MANNY, RED SOX, AND A HISTORY LESSON IN MEDIA RELATIONS
They had a saying at the Washington Post newsroom towards the end of the Watergate scandal, a period of time in which it was almost impossible to get a a shred of truth out of the Nixon Whitehouse, or even a straight answer to a question. The Post and the Whitehouse were at war and as a result, the newer members of Nixon's Communications Department were caught in the middle.
The new, young Communications staffers ( At the urging of Chief of Staff H.R Halderman, just about everyone in Nixon's Press Department was let go at the beginning of the scandal; This led to many new and much younger people being brought onto the staff, most of whom Nixon did not trust because of their Harvard, or otherwise "Eastern Elitist" education credentials) were being lied to on a daily basis, and most of the time did not even realize it. One of Nixon's media advisors would give a quote during an interview, the Post would print the quote, and the next day a Senior Cabinet member would say something completely different. Sometimes these people would give a new staffer a statement to release then literally minutes later, turn around and say something to contradict the statement either to another cabinet member, or to a member of the press that the White House "trusted". Obviously this was very frustrating to the Post reporters and as a result the paper adopted the motto: "We don't report the truth, we report what people tell us."
(The Nixon Administration's school of thought behind this twisted, paranoid, and drunken logic was: " In a few months we are going to be out of office one way or another whether it be by Impeachment, or by Nixon resigning. Over 60% of the American People believe that we are crooks and liars and SHOULD be thrown out anyway. In the meantime, we are going to make life a living HELL for the Washington Post and the NY Times, the people that started this mess to begin with." )
One has to imagine that this must be what it is like to cover the Boston Red Sox beat (of course on a much smaller scale) . Take for instance the on-going saga about whether Manny Ramirez is 1: Going to be traded, 2: Wants to be traded, 3: Is even going to bother reporting for Spring Training(for which he is technically already late, considering that most of the team is already on Fort Myers, Fla.), or 4: Is even currently in the United States.
Manny's buddy, DH David Ortiz spoke on this topic to Boston Globe writer Chris Snow in Monday's edition, but of course did nothing to alleviate any confusion, which is not at all surprising. What is amazing is the lengths that Manny's teammates and others in the organization will go to protect this guy.
At the beginning of the interview Ortiz states that:"I talked to Manny a few weeks ago, and he said he was going to Italy (today)." Of course Ortiz then qualifies that quote by saying: "He said he was going there, but he was probably kidding." Okay.
Here is where things really got good. Ortiz was then asked by Snow approximately how long their conversation lasted, to which the DH responded: "About a minute" Here is the reason for such a short conversation: "When you talk to Manny, he says his phone bill is going to be too expensive, so he can talk no longer than one minute." Like that? It gets better.
Ortiz was then asked to clarify statements that he made in January to ESPN Deportes, about whether he asked Ramirez directly about whether he wanted to return to the Red Sox. Here is Ortiz's gem of a quote: "Actually no, we didn't talk about it at all. I read in the news that he said he didn't want to leave Boston. Sounds good to me. Having my man around once again. Hopefully, that will never change again." Confused yet? For those who want to viewthis madness for themselves, you can read the artice yourself:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/02/20/ortiz_on_lookout_for_pal_ramirez/
So, for those scoring at home the record should read: Ortiz last talked to Ramirez a few weeks ago for a minute, but during that minute he could confirm that the Leftfielder would be in Italy for the start of camp, but thinks Ramirez was "probably kidding" when he said that. Also, he didn't talk to Ramirez about whether he wants to return to the team, but if that is what was reported in the papers, then it "sounds good to him." Everything clear now? Now, do you see what the writers at the Washington Post meant all those years ago?
