Protecting the Shields -- The Nick Cafardo Thread

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Byrdbrain

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Nick may very well have been saying that because he is an idiot but if you can pretend that someone who had a clue wrote that it could make perfect sense.
It could simply mean how does a guy who looks like he is one of the best defensive shortstops on the planet end up being pedestrian based on advanced metrics. You would then examine the film and come up with the reason for that, which the Tigers did though who knows if that is really the reason.
 

Van Everyman

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Guys, guys, guys, you missed the best part of today's column: Gary Sheffield is back ... and he's an AGENT! So now we can get random stories about his random clients whose importance in the game is elevated because Nick has a source! Win win win!
 

Granite Sox

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We want to hear more urgency from Buchholz, more conviction about who he is and how important he is to this team.
Urgency! Conviction! There's no metric for the sound of THAT!

Scouty-scout stuff: Who ARE you, Clay Buchholz?!?

Whether that Jon Lester/John Lackey gutsiness or that Price determination...
But this is Buchholz’s chance to just shut up the critics (me included) for good.

Step up and have a great year. Have the year that lies somewhere inside that tall, skinny body and forever silence your critics.
Be all that you can be, Clay! Do it for Nick!

:eek:
 
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joe dokes

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So all Buccholz has to do it break a bunch of shit next time he gets rocked, or if he's pulled from a game in which he's doing well.

"Yes, he gave up 36 runs on 92 hits in 2/3 of an inning in the exhibition against the Perkins School (at least 99.5% of which were the fault of the corner infielders, *not* the second baseman), but if he brings that fiery desire to the mound in his next start he'll prove the doubters wrong......."
 

yecul

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All he has to do is become buddies with Nick. If you're not a source, then he'll find some way to bash you if that's the popular theme. He's not out there creating narratives, he's following them and buying in. Buchholz came with baggage and has a personality tag. Nick is just following that lead because it's easy.

Remember, he's kind of a slovenly lazy type, right? You'll find him at the lighthouse since Springfield slopes down toward it.
 

Van Everyman

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I enjoy this thread as much as anyone. But does anyone have any insight into why the Globe keeps Nick around? He is pretty clearly well below everyone else, barring maybe Volin, on the sports staff in terms of sources, insights and analysis. And with Pete Abe (pretty good), Alex Speier (excellent) and Chad Finn (excellent) rounding out the baseball coverage, there doesn't seem to be much Nick does that others can't. Is it a union thing? Does Shaughnessy insist on having him at the table so that he's not the only guy in the room who thinks stats are for nerds?
 
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joe dokes

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Probably a combination of union-related hard-to-fire, well-liked by Sullivan and also well-like nationally, which, as a "national face" of Globe sports, probably inures to the Globe's benefit.
And, at a more basic level, the opinions expressed here represent far short of a majority of Globe readers or Boston sport fans in general. Whether he creates the narratives he pushes, those narratives are out there, and pushing them probably makes him quite popular.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Buchholz gutted his way through 4 innings in the World Series with a sore arm and no fastball to get us an absolutely vital win that was a huge part of a World Championship. He showed plenty of urgency and conviction and determination and gutsiness with the season on the line, and Buchholz knowing that pitching with a dead arm could easily lead to an injury and impact his career, but he did it anyway.
Maybe Cafardo has forgotten that? He was aware of it at the time.

Or maybe it doesn't count because it just doesn't fit the narrative of Buchholz as a scrawny wuss who has lots of talent but not the toughness that sportswriters sitting at their desks imagine that they themselves would have if they were out there.

Hopefully the fans won't be as dopey as Cafardo and will remember Buchholz gutting out those innings to help us win a title.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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I think for these writers they think everyone should be Schilling, going 7 innings on a Frankenstein ankle and gutting their team to victory. It never occurs to them that 1) arm and shoulder issues are much different than leg injuries, and 2) not all guys are built the same and their stuff gets affected differently with injury.

Anyone who saw Buchholz throw that night knew something wasn't right. His velocity was way down.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Nick Cafardo is a sadist of a man and once he captures one thought in his big cranium trap about a particular topic, he will never, ever be kind enough to allow another thought in his head jail to make sure that his first thought isn't lonely. Each and every one of Cafardo's thoughts are all sentenced to a lifetime of solitary confinement.

