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Humble Pie and Modesty Cake
2005-01-30 15:37
In some ways, writing Dodger Thoughts, is like whipping up a meal for the entire mess tent. And on some days, despite my efforts at gourmet preparation, I'm Igor ladling creamed corn. One particular meal seems to go wrong for Chef Jon more than any other. Most of my efforts at serving Frank and Jamie McCourt come out flat - overcooked here, underdone there. On no other issue relating to the Dodgers have I felt more out of sync with my readers. Pepper the McCourts, and patrons tell me to ease off. Serve the McCourts with sugar, and my guests want to spit out the sweetness. Friday's supper, "One Year of the McCourts," was no different, even with an explicit effort to mix in both sweet and sour. Though there were a few who swallowed it all, most pushed it aside with a frown and asked for the check. As Zagat might have put it, the piece was "pointless" and "counterproductive," needed to be more "fair," offered side dishes that raised the question "how much do we really care," and overall signaled, in case one cared, that the chef could "kiss ... chances of working at the Dodgers' front office goodbye." Sometimes I'll write something and expect disagreement. Comes with the territory of taking a point of view. No problem there. But when I write something and I'm surprised by the disagreeement, or at least the nature of the disagreement, well ... First, it's an ego hit, in that I always expect my writing to hit the mark. Once I get over that bad taste in my mouth (usually takes a couple of hours, or days, or ...) I've got some reflection to do. I'll admit, the main conclusion I've drawn since last February was, "Don't write about the McCourts anymore." It has been something of a no-win situation for me since the get-go. There is something about the merge of their backgrounds and Dodger ownership history that has defied clarity. Little about them is as simple as it appears. What I'm finally skimming off the top of this mess is that people can't seem to agree upon an owner's responsibilities, let alone whether these Dodger owners meet them satisfactorily or not. I don't want to give the impression that I'm up nights worrying about this. Nothing I cook up about the McCourts on Dodger Thoughts is going to resemble Proust and his madelines anyway. But in the future, when it comes to the McCourts, I am going to try a new recipe - a much more humble approach. On this site, I've asked the McCourts to relate more honestly to Dodger fans and acknowledge those who disagree with them with more than defensiveness and platitudes. I'm going to follow my own advice. It's a new year - Year 2 of the McCourt ownership. I'm throwing out any previous conclusions and try to reverse the divisiveness. Let's start over and see what happens.
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