Of course, any day now we hear the obligitory statement either from one of his teammates, or from Manager Terry Francona, that all of this is just "Manny being Manny". Manny being Manny. He does not want to run out groundballs? "Just Manny being Manny". Costs the team runs because of lazy fielding, and poor base running? "Manny being Manny". ( BREAKING NEWS: MANNY RAMIREZ SHOOTS UP THE BLEACHERS AT FENWAY PARK WITH AN AK-47... WE BRING YOU LIVE TO BOSTON POLICE HEADQUARTERS, WHERE COMMISSIONER KATHLEEN O'TOOLE IS EXPECTED TO ADDRESS THE MEDIA ANY MINUTE NOW...THE DEPARTMENT HAS ISSUED A STATEMENT IN WHICH O'TOOLE STATES THAT THIS IS INCIDENT IS " JUST MANNY BEING MANNY". )
According to a story in today's Globe, Ramirez is not going to report to Fort Myers until March 1st, exactly eight days from now. In the article there is a statement by the Red Sox which reads: "With the permission of the Boston Red Sox, Manny Ramirez will report to spring training in Fort Myers on March 1, 2006. Manny is in Florida completing an extensive training regimen, and is prepared to have an exceptional season. "
So he is in Florida, huh? So, does this debunk Ortiz's theory that Manny is in Italy? Remember that important piece of information that was given to Ortiz during his and Manny's "minute long phone conversation"? Great questions one and all, figure any of them out and you get yourself a big prize. Anyway, the "March 1st" story can be read by clicking here:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/
Theo Epstein has answered all media inquiries into the Manny situation by saying: "That is between the club and the player." During Epstein's press conference in which he was "reintroduced" as GM (of course this was after he said he "never really left"...oh forget it, not even going to get into that), he had an interesting quote about the way the Red Sox are going to handle media relations going forward: "Obviously we have noticed how the Patriots have handle in-house issues the last few years; I believe it is safe to say we will be adopting many of their policies in the future regarding issues between players, and coaches, players and management, etc."
In other words, members of the media should get ready for an information embargo that would make any former member of the KGB stand up, and give a big toast of Schmirnoff Vodka. Frankly I have no problem with the Sox keeping the media at arm's length, and I further believe they should have adpoted this policy long ago. The only difference between what the Patriots do and what the Sox envision is that the Patriots to a man, speak with one voice. From Tom Brady down to the last Practice Squad player, what happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors.
The Red Sox are different in that they employ a Grade A, USDA Choice, MEDIA WHORE in the person of Curt Schilling. If anyone on the Red Sox thinks that Schilling is going to keep quiet (especially when there is a potential clubhouse disruption on the horizon), they better come to Florida armed with a tranquilizer gun and be ready to fire it when the media is around, because the only way that guy is going to keep his mouth shut is if he is unconscious. This new policy and how those that cover the Red Sox adopt to the new rules, should be as entertaining as the action on the field during the 2006 season.
Speaking of the Patriots, I miss them and football already. The Sox World Series title in 2004 has gotten me more interested in Baseball than I have been in years, and I look forward to the beginning of the Baseball season, and Summer beginning, but I am an NFL junkie by nature. Yes I have an addiction, but knowing it is half the battle, right? I look at it this way: The draft is two months away, then two mini-camps, and full training camp in July. Okay, I'll stop.
They had a saying at the Washington Post newsroom towards the end of the Watergate scandal, a period of time in which it was almost impossible to get a a shred of truth out of the Nixon Whitehouse, or even a straight answer to a question. The Post and the Whitehouse were at war and as a result, the newer members of Nixon's Communications Department were caught in the middle.
The new, young Communications staffers ( At the urging of Chief of Staff H.R Halderman, just about everyone in Nixon's Press Department was let go at the beginning of the scandal; This led to many new and much younger people being brought onto the staff, most of whom Nixon did not trust because of their Harvard, or otherwise "Eastern Elitist" education credentials) were being lied to on a daily basis, and most of the time did not even realize it. One of Nixon's media advisors would give a quote during an interview, the Post would print the quote, and the next day a Senior Cabinet member would say something completely different. Sometimes these people would give a new staffer a statement to release then literally minutes later, turn around and say something to contradict the statement either to another cabinet member, or to a member of the press that the White House "trusted". Obviously this was very frustrating to the Post reporters and as a result the paper adopted the motto: "We don't report the truth, we report what people tell us."
(The Nixon Administration's school of thought behind this twisted, paranoid, and drunken logic was: " In a few months we are going to be out of office one way or another whether it be by Impeachment, or by Nixon resigning. Over 60% of the American People believe that we are crooks and liars and SHOULD be thrown out anyway. In the meantime, we are going to make life a living HELL for the Washington Post and the NY Times, the people that started this mess to begin with." )
One has to imagine that this must be what it is like to cover the Boston Red Sox beat (of course on a much smaller scale) . Take for instance the on-going saga about whether Manny Ramirez is 1: Going to be traded, 2: Wants to be traded, 3: Is even going to bother reporting for Spring Training(for which he is technically already late, considering that most of the team is already on Fort Myers, Fla.), or 4: Is even currently in the United States.
Manny's buddy, DH David Ortiz spoke on this topic to Boston Globe writer Chris Snow in Monday's edition, but of course did nothing to alleviate any confusion, which is not at all surprising. What is amazing is the lengths that Manny's teammates and others in the organization will go to protect this guy.
At the beginning of the interview Ortiz states that:"I talked to Manny a few weeks ago, and he said he was going to Italy (today)." Of course Ortiz then qualifies that quote by saying: "He said he was going there, but he was probably kidding." Okay.
