"It's impossible not to assume that the uh...issue...exacerbated the problem ten-fold.The guy who used to write here would have been all over this. Isn't it enough to know that Emery and Senators coach John Paddock can't co-exist and that he needs to go elsewhere? People used to be sophisticated enough that they could just play along with whatever convention fiction was being peddled. Men were also expected to wear snappy fedoras.
Mark my words: As long as the Senators keep Emery in the fold, someone WILL write this story eventually (with photographic evidence and the legal protection required), and the aftermath that follows will undoubtedly be devastating for the entire franchise."
The story that's being alluded to probably never gets written, with newroom priorities and staffing levels being what they are nowadays. Look at it this way: It has taken the Seattle Times seven years to get the dirt on the criminal conduct of many of the members of the 2000 Washington Huskies Rose Bowl team. In seven years, Ray Emery will just be a punchline in Ottawa, if not a Patrick Lalime-like punchline.
Being involved with a website pushing Tim Raines' Hall of Fame credentials has led to a softening. Raines, as you know, did have a public battle with cocaine addiction as a young man, and the Montreal Expos stood by him and helped him get clean. Of course they might have cut a fringe player loose and let him go to hell, but the GM at the time, the recently deceased John McHale, had a pretty good explanation:
"We pluck these kids out of the backwoods, and suddenly they're rich, they're famous, flying around, and pretty girls are saying 'Here, Tim, try this.' No wonder they get in trouble. We have almost a parental responsibility to help these kids."
Even in constant dollars, the Expos would have a lot less money tied up in Raines than the Senators have in Emery. So why were they willing to stand by him, well it seems like it's 4-1 in Ottawa in favour of kicking him to the curb?
Related:
Ray Emery, Ready To Blow Town (Deadspin)
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5 comments:
Yes, I thought it showed a lot of journalistic courage for the Seattle Times to publish this big expose, seven years after the fact. Needless to say, I would have been somewhat more impressed if they had the skill and the stones to uncover it then, not now.
Coming from a political background, you will have to excuse me if I greet all of the whispers and hints about Emery's off-ice exploits with a huge grain of salt. (I know this site and the one you reference aren't the same, but I don't want to give someone a "bitchy, fusspot" e-mail. Some people call that feedback, but I digress.) Memo to Erin -- if you have something to say, say it. If you have a name to name, then name it. This allegedly big story involving Emery that happened 18 months ago? For Christ's sake, either write the story or stop talking about it. This dance of the seven veils is getting really old.
Hey, it's tough to do it in the moment, especially in sports. Remember what Brunt said about what it was like when one guy had the temerity to ask McGwire the steroid question back in 1999. He said it was like someone had farted.
Not to mention how long it takes to get the news out with some of the really nasty stuff (Mount Cashel, Betty Jean Osborne, to give 2 examples).
Getting back to Emery: It's almost enough to know that Emery wore out his welcome. He's been showing up late. He's been a mope instead of trying to apply himself. His practice habits are apparently terrible -- last on, first off.
The case against him is strong enough without dragging in his personal tastes.
N, I don't think you can compare McGwire / Brunt with Emery / hockey media.
Brunt's point was that the baseball zeitgeist ( sic? ) in 99 was such that nobody in the media could " call out " McGwire without being frozen out by their peers. Everybody was on the bandwagon, nobody wanted to spoil the party. Like Ben Johnson & Charlie Francis pre Seoul.
Unlike McGwire in 99, the knives are out in the media for Emery. Nailing him to the wall right now would be immensely popular with everyone, fans & I suspect media also.
If he is doing all the stuff we're led to believe he is why aren't we seeing pictures / video taken by cellphones, posted all over the net. I don't surf for that kind of stuff but I've seen it, it's plentiful. Anybody remember Grant Roberts and the bong on the web? Nothing remains a secret in this era, particularly if you are scrutinized to the degree that Emery is here.
Great, fun story.
RAY RULES!!!
That wasn't meant to be a literal comparison... simply to point out that sometimes we need the passage of time before people nut up and start doing their jobs and flipping over the right rocks.
Remember Tim Johnson? Did the reporters call shenanigans on his Vietnam tales right away, or did it take until after he'd managed a full season?
Tim Johnson, hadn't thought of that in a while...I think the last I saw he was managing in an indy league.
Know of any managerial openings?
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