Teh Awesome

I do a lot of complaining here at Distinguished Senators. Management, players, writers, Dayn -- all have felt my mighty whine. But I never act like the job of even the very crappiest baseball player is easy. I don't if it's a matter of familiarity breeding contempt or what, but Thomas Boswell does have that tendency. You may remember his hit piece in the wake of Endy's demotion, in which he acted like it ain't no thing to add 60 points to an on-base percentage. His recent column on Ryan Church, which I'm rather late in getting to, has the same defect.

It starts out well enough: after Terrmel Sledge got hurt, Zach Day's injury was the only thing that stopped Jim Bowden from acquiring Juan Encarnacion, and given Ryan Church's subsequent performance, it's worked out great. All true, though I'd add that if that deal had gone down, Boswell would have been chirping something like, "Bodes is teh awesome!!!!! Jaun Incanracion is a proven pwer hitter!!!1!!! Blah blah blah!" You think I'm joking or exaggerating or just a dick, but Boz thinks Bowden can do no wrong -- he's still defending the Guzman signing -- and his columns totally look like that when they get to the editor.

Anyway, Church is great, and I'm not just saying that because I've been shilling for him since Spring Training. Frank's not letting him hit against lefties, but I don't care as long as Marlon Byrd rather than the remains of Jeffrey Hammonds is his platoon partner. So Boz and I are in agreement, at least until he turns to the injury Soul Patch suffered bouncing off the outfield wall in Pittsburgh.

Right now, besides maintaining his form at the plate, Church has only one thing left to prove. And it's a touchy point, especially for a young player. He has the courage to make a play like the wall bash in Pittsburgh. But yesterday, with his name on the lineup card, he didn't play because his chest was still bruised from the collision. "No chance. I can't lift my arm above my shoulder." ...

On that team full of throwbacks, this smooth rookie with so many tools has a place waiting for him. And not a platoon job, either. But, at times like this, when he's hurting, but not actually hurt, he's probably going to have to say, "I'm in there." That is, if he intends to be a full-fledged member of the lodge.

That's right. Boz thinks Church should be out there in left field whether or not he can lift his arm above his shoulder. Suck it up! Rub some dirt in it! Play through the pain! This Church kid is a nice player, but he needs to be more like Pete Rose or Ty Cobb! GRIT!

Maybe it's just me, but I figure the long-term health of a valuable commodity like Church is more important than getting him to play when physically incapable just to get Brian Schneider to like him. You can't accuse Boswell of hypocrisy, though. He wants Church to play with a shoulder injury; Boswell has shown himself perfectly willing to churn out a column while apparently suffering from a concussion.

Need something to do this summer? Will Carroll's looking for an intern!

We're looking for someone that can handle the technical stuff that we simply can't - links on the sidebar, updating our schedules and media appearances, monitoring news and putting up the occasional posts. Tech ability a must, writing ability a major plus.

Tech stuff, writing -- obviously, they're looking for someone to do what Will can't. Note that "making shit up" and "kissing the ass of the guy who makes shit up" aren't part of the job description.