Here is where things really got good. Ortiz was then asked by Snow approximately how long their conversation lasted, to which the DH responded: "About a minute" Here is the reason for such a short conversation: "When you talk to Manny, he says his phone bill is going to be too expensive, so he can talk no longer than one minute." Like that? It gets better.
Ortiz was then asked to clarify statements that he made in January to ESPN Deportes, about whether he asked Ramirez directly about whether he wanted to return to the Red Sox. Here is Ortiz's gem of a quote: "Actually no, we didn't talk about it at all. I read in the news that he said he didn't want to leave Boston. Sounds good to me. Having my man around once again. Hopefully, that will never change again." Confused yet? For those who want to viewthis madness for themselves, you can read the artice yourself:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/02/20/ortiz_on_lookout_for_pal_ramirez/
So, for those scoring at home the record should read: Ortiz last talked to Ramirez a few weeks ago for a minute, but during that minute he could confirm that the Leftfielder would be in Italy for the start of camp, but thinks Ramirez was "probably kidding" when he said that. Also, he didn't talk to Ramirez about whether he wants to return to the team, but if that is what was reported in the papers, then it "sounds good to him." Everything clear now? Now, do you see what the writers at the Washington Post meant all those years ago?
Of course, any day now we hear the obligitory statement either from one of his teammates, or from Manager Terry Francona, that all of this is just "Manny being Manny". Manny being Manny. He does not want to run out groundballs? "Just Manny being Manny". Costs the team runs because of lazy fielding, and poor base running? "Manny being Manny". ( BREAKING NEWS: MANNY RAMIREZ SHOOTS UP THE BLEACHERS AT FENWAY PARK WITH AN AK-47... WE BRING YOU LIVE TO BOSTON POLICE HEADQUARTERS, WHERE COMMISSIONER KATHLEEN O'TOOLE IS EXPECTED TO ADDRESS THE MEDIA ANY MINUTE NOW...THE DEPARTMENT HAS ISSUED A STATEMENT IN WHICH O'TOOLE STATES THAT THIS IS INCIDENT IS " JUST MANNY BEING MANNY". )
According to a story in today's Globe, Ramirez is not going to report to Fort Myers until March 1st, exactly eight days from now. In the article there is a statement by the Red Sox which reads: "With the permission of the Boston Red Sox, Manny Ramirez will report to spring training in Fort Myers on March 1, 2006. Manny is in Florida completing an extensive training regimen, and is prepared to have an exceptional season. "
So he is in Florida, huh? So, does this debunk Ortiz's theory that Manny is in Italy? Remember that important piece of information that was given to Ortiz during his and Manny's "minute long phone conversation"? Great questions one and all, figure any of them out and you get yourself a big prize. Anyway, the "March 1st" story can be read by clicking here:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/
Theo Epstein has answered all media inquiries into the Manny situation by saying: "That is between the club and the player." During Epstein's press conference in which he was "reintroduced" as GM (of course this was after he said he "never really left"...oh forget it, not even going to get into that), he had an interesting quote about the way the Red Sox are going to handle media relations going forward: "Obviously we have noticed how the Patriots have handle in-house issues the last few years; I believe it is safe to say we will be adopting many of their policies in the future regarding issues between players, and coaches, players and management, etc."
In other words, members of the media should get ready for an information embargo that would make any former member of the KGB stand up, and give a big toast of Schmirnoff Vodka. Frankly I have no problem with the Sox keeping the media at arm's length, and I further believe they should have adpoted this policy long ago. The only difference between what the Patriots do and what the Sox envision is that the Patriots to a man, speak with one voice. From Tom Brady down to the last Practice Squad player, what happens behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors.
The Red Sox are different in that they employ a Grade A, USDA Choice, MEDIA WHORE in the person of Curt Schilling. If anyone on the Red Sox thinks that Schilling is going to keep quiet (especially when there is a potential clubhouse disruption on the horizon), they better come to Florida armed with a tranquilizer gun and be ready to fire it when the media is around, because the only way that guy is going to keep his mouth shut is if he is unconscious. This new policy and how those that cover the Red Sox adopt to the new rules, should be as entertaining as the action on the field during the 2006 season.
Speaking of the Patriots, I miss them and football already. The Sox World Series title in 2004 has gotten me more interested in Baseball than I have been in years, and I look forward to the beginning of the Baseball season, and Summer beginning, but I am an NFL junkie by nature. Yes I have an addiction, but knowing it is half the battle, right? I look at it this way: The draft is two months away, then two mini-camps, and full training camp in July. Okay, I'll stop.
posted by smialek316 at 11:48 AM
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