Ouch! Ironton Tribune Question for Reds GM (2/25)

[TeamBoone]

Kinda nasty!

Saturday, February 25, 2006 8:36 PM CST
Reds GM to field fans’ questions
Jim Walker / sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.

Spring training has begun. Exhibition games are right on its heels. The major league baseball season is right around third base.

With the dawn of a new season comes new hope for each fan. But with that new hope also comes some questions, and at this time of the year there are a lot of questions.

Maybe new Cincinnati Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky can offer some answers.

And Krivsky is going to answer YOUR questions, not some reporter’s. Whether it’s a good move for him or not, Krivsky is going to take a chance and speak directly with the fans.

Sort of.

Krivsky, hired Feb. 8 by new owner Bob Castellini to replace Dan “I accomplished very little” O’Brien, will chat online with fans for a half-hour Monday beginning at 11:30 a.m.

To participate, fans must register in advance by going online at reds.com or MLB.com

The Reds plan to open a chat line each Monday during the spring with a different member of the team participating.

Krivsky can expect questions about Ken Griffey Jr.’s health and his participation in the World Baseball Classic, how good is the Reds pitching and is there any way to improve the staff, are there any trades in the works, why did you trade Sean Casey and how soon do you think it will be before the Reds REALLY expect to contend for a championship.

I have a few questions, as you might expect.

Why was Don Gullett fired as pitching coach? He’s considered one of the best in the business. It’s not like his replacement Vern Ruhle worked any miracles.

Adam Dunn can hit, but can he provide the defense that Casey did?

How long will it be before we get rid of the color of black in the uniforms and become the Reds again instead of Pittsburgh West?

Will Mr. Red and Mr. Met finally meet in a battle to decide who is the most bland mascot?

Has Gapper been replaced, his hours cut back or discovered that the Philly Fanatic is really his long-lost brother and they were separated at the costume factory?

Will Wily Mo Pena be required to wear his batting helmet in the outfield for his own protection?

Will Ryan Freel be allowed to drive the team bus? And if so, will it be only before the game and never after any postgame celebrations?

Is Austin Kearns only allowed to patronize Subway if he has to eat fast food?

Has Eric Milton learned that he should only throw batting practice before the game, not during?

And finally, will the Reds allow me to ask any more questions?

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.

http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2006/02/26/sports/sports289.txt

[jmcclain19]

There is a reason this guy is the sports editor for a 7,000 circulation paper instead of somewhere else

[OnBaseMachine]

Someone should tell this guy that Krivsky didn't trade Casey.

[Bob Borkowski]

...and, of course, he wasn't the guy who fired Don Gullett either.

[Joseph]

As stated, there is a reason he works in a town I've never heard of instead of Cincinnati.

[realreds1]

Ironton is tiny. Thus, the newspaper is tiny -- it's not even a blip on the local news media map. Look at this piece as something written by crotchety sports editor with an equally tiny ax to grind.

[traderumor]

Casey was an average 1bman at best, and Dunn is athletic. I think he will field above average once he catches on to the position.

[westofyou]

The Reds are full of targets concerning why they are bad, the fact that "sports editor" Jim Walker missed so many of them in his attempt to prove the obvious is a sad statement about the quality of sports coverage at least 7,000 people are getting in between Hanging Rock and Coal Grove Ohio.

[paintmered]

The Reds are full of targets concerning why they are bad, the fact that "sports editor" Jim Walker missed so many of them in his attempt to prove the obvious is a sad statement about the quality of sports coverage at least 7,000 people are getting in between Hanging Rock and Coal Grove Ohio.


That and the Reds have to compete with Ironton high school football. Who, unlike the Reds of the last few years, win.

[traderumor]

The Reds are full of targets concerning why they are bad, the fact that "sports editor" Jim Walker missed so many of them in his attempt to prove the obvious is a sad statement about the quality of sports coverage at least 7,000 people are getting in between Hanging Rock and Coal Grove Ohio.
I'm sure he got a few toothless grins out of them :evil:

[cincinnati chili]

I didn't think this was mean-spirited, as much as it was a failed attempt to be funny.

Still, not very funny and not very substantive.

[BCubb2003]

I'm always surprised by how many RedsZoners are from places I lived when I was growing up that nobody (hardly anybody) else has ever heard of. I think about it whenever there's talk that the ownership has to be from Cincinnati. I'd tell them "Cincinnati? I'm from parts of Reds Country you've never heard of..." Besides, little places like this produced Branch Rickey.

[Crosley68]

Reds Country IS thousands of these little towns as much as Downtown Cincy. Regardless of the quality of the writing, it does show what the prevailing thought about the Reds is in most of the area.