It's a shame, really.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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That sums things up perfectly JMOH.

"Justin Morneau's looking for a team."

thought exits stage left

"Teams should sign Morneau."

thought exits stage right

"Morneau's physically fine."

curtain ends scene.

"He's over his concussion issues. Fine otherwise"

vaudeville hook yanks thought off stage

"Morneau optimistic after elbow surgery."
 

The Gray Eagle

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LOL at this section of Cafardo's blob on how Hanley has "matured":
"Does that mean he’ll be a stellar first baseman? Does it mean he can save his infielders’ bad throws, which he says is a top priority? Does it mean he will avoid injuries, which have plagued him his entire career and made him so frustrating over the years?

Am I naive to think he has changed? Am I going to eat these words if he reverts back to his old ways?"

If you are writing a column, is it okay to just throw out 5 questions in a row without answering them? Shouldn't he try to answer those questions, instead of asking us? Would that involve more work on his part? If you fill up a whole paragraph with nothing but questions, and then start the next one with two more questions, shouldn't you re-write that a bit? Aren't we reading this newspaper/website to get information, not to be interrogated by Cafarfdo? Why won't he answer his own questions? Is this guy a professional writer?
 
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E5 Yaz

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Happy Easter, JMOH!

The Red Sox still leave you with questions about their future. That feeling is fueled by injuries toEduardo Rodriguez and Carson Smith, the fact that Pablo Sandoval is still overweight and now injured (back), and the sentiment that Hanley Ramirez isn’t taking the move to first base seriously.

“Let’s see how mature [Ramirez] is by May,” said one AL scout. “Let’s see how interested he is at first base after he strikes out with the bases loaded and has to field his position.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2016/03/26/nick-cafardo-what-has-changed-east/1ZFhrO36uINdbpSMRb6tVN/story.html
 

Spacemans Bong

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I'm surprised no one's mentioned this doozy:

As the story goes: When Jeffrey Loria owned the Expos, he was obsessed with Derek Jeter. So he ordered his general manager, Jim Beattie, to try to make a deal with the Yankees and to give up whatever he had to. Beattie offered Yankees GM Brian Cashman Vladimir Guerrero and Pedro Martinez. Stunned, Cashman told Beattie, “I can’t trade Derek Jeter.” . . .
Loria didn't buy a stake in the Expos until 1999. :fonz:
 

joe dokes

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Nick wants sandoval gone and his Shields engorgement continues unabated:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2016/03/28/padres-are-scouting-pablo-sandoval/KeKF3M8kqXscesU88MtjwI/story.html

The fact that they are watching Sandoval the next couple of days — he went 0 for 3 in a minor league game Monday and is scheduled to start Tuesday for the first time since going down with back stiffness — may or may not mean anything, but they’re certainly leaving all options open.

The Padres have been open to trading veteran starter James Shields, who also has a big contract, in the right type of deal. The Red Sox and Orioles have been both linked to Shields, who went 13-7 with a 3.91 ERA last season and allowed a major league-high 33 homers.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Big Game James, you guys! BIG GAME JAMES! It even rhymes! Jesus, does Nick have to spell everything out for you guys? For a bunch of stat nerds, you're not that smart.
 

Manramsclan

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Big Game James, you guys! BIG GAME JAMES! It even rhymes! Jesus, does Nick have to spell everything out for you guys? For a bunch of stat nerds, you're not that smart.

The funniest thing about this is that every major sports news outlet ran with this one whereas everyone on this board read it, laughed, and said "Cafardo."
 

Humphrey

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Nick just has to have a Great White Whale every year for the Sox or someone else to acquire. I beg that Shields gets traded soon because I'm already sick of his name being brought up, just like I was of Cole Hamels in 2015 and Roy Oswalt 2 or 3 years before that.
 

Harry Hooper

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I believe it was already noted upthread but given his dedication to his craft and performance at work, shouldn't Nick see Sandoval as a "brother in arms" rather than someone that should be dispatched with all deliberate speed.
 

