Contrary to our name, we usually don't bust all that often on Mike Lupica. Still, sometimes he just forces you to. Take today's column, which once again gets the back page cover, for reasons only Faust could really explain. Basically, it's to tell us that, once again, Joe Torre's job is in danger! The big bad Boss is gonna fire Torre if the Yankees don't come home with the title. Sound familiar?
It's the same column he wrote at the beginning of the 2005 season. And the beginning of the '05 playoffs. And at the beginning of the 2006 season. And at the beginning of the '06 playoffs. It's a Loopica column.
Same with his column yesterday: It's the semi-annual "A-Rod needs to step up or he'll never amount to anything" column. Yep, it's hard to believe he's a Red Sox, Mets,Yankee fan, the way he writes!
The only thing that changes in these Loopica columns are the leads. And yesterday's A-Rod story had a really stupid lead, I might add: "Steve Phillips was trhe general manager of the Mets when Alex Rodriguez first became a free agent. In the end the Mets didn't go after Rodriguez and one of the reasons Phillips gave... was because he thought A-Rod was a "24-and-1" guy."
Um, Mike... Steve Phillips did go after A-Rod. Hard. It's just that the Rangers offered a ridiculous amount of money, and that's why A-Rod signed with the Rangers. I'm not blaming the Mets for not wanting to spend that kind of money on A-Rod, nor did I ever. I also never blamed the Rangers for spending that kind of money, either - he was the best player in baseball, probably still is (maybe Pujols, but overall A-Rod is more complete), and that $25 million a year salary doesn't seem so outlandish nowadays when Alfonso Soriano is getting $18 a year for 8 years (and he's 31 years old right now)...
Anyway, my beef with the Loopica columns are pretty simple: this guy gets the big dollars, gets the back cover, and he doesn't even offer anything new. Hasn't had anything new to offer in a while. I'm sure there are lots of hungry young sports reporters and writers who aren't getting a chance because Mike and his ilk are holding the top spots long past their prime. The irony is that they are often the same people to complain about an athlete that hangs on too long. Hell, they (the media) are even getting on Brett Favre, who I figured would just about be the most untouchable player in terms of criticism. Goes to show that hypocrisy of the mainstream sportsmedia....
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