Elijah Dukes: It's Bad to be Good

[fbc_fan]

Just another example of why this team is the worst franchise in MLB.

They are a disgrace. I would be ashamed if I was a fan of this POS organization.

I agree, they signed all these 1b/OF and instead of trying to move 1 or 2 of them for some pitching or something, they just send one down to AAA and threaten another.

funny how these are the two they should be building around as well.

dukes probably shouldn't have been late, but i can think of a lot worse reasons to be late to the ballpark.

[silverZ]

I know if i was Dukes this would just be another reason to get out of Washington once my contract is up. Some things are more important than being right on time for work. Espcially if it's only 5 minutes and you're out preforming all of your co-workers.

[Bwanna]

if you're late, you're late. thats it. doesnt matter what you were doing. he got fined $500, whoa! and i doubt he'll be late again. i like what the nats are doing personally, in terms of handling bad behavior.

Apparently not a popular point of view, but it's mine as well. Especially for someone who has been characterized by several incidents of bad behavior in the past.

If he's really maturing as we all hope, this penalty for not obeying a rule shouldn't be a problem.

[Tis]

if you're late, you're late. thats it. doesnt matter what you were doing. he got fined $500, whoa! and i doubt he'll be late again. i like what the nats are doing personally, in terms of handling bad behavior.

Apparently not a popular point of view, but it's mine as well. Especially for someone who has been characterized by several incidents of bad behavior in the past.

If he's really maturing as we all hope, this penalty for not obeying a rule shouldn't be a problem.

For me its the threat, not the fine, that really makes this ridiculous. IF they have an absolute policy, and theyve fined everyone else has been a couple minutes late, then ok. You pull him aside and say "look, we appreciate what youre doing in the community, but we have to set a consistent policy." But no, they took the other tack... they threatened him with an utterly stupid demotion to AAA? Thats unnecessary and retarded.

[CadensDad]

I know if i was Dukes this would just be another reason to get out of Washington once my contract is up. Some things are more important than being right on time for work. Espcially if it's only 5 minutes and you're out preforming all of your co-workers.

I agree it's only 5 mins and he was doing something his own team encourages him to do. It's just crazy,

But IF this was the Yankees, Sox, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, Rays or Phillies this wouldn't be getting the same response. It's because it's the crappy Washington Nationals,. who hasn't had a winning record in what 8 years? It's just that this Franchise is horrible and doesn't seem to be getting any better

[Slow Pitch]

Did anyone see them send out the team in uniforms with their own team name misspelled on them?? And it wasnt just one jersey it was all of them.



Apparently they are now the 'Washington Natinals'

[Bogey9906]

For me its the threat, not the fine, that really makes this ridiculous. IF they have an absolute policy, and theyve fined everyone else has been a couple minutes late, then ok. You pull him aside and say "look, we appreciate what youre doing in the community, but we have to set a consistent policy." But no, they took the other tack... they threatened him with an utterly stupid demotion to AAA? Thats unnecessary and retarded.

Has anyone seen something more specific about this "threat" of demotion? I think it was mentioned in the initial articles about the incident, but it seems to me more like a writer's interpretation than a specific bold statement made by the team. Based on comments from Acta and others, they just benched him one game and slapped a small fine on him to stick to the team rules and that's the end of it. Not a big deal to me.

[CadensDad]

For me its the threat, not the fine, that really makes this ridiculous. IF they have an absolute policy, and theyve fined everyone else has been a couple minutes late, then ok. You pull him aside and say "look, we appreciate what youre doing in the community, but we have to set a consistent policy." But no, they took the other tack... they threatened him with an utterly stupid demotion to AAA? Thats unnecessary and retarded.

Has anyone seen something more specific about this "threat" of demotion? I think it was mentioned in the initial articles about the incident, but it seems to me more like a writer's interpretation than a specific bold statement made by the team. Based on comments from Acta and others, they just benched him one game and slapped a small fine on him to stick to the team rules and that's the end of it. Not a big deal to me.

Not a big deal? "Hm, we are 1-10 and our best player is 5 minutes late after doing something we asked him to do. So lets fine him and bench him. that will prove how strong we are."

Sorry but it doesn't make any sense to bench and fine the only guy hitting on your team.

[Bogey9906]

Not a big deal? "Hm, we are 1-10 and our best player is 5 minutes late after doing something we asked him to do. So lets fine him and bench him. that will prove how strong we are."

Sorry but it doesn't make any sense to bench and fine the only guy hitting on your team.

It makes sense to me when you're trying to change the culture of a franchise, especially after you just demoted one of your best players partly due to attitude issues. How would it look if they said, "OK, Elijah, you've gotten a few hits lately, so we'll let it slide. But, Willingham, you're in a slump, so we'll fine your butt if you're late!"?

You've got to start somewhere. These are the types of things that helped turn Tampa Bay around. Ironically, getting rid of Dukes and Delmon helped change the culture there and that's the first step to winning. Besides, it's not like one game and a $500 fine is a very severe punishment, but just enough to reinforce their message. Seems like a good move to me (as long as the demotion threat is overblown, which I think it is).

[buffalobillsrul2002]

Not a big deal? "Hm, we are 1-10 and our best player is 5 minutes late after doing something we asked him to do. So lets fine him and bench him. that will prove how strong we are."

Sorry but it doesn't make any sense to bench and fine the only guy hitting on your team.

It makes sense to me when you're trying to change the culture of a franchise, especially after you just demoted one of your best players partly due to attitude issues. How would it look if they said, "OK, Elijah, you've gotten a few hits lately, so we'll let it slide. But, Willingham, you're in a slump, so we'll fine your butt if you're late!"?

You've got to start somewhere. These are the types of things that helped turn Tampa Bay around. Ironically, getting rid of Dukes and Delmon helped change the culture there and that's the first step to winning. Besides, it's not like one game and a $500 fine is a very severe punishment, but just enough to reinforce their message. Seems like a good move to me (as long as the demotion threat is overblown, which I think it is).

I completely agree. If you're late, you pay. Bottom line. $500 isn't that much, but it should get the message across. The threat of sending him to AAA isn't a bad thing either. It sends a message: show up on time and play hard, or lose money/playing time. If you start allowing "reasons" for lateness, pretty soon you end up with each infraction being evaluated on an individual basis, and nobody gets punished. If the reason to be late is THAT important, then it's worth the $500 fine.