SirMixaLittle

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I'm surprised no one's mentioned this doozy:



Loria didn't buy a stake in the Expos until 1999. :fonz:
At least another writer called him out on this: http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2016/3/29/11326436/yankees-jeter-pedro-martinez-vladimir-guerrero-derek-trade

But here's the problem with Cafardo's story: It's total bullshit. Malarkey. In part or completely false. At least the way he describes it. Here's why:

First and foremost, Pedro was traded by the Expos to the Red Sox in November of 1997, three months before Cashman was elevated to GM by the Yankees. So there's no way that Cashman, as the GM of the Yankees, could have acquired Pedro Martinez from the Expos. For another, Jeffrey Loria didn't buy into the Expos until December of 1999, so he wouldn't have been around to order Jim Beattie to do anything.
And...

Not only doesn't it pass the smell test, but it's fundamentally impossible. Not as Cafardo describes it, anyways. But otherwise, yeah, cute story, Nick. Next time, spend five minutes on Baseball Reference.com.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I continue to be stunned the Globe isn't so embarrassed by this that they can him---or alternatively, if they can't fire him, reassign him to the high school sports beat or horse racing or something. Once upon a time the Sunday Globe notes column was the pre-eminent baseball information source. Now, it's Nick Cafardo printing lies, buffet-warmed hottakes, and blatantly spoon-fed puff items for agents.
 

ifmanis5

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I continue to be stunned the Globe isn't so embarrassed by this that they can him---or alternatively, if they can't fire him, reassign him to the high school sports beat or horse racing or something. Once upon a time the Sunday Globe notes column was the pre-eminent baseball information source. Now, it's Nick Cafardo printing lies, buffet-warmed hottakes, and blatantly spoon-fed puff items for agents.
You left out the questions he asks himself only to not answer them, or even better, call actual baseball people who could answer them. Who else could possibly do Nick's job? Who knows!?
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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The thing is, yeah, that Loria story might be relatively harmless, but this is a guy who makes a regular habit of employing anonymous sources. Getting past the fact that anonymous sources are for things like bringing down the federal government and uncovering widespread corruption and catching murderers, the fact that he either made up that Loria story from whole cloth, or let some source hoodwink him, just shows that he definitely does basically nothing to vet his sources and it absolutely calls into question whether the sources even exist.

Did a "scout" really say that shit about Hanley, or did Cafardo just want to say it without Hanley getting mad at him? "Oh, hey, Hanley, yeah, sorry about that - just reporting what I was told!"

Did he really talk to that general manager? That "front office staffer"? Anyone? Or is it all a figment of Cafardo's imagination when he's on deadline and no one's calling him back?
 

PedroKsBambino

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Did a "scout" really say that shit about Hanley, or did Cafardo just want to say it without Hanley getting mad at him? "Oh, hey, Hanley, yeah, sorry about that - just reporting what I was told!"

Did he really talk to that general manager? That "front office staffer"? Anyone? Or is it all a figment of Cafardo's imagination when he's on deadline and no one's calling him back?
This is perfect...just like a Cafardo column, who knows?
 

joe dokes

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Sent to Editors:

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2016/3/29/11326436/yankees-jeter-pedro-martinez-vladimir-guerrero-derek-trade

I understand that disagreeing with a columnist is par the for course. But either he was hoodwinked by a source (but in a way that was more-than-easily verifiable) or he just made the whole thing up.
Does the Globe or the reporter have any responsibility to correct the record?

--[Me]
--[Where I live], NH
****************************

Response (from Sullivan):

looking into it
 

Laser Show

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Sent to Editors:

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2016/3/29/11326436/yankees-jeter-pedro-martinez-vladimir-guerrero-derek-trade

I understand that disagreeing with a columnist is par the for course. But either he was hoodwinked by a source (but in a way that was more-than-easily verifiable) or he just made the whole thing up.
Does the Globe or the reporter have any responsibility to correct the record?

--[Me]
--[Where I live], NH
****************************

Response (from Sullivan):

looking into it
That's already more than I thought they'd say, so progress!
 

