Nice gesture by Phillips....

[mattfeet]

From john fay:

"As many of you are aware, Brandon Phillips does not talk to me. It goes back to spring training. We had a brief period where we were on good terms. But it blew up again when I asked him about not hustling. He doesnt talk to Mark Sheldon of mlb.com either.

So today on my way to the ballpark, I stopped at the Cuban place around the corner from the hotel and had a bowl of soup. When I went to pay, the waiter said it had been taken care of. Phillips was the only other person in the place.

I thanked him on my way out.

Youre welcome, he said.

We left it at that. Whether hell talk to me or not, I dont know. But it was nice gesture.

Phillips has handled his recent slump well. He seems to be coming out of it, which is very good sign for a team headed to the postseason."

[zacharync]

Nice stuff there. I am fan of BP as a person as well as a player. Takes the time to sign for fans and the whole bit.

[DocRed]

nice job BP...

Now...as far as John Fay..WTK do you expect when you basically call someone lazy?

[Krawhitham]

nice job BP...

Now...as far as John Fay..WTK do you expect when you basically call someone lazy?

Maybe for them to stop be lazy while collecting 7 million

[FlyerFanatic]

i can understand being upset a writer asked about that, but to shun them and never talk to them again? phillips is that fragile? come on BP, thicken your skin.

[texasdave]

nice job BP...

Now...as far as John Fay..WTK do you expect when you basically call someone lazy?

In the article it stated Brandon Phillips doesn't talk to Mark Sheldon either. If you can't get along with the Cincinnati media that should tell you something about the player as well.

[Pony Boy]

I think fans tend to underestimate how much media criticism effects players. It is an odd relationship that a lot of fans don't understand. You have these writers who you see everyday and are friendly with and then you open up the paper and they are accusing you of being lazy, or a bad teammate or whatever. The writers are just doing their jobs, but it is completely understandable when a player is offended and pissed off about it.

[1990REDS]

What did Sheldon do to upset BP?

[DocRed]

Maybe for them to stop be lazy while collecting 7 million

That's fine, but don't cry about when he no longer will give you an interview.

[kfm]

Why is their relationship a news story? Who cares if Brandon likes, loves, dislikes, hates or will simply not speak to some media guys. Who would infuse themselves into a story about themselves. I could understand if he hit him or cursed him, but he will not speak to him. Why does anyone care about this?

[Pony Boy]

Why is their relationship a news story? Who cares if Brandon likes, loves, dislikes, hates or will simply not speak to some media guys. Who would infuse themselves into a story about themselves. I could understand if he hit him or cursed him, but he will not speak to him. Why does anyone care about this?

I think the unwritted rules regarding writers infusing themselves into the story have changed with the decline of print media and the role of blogs, twitter etc. in covering sports. The days of beat writers only reporting the box score and what is said in post-game interviews is over. And it is a good thing.

[KOBasinger]

Good for BP. Hopefully he does start playing well and is over this horrible slump.

[markymark69]

The point of the post and the point of story is a positive - why must the majority of this board have to inject negativity into every blasted post.

Phillips is not the first player to shun the media and he won't be the last - either way it was a nice gesture and it was pretty cool that Fay mentioned on it his blog, because he didn't have to.

You can argue whether it's news or not, but it is nice to see a player commended for a good gesture.

[kfm]

I think the unwritted rules regarding writers infusing themselves into the story have changed with the decline of print media and the role of blogs, twitter etc. in covering sports. The days of beat writers only reporting the box score and what is said in post-game interviews is over. And it is a good thing.

Not sure if it is a good or bad thing. However, the idea that if beat writers do not infuse themselves into their stories there is nothing left to report other than boxscores and post game interviews is simply not accurate. Not sure about how infusing yourself into your coverage of a team is a good thing, but I would be interested in why you think it is. You seem to be convinced that it is and I would just like to understand why.

[kfm]

The point of the post and the point of story is a positive - why must the majority of this board have to inject negativity into every blasted post.

Phillips is not the first player to shun the media and he won't be the last - either way it was a nice gesture and it was pretty cool that Fay mentioned on it his blog, because he didn't have to.

You can argue whether it's news or not, but it is nice to see a player commended for a good gesture.

I was certainly in no way trying to be negative. It was nice to see a story that showed a player in a positive light. However, I was simply trying to engage in a discussion about the newsworthy nature or even the appropriateness of media members relationships with players. I understand this is not what your intent was and perhaps I should have just started another thread that discussed this, because I do share your frustration that many on this board can see negativity in almost anything. Sorry if I added to your frustration because I certainly do not want to contribute to the excessive negativity that exist on this board especially considering we have a first place team with an incredibly bright future.