Hopefully, the new ownership and GM will be able to more accurately show the effort they are putting out to improve the product.

[deltachi8]

A think he was trying to be funny as well...and well, I laughed a little. A little.

[Chip R]

A think he was trying to be funny as well...and well, I laughed a little. A little.

It's funnier when there's actually a shred of truth in your statements.

[MrCinatit]

if the guy was serious, i would love to be there when he dropped the Casey bomb on Krivsky. after all, it is the dream of every sports writer in America to look like a complete jerk in front of the fans.

[Bucky Furgoo]

Enjoyable read. Some of you are overreacting.

[KronoRed]

Enjoyable read. Some of you are overreacting.
Welcome Jim Walker ;)

[westofyou]

Enjoyable read. Some of you are overreacting.

So is this, doesn't mean it's good writing though.

http://members.aol.com/pugwm/comic1_2.jpg

[Bucky Furgoo]

So is this, doesn't mean it's good writing though.

http://members.aol.com/pugwm/comic1_2.jpg

Where did I say anything about good writing?

It's a small town paper...some perspective is a good thing.

[westofyou]

It's a small town paper...some perspective is a good thing.

Umm.. yeah, I got plenty of that from the tone of the article.

Plus the 1st "question" is fraught with mistakes. Small town or not people read it and I'm certainly going to be critical of what I think is shoddy writing.

[deltachi8]

oh my the horror...

this exchange could be more entrtaining than the article

[Chip R]

oh my the horror...

this exchange could be more entrtaining than the article
That wouldn't take much.

[deltachi8]

That wouldn't take much.

I dunno, i thought the Milton, Kearns, Gapper and WMP lines were amusing.

[Big Klu]

Umm.. yeah, I got plenty of that from the tone of the article.

Plus the 1st "question" is fraught with mistakes. Small town or not people read it and I'm certainly going to be critical of what I think is shoddy writing.

Understand though, that Don Gullett is a local boy. Gullett's hometown of Lynn, KY is only about 20 miles away from Ironton, OH. They are not going to be the most unbiased people about his dismissal (even if Krivsky had nothing to do with it), and it is probably their first (and only) opportunity to get it off their chests.

[westofyou]

Understand though, that Don Gullett is a local boy. Gullett's hometown of Lynn, KY is only about 20 miles away from Ironton, OH. They are not going to be the most unbiased people about his dismissal (even if Krivsky had nothing to do with it), and it is probably their first (and only) opportunity to get it off their chests.
Yeah I thought that might be the case, Don was the football hero of all time form that region as well most likely, and that stokes the flames even more I bet.

[Big Klu]

Yeah I thought that might be the case, Don was the football hero of all time form that region as well most likely, and that stokes the flames even more I bet.

Well, one of the legends, anyway. The Ironton, OH/Portsmouth, OH/Huntington, WV/Ashland, KY area has always been a hotbed of small-town football, but Gullett was one of the best.

[WMR]

C'mon now the line about making Wily Mo wear a batting helmet in the outfield was funny.

[Hap]

I have known several people from the Ironton area. Some of them are very intelligent. However, the Southern Ohio drawl is very thick and some people cannot look past it.

However, I think that particular reporter should have done more fact checking.

[TeamBoone]

the Southern Ohio drawl is very thick and some people cannot look past it.

What is that?

I live in southern Ohio and can't relate to what you just said.

[westofyou]

I live in southern Ohio and can't relate to what you just said.


Get in your car and drive east along the river until you don't see any Applebees or other ubiquitous corporate signposts.

Then get out and have a chat, you'll hear it.

Back in the day we called it speaking "Grit"

[KearnsyEars]

personally I like the black in the uniform

[TeamBoone]

Get in your car and drive east along the river until you don't see any Applebees or other ubiquitous corporate signposts.

Then get out and have a chat, you'll hear it.

Back in the day we called it speaking "Grit"

Ah, ok. I thought you meant in Cincinnati

There's definitely a subtle accent here, but nothing thick (not many anyway).

[Caveat Emperor]

The truly funny thing about this article is that if this writer ever got the chance to sit down with a baseball GM, the first question out of his mouth would be: "So, are you guys hiring?"

[creek14]

Look at this piece as something written by crotchety sports editor with an equally tiny ax to grind.
Hal changed his name to Jim Walker?

[MartyFan]

Welcome Jim Walker ;)

My thoughts exactly.

I wrote a note to the guy and he responded by telling me that he was "just kidding"...I told him to read this site .

Welcome, Jim Walker!