost in the scramble, that would not be treated as funny and someone would eat a shit sandwich. in this case, there is a risk of an actual viral public frenzy that gets away from even the Phillies.

for those of you, almost everyone, who don't put out public information in real time - as your competitors do - you have no idea what you are talking about. the quick screenshot suggests a reasonable scramble, but this is a clueless athlete.

that said, this bit could have played out with us 25 years ago, pre-internet, we'd have scrambled, no way to get it out to the public, then a confession - and all in good fun. but not anymore. doesn't seem malicious, but it was amazingly ignorant of the era.

as noted in the link, the writers can all spread an inaccurate rumor about him on an off-day, he starts scrambling - and then the joke is on him.

wrong era, sorry

anyone who still likes it, list your occupation and what similar real-time, publicly noticed scramble for you would be as amusing. or stand down.

again, I get that Hamels was just being playful. but he was also ignorant and clueless, as I explained. I do look forward to the details I will read about equally public pranks in other fields of posters that are just as entertaining.

I will not hold my breath, however, just because.

FFS, you're taking this WAY too seriously. Most members of the sports media deserve every prank they get.

[Judge Jude]

"Most members of the sports media deserve every prank they get."

wow
I give up

[Erik]

That's how I feel. Most of them come off as asshats who get butthurt over the smallest things and too often make the story about themselves. Twitter is the worst thing that ever happened to the sportswriting profession.

[Cobain's Ghost]

[YourPalChrisMal]

But what about those poor, poor journalists who want to push the story (and be FIRST, damnit, FIRST) without any corroboration or verification? What about them, huh? You really gotta feel for those poor souls.

Can someone explain to me why it's so important that a journalist is "First" to report something? Do they get extra money? Why would they get more credibility for it? I don't think fans give a crap. The Internet is so quick, that even if you're first, everyone else is just 2 seconds behind you anyway. It's not like you're really getting info to anyone tangibly faster. It always cracks me up when I heard how so-and-so reporter broke the story first. I'm always thinking, "Who gives a shit? We all would've known within the same 5 minute window one way or another."

[Sour Masher]

I get JJ's general point, but I'm with the Hamels' camp in this case, because the prank was about himself, and if anyone deserves to be able to play it, it is Hamels, who, as has been pointed out, has had to deal with the stress of false trade rumors for a long, long time.

And I also get those who call for journalists to not get caught up in the frenzy to get news out quick, and focus instead of getting it right, but surely we all understand how difficult that is in this social media age. The benefit of "breaking" a story is that you and/or your employer gets cited again and again by others, and gain cred as a place to go to get sports news. If you are always getting scooped by others, even if it happens because you are trying to adhere to doing your journalism the right way, by fact checking and fighting the spread of false rumors, I imagine you won't have your job for long. And a news outlet that always reports things after others becomes redundant, and it won't last long either.

Of course, that is a problem, I agree. It is a damn shame, really, and a detriment to journalism as a whole. But it is a systemic problem. It forces most journalist to race to the scoop as fast as they can. I don't blame the journalists, but I also can't blame Hamels. In fact, while the prank may have left egg on the face of some journalists, it also shed light on the bigger systemic problem, so that is a net positive to me, even putting aside Hamels' right to spread rumors about himself, given everything he has been through.

[revo]

Chase Utley to the DL with an extreme case of suckitis.