September 13, 2007

The Lasting Milledge Hypocrisy

Don Kachuba tried loading this article up but it wouldn't load for him for some reason, so I am posting it for him.


Article by Don Kachuba from Gets By Bucksner (Network Member):

Whenever I read or hear of fans waxing poetic, speaking the rhetoric about Lastings Milledge's wonderful attitude maturation, I immediately call bullshit. Call me Holden Caufield, but both the fans and the player are being a bit insincere.

Not that Lastings hasn't matured some, naturally he has to the degree that any prospect would with gained experience. But its being overplayed by the same fans that ripped him last season and this preseason with such trivial news like a rap album involvement. So how did Milledge respond? He cut his hair like an obedient employee, spoke of growing up, etc.; all things he knew he had no choice but to do in order to change the perception of his attitude. But regardless, his on the field production was going to be what it was with or without the grown up boy act. And that is all that matters provided he isn't throwing firecrackers at babies or spraying bleach at reporters.

#1.) Lastings attitude hasn't changed significantly, his importance for the team has just gone up and his playing has been solid, therefore fans want to make excuses for why they can now feel comfortable rooting for a player they once ripped. Anyone who believes that Lastings genuinely feels he was in the wrong, regarding his rap participation, is fooling them self.

#2.) Just as the fans are being fake to make themselves feel better, Lastings is being fake because he realizes he has to put on an act to be accepted. He knows he will fair a lot better by catering to the organization and fans, while doing exactly what much of the press doesn't want him to do-stay a non-issue. He isn't as articulate as David Wright, so he projects a more mature image by remaining relatively quiet. He hasn't been given the liberty of jumping up and down like Jose Reyes because a significant portion of the fan base, as well as the story-starving media, have placed an X on his back seeking to label him as immature or a problem.He is still the same guy, more or less.

He is simply turning into the corporate fake that he has to be in order to maximize his value. See in the end it is always about image and money.

Attitude Adjustment Issues:
Missing the team bus causing him to arrive late to the ball field.....

This is an issue I admittedly was hard on Lastings for. It spoke of arrogance and laziness and suggested a sense of entitlement and invincibility. I didn't dig it.

The Slapping of Hands of First Row Fans after his game tying 9th inning blast during his rookie year......

This can be chalked up to naive and genuine youthful enthusiasm. As insinuated, Reyes, a fan favorite and major Wilpon money maker, does things that can be perceived as just as obnoxious.

The Ridiculous Hip-Hop Issue:
My major gripe with the naysayers.The criticism due to his hip-hop involvement were out of line and hypocritical. Every time I hear Mike Russo bring up Milledge and say something about his rap involvement, I laugh inside about his ignorance. He can't recite what Milledge said and makes the uninformed judgment on Milledge simply because the genre of music is one Russo is prejudice against. I'm no rap apologist. I'm a guitar player who only finds a select portion of rap enjoyable. I find much of the culture in hip-hop to be shallow and materialistic with the majority lacking big time in the originality department and the most successful ranking highly in the scamming department. But I believe in artistic free speech and don't find Milledge's participation to be shameful by any moral standards, perhaps by quality standards if anything. And that hardly makes him a franchise cancer.

It is the media and fans that have overstated Milledge's attitude. The truth in the matter is that he may be a year more mature, but in actuality he is the same guy, he is just hiding it and doing a solid job of acting because he has been given little choice to be himself. You think he believes in his heart that his rap involvement was bad? I doubt it. And he shouldn't. Only irrational, out of touch, fans thought his participation was negative if relevant at all. It's just that many middle-aged white guys that buy Mets tickets can't relate to it and see it is awful because they fear what they can't understand; they are uncomfortable with something that is different. That is typical human behavior towards foreign cultures which hip-hop is to such people.

The Hypocrisy of Complaining About Milledge's Rap Participation:
The hypocrisy is that those same 40 year old white ticket holders own Rolling Stone Records where Mick Jagger sings a song called Bitch or talks about people being "creamed on". Classic Rock is considered pop culture that an older generation is comfortable with, even when they may sing of dangerous behavior, crude actions, or even sexist topics. Its hypocritical, overreacting BS! Mike Piazza came out to a Hendrix tune. Hendrix was a documented woman abuser. Yet no red flags were raised, and those same complainers of Milledge were likely on their feet getting pumped up to Hendrix's sweet Voodoo Chile riff when Piazza stepped in the box.

You may counter by saying those players never had lies in the song. But I say so what. And I challenge any of the critics and those who pretend to be a moral authority to actually recite Milledge's lyrics. I bet they can't. It's more likely they just heard he was involved in rap and made a judgment despite having no content to source.

It's seeking a story when their isn’t none. Its about people being falsely self-righteous and hypocritical. No one had a problem when Jim Morrison was used by Robin Ventura when the Mets "mojo was risin'". Now I love the Doors, but Morrison was the anti-model citizen. Yet somehow the Mets association with Jim Morrison's song is accepted by those same middle-aged white ticket holders. These people have a set way of how the world should be and find it appropriate because they are familiar with classic rock and their culture. They don't fear it. They didn't ridicule Ventura (as they should NOT have) for using a woman-beating, drug addict, public penis-exposing, man's song as a rally cry a few years ago. But they are ready to jump on Milledge for rapping. How RIDICULOUS.

These men admire Keith Hernandez who abused cocaine and even more recently had sexist things to say broadcasting last year. Then they speak of how hip-hop is derogatory towards woman and crucify Milledge for his involvement.

I say it is these men that make an unnecessary issue out of his behavior and we are only fooling ourselves. He is still the same guy, more or less. He is simply turning into the corporate fake that he has to be in order to maximize his value. See in the end it is always about image and money.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

like you said dan...let the kid be

Anonymous said...

whatever they say they cant take away how hes played

Anonymous said...

tru dat

Anonymous said...

fo shizzle

Anonymous said...

they targeted him because of the hand slapping and i liked that

Anonymous said...

you and me both brotha