E5 Yaz

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Getting past the fact that anonymous sources are for things like bringing down the federal government and uncovering widespread corruption and catching murderers, the fact that he either made up that Loria story from whole cloth, or let some source hoodwink him, just shows that he definitely does basically nothing to vet his sources and it absolutely calls into question whether the sources even exist.

Did a "scout" really say that shit about Hanley, or did Cafardo just want to say it without Hanley getting mad at him? "Oh, hey, Hanley, yeah, sorry about that - just reporting what I was told!"

Did he really talk to that general manager? That "front office staffer"? Anyone? Or is it all a figment of Cafardo's imagination when he's on deadline and no one's calling him back?
So, you think he might have gone full Karen Jeffrey?
 

Bleedred

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Sent to Editors:

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2016/3/29/11326436/yankees-jeter-pedro-martinez-vladimir-guerrero-derek-trade

I understand that disagreeing with a columnist is par the for course. But either he was hoodwinked by a source (but in a way that was more-than-easily verifiable) or he just made the whole thing up.
Does the Globe or the reporter have any responsibility to correct the record?

--[Me]
--[Where I live], NH
****************************

Response (from Sullivan):

looking into it
Keep us posted with any response from Sullivan....and if he doesn't respond. Ask again!?
 

joe dokes

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My guess is that an excuse will show up in a column somewhere. It may already have. I can't read it all every day. To paraphrase Leonard McCoy, "Dammit, I'm just a subscriber, not a God."

(and I really hope I don't see mention of Nick Cafardo and female orgasm in the same sentence ever again.)
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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My guess is that an excuse will show up in a column somewhere. It may already have. I can't read it all every day. To paraphrase Leonard McCoy, "Dammit, I'm just a subscriber, not a God."

(and I really hope I don't see mention of Nick Cafardo and female orgasm in the same sentence ever again.)
Are you kidding? Cafardo will never mention that he got that story wrong. Ever. Just like he's never owned up to his other bullshit. He's so thin-skinned I'd wager he has blocked more people on Twitter than follow him.

He's an unimaginative hack that's about as intellectual curious as the dumbest Kardashian. He would never admit a mistake (even if it was an honest one -- and make no doubt about it even the best reporters get duped every once in awhile) because that would mean he'd have more then one thought rolling around in his skull. Or that he'd think twice about writing his latest bon mot and actually do a modicum of research before printing his friend's bullshit. Imagine if he fact checked (maybe a cursory glance at baseball-reference.com) everything he was told? Why that column could take two hours to barf on his keyboard!

Nick Cafardo admit a mistake? Fuck, you may as well ask him to stay away from Snickers bars for a week.
 

joe dokes

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Are you kidding? Cafardo will never mention that he got that story wrong. Ever. Just like he's never owned up to his other bullshit. He's so thin-skinned I'd wager he has blocked more people on Twitter than follow him.

He's an unimaginative hack that's about as intellectual curious as the dumbest Kardashian. He would never admit a mistake (even if it was an honest one -- and make no doubt about it even the best reporters get duped every once in awhile) because that would mean he'd have more then one thought rolling around in his skull. Or that he'd think twice about writing his latest bon mot and actually do a modicum of research before printing his friend's bullshit. Imagine if he fact checked (maybe a cursory glance at baseball-reference.com) everything he was told? Why that column could take two hours to barf on his keyboard!

Nick Cafardo admit a mistake? Fuck, you may as well ask him to stay away from Snickers bars for a week.

1. I appreciate the comma between "Fuck" and "you."

2. At least it appears that we are in agreement about the orgasm part of my post.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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It was almost like he just shuffled some baseball cards and tossed them in the air.

Reigning Cy Young: oh, like 25th.

Because, who knows?

And almost the entire top 10 was filled with backhanded snipes: "Best ever. Ever. But kinda flawed. Could be better."
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Alternately, this is one of the worst leads I've encountered in a mainstream daily newspaper:

"CLEVELAND — The Red Sox have finished in last place two straight years and three of the last four. Some prognosticators have picked them to win the American League East, make the playoffs, and even get to the World Series.

Spring training didn’t solve a lot of issues, and now the real season begins Monday."

Here are some words. They have to do with the Red Sox. Opening Day is tomorrow. I'm a writer. I type things on my computer.
 
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