Kruck rants again

[thehat]

There is no way in hell Mantle should be on that list. The man busted his ass every single second he was on the field. He played in more pain than most folks have ever had to deal with flat on their back in a hospital, let alone playing centerfield.

Nor should David Wells. His training regimen may be non-existent, but he plays to win when he's on the field.

I'll agree Mantle played through pain, but he was a notorious drunk and many teammates and journalists feel he never even lived up to his potential. And sure David Wells pitches to win, but once again, his lack of desire to train off the field has probably limited his succes on it.

And, anyway, my list was just a short sample and up for debate, but my point remains the same.

Yeah, that Mantle sure was a waste of talent. If he had applied himself, he'd have been a sure bet for the HOF.

Seriously, Mantle's career defies logic and belief considering how bad his leg was following the sprinkler incident. Plus, he had a disease of some kind (the name of which I can't remember nor pronounce) which caused him tremendous difficulty.

As for the booze, he was hardly alone in overindulging in that activity. And speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that overdoing it in the evening is not that big a deal to a guy in his 20's or early 30's. We're pretty resilient at that age.

Listen, no one loathes the Yankees more than I do...but I'll submit that anyone who thinks Mantle was "lazy" or something akin to that just couldn't be more wrong.

[HOOTIE]

Kruks lastest ranting, he picks Livan Hernandez to start the All Star Game. The guy has to down a 6 pack before air time. Clemens should be ticked off if he doesn't start it.

[ensanimal]

Dontrelle should be ticked off if he doesn't start it.

[baseball6791]

When was the last time you saw a White guy become complacent in his or her sport like this?

Everytime we hear about athletes who for some reason or another become lazy or complacent they seem to be african american athletes.

Personally, I think that this is just a followup of the notion that black people are lazy and have poor work ethics. It's not true and it's only rooted in selective memory. There's a laundry list of athletes, white or black, that have not exhibited the best work ethic and were considered lazy by their peers. To name a few white ones: Canseco, David Wells, JT Snow, Babe Ruth & Mantle; Christian Laettner; Mickelson & Daly; et al. The list is really much longer and seeps into every sport.

I don't think there's a color line for lazy/complacent athletes.

But, if it might be true that most of the athletes criticized are black, then I would suggest that it might be due to the fact that most of the criticism levied against complacent athletes is directed at basketball players. Many people are upset with the state of the game in the NBA, and possibly rightly so, and express criticism. And since the sport is composed primarily of black athletes, most of the athletes criticized in basketball will be black. Therefore reinforcing the notion that black athletes get criticized more or are lazier than white athletes...

Just my opinion...

JT Snow?? the guys is one of the best defensive 1B of all time and is one of the nicest ballplayers out there... where did he get that rep?

[raiders_umpire]

Kruks lastest ranting, he picks Livan Hernandez to start the All Star Game. The guy has to down a 6 pack before air time. Clemens should be ticked off if he doesn't start it.

if I was larussa, i would let smoltz start... his hometown is detroit, and it is not like he has had a bad season..... but anyways, larussa cant go wrong with smoltz, carpenter, livan, clemens, and dontrelle all having the numbers to be the starter this year.....

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

Kruks lastest ranting, he picks Livan Hernandez to start the All Star Game. The guy has to down a 6 pack before air time.

Personally I think Clemens should get the start, since (a) he can partially redeem himself for last year, (b) he's having a great season and deserves it based on the numbers, and (c) this could be his last AS game.

[Pablo975]

Don't mean to hijack this into a NL AS Game starter thread, but saying Clemens should get it because it MIGHT be his last is IMO bad logic. Didn't he get that sentiment before and then come back the next year?
Clemens or Dontrelle should get it based on performance. If the fans were able to vote, then Clemens could get the old-timers-last-stand vote.

It might be Dontelles (or any other pitcher or player) last AS game too, ya never know....