Baseball Toaster: Dodger Thoughts : Reporting the News

Reporting the News

2005-12-19 19:49

by Jon Weisman

As first base becomes Nomar Garciaparra territory, just as the press predicted, I want to make sure the point I was making over the weekend about the coverage of this story is clear.

Reporters report, and they report what people say. They can be 100 percent accurate in their reporting - and still be wrong, if the people they are sourcing are wrong. Because those sources sometimes are wrong - particularly unnamed sources - I'm reluctant to assume that a report is on target - even if the reporting is accurate - until the deed is actually done. When I call something a "false rumor," I don't mean that the rumor was invented, but that the rumor didn't play out.

But reporting is tremendously challenging and competitive work, and just because I question whether a story will play out the way their sources predict doesn't mean I'm questioning the reporters' integrity.

I don't know if this needed to be said, but I wanted to make sure my position was clear.

Comments

2005-12-19 20:10:23

1. Vishal

pre-emptive defensiveness? :)

2005-12-19 20:15:52

2. Louis in SF

Jon, I think most of us understood this and as someone who worked in journalism and still has a sister who both works and teaches in the field, unnamed sources are the most difficult part in trying to report a story. In the case of Choi and Nomar it was more frustrating because puting Nomar in the outfield keeping Choi at first or using him as a hitter of the bench made so much sense. Sadly it seems not to be working out that way, but that is the way things go in journalism and yes sports these days.

2005-12-19 20:36:04

3. Slipstream

It's still not clear what's going to happen to Choi. From Gurnick's article:

"Garciaparra's arrival makes Choi expendable, but because of his power and youth, the Dodgers are trying to sign him to a salary considerably below what he could earn through arbitration. If he does not agree, Choi would probably non-tender him and make him a free agent."

Far's I can make out, if Choi doesn't accept what in essence would be a below-market salary, he's going to non-tender himself. Sounds painful.

2005-12-19 21:45:50

5. Slikk

Wow, what a win by the Kings in a shootout against the Canucks. Hope you all caught it! Good night.

2005-12-19 22:08:26

6. Uncle Miltie

5- yea, great game

2005-12-19 22:10:09

7. Uncle Miltie

Some pretty big news was reported on the Southern California Sports Report. When Izturis comes back, he is going to play SS and Furcal is going to move over to 2B, Kent to 1B, and Nomar to LF. I thought Furcal's agent said that Furcal wouldn't change positions..

2005-12-19 22:18:00

8. King of the Hobos

7 I have a feeling the SCSR may not know what it's talking about. That would piss off 3 players, Furcal signed specifically to play SS, Kent doesn't want to go to 1B so he can enhance his 2B numbers, and Nomar only wants one position. Plus Izzy may not even be able to play short

2005-12-19 22:21:17

9. Uncle Miltie

8- I read somewhere that Nomar agreed to move to play 1B or LF, and move from one position to the other. The guy who it would probably piss off is Jeff Kent. He wants to put up numbers as a 2B. Maybe the Dodgers should trade Kent while he has some value. He's a poor defender and will likely decline offensively next season. I also can't see Furcal agreeing to move to 2B.

2005-12-19 22:34:56

10. oldbear

7. LOL, all that to get scrap heap Izturis into the lineup.... Camille Johnston must spend all her days on dodgers.com, if the she believes the Izzy contingent is that live and vocal in real life.

Like we'd move around 3-4 players to get a no-hitt SS into the lineup.

Right.

2005-12-19 22:51:46

11. dzzrtRatt

7 With the Dodgers having so many ground ball-inducing pitchers, maybe the solution that makes everyone happy is to play five infielders.

2005-12-19 23:07:42

12. natepurcell

just got home in socal from minnesota. wow, seems like we had a busy weekend.

looks like weaver declines arby, which is good news.

hopefully now weavers memory as a dodger will always be remembered through the draft picks of RHP colton willems and OF chris parmalee.

2005-12-19 23:48:13

13. Winthrop

From Tuesday's LA Times:

Garciaparra ... also has agreed to play left field if the Dodgers are unable to upgrade there.

That's Choi-tastic.

2005-12-19 23:51:31

14. King of the Hobos

13 I can't find the article. This isn't a first, so could you point it out? All I can find is the Monday story. Thanks!

2005-12-19 23:59:33

15. Winthrop

14 - Sorry. This must be old news. My quote above is from the Monday Times' big Nomar article. Apologies.

2005-12-20 00:07:28

16. King of the Hobos

The new one doesn't offer much, other than some quotes, such as Colletti believes Nomar is a far better infielder than outfielder. It says Choi could be offered a contract, like Gurnick said. It also mentioned Repko as one of the OFs that could get regular time in center and left, and pitching is the priority now

2005-12-20 00:17:32

17. natepurcell

from choi hater tony jackson:
Choi, who made $351,500 last season and wasn't especially productive, will command a 2006 salary in the $500,000 range as a first-time arbitration-eligible player. He does have a minor-league option remaining, which probably means the Dodgers are trying to sign him to a split contract that won't require them to pay his full major-league salary if he is sent down

2005-12-20 01:03:53

18. blue2thebone

Looks like Nomah may be here a while.

From Steve Henson in todays LAT:
Although his contract is for only one year, he wants to remain a Dodger beyond next season.

"Ultimately, we want it to turn into a long-term deal," said Arn Tellem, Garciaparra's agent. "That was expressed from both sides. He wants to end his career here."

2005-12-20 06:32:17

19. rageon

18 The first time I see Nomar go down with a traumatic injury I'm sure I'll think to myself, "Well, Nomar's right, I guess he will end his career in LA afterall."

2005-12-20 06:36:21

20. SMY

17 Why on earth would Choi agree to that, unless there's absolutely NO market for his services? Makes no sense for him. Considering he's now pretty much the 4th first baseman on the depth chart, I don't see why he would stay in LA. Good for him, I hope he goes somewhere that he actually gets a chance to play a full season. Preferably Boston, so I can watch him on TV.

2005-12-20 08:16:26

21. Blu2

How about we trade Kent to Oakland so he can be with his old buddy, Milton?

2005-12-20 08:25:48

22. deburns

So that makes the new lineup:
Lofton
Furcal
Drew
Kent
Nomar
Cruz
Mueller
Navarro
Pitcher
That doesn't look bad to me. The bullpen looks to be a strength. What to do about spots 4 and 5 in the rotation is the biggest problem. Jackson and Houlton should be given a chance to fill one of them. Asking Billlingsley to move to LA is a stretch, unless he forces that by a great spring. There are a lot of candidates out there to fill a bottom of the rotation spot, and it appears Colletti has turned his attention in that direction.
So far, so good, IMHO.

2005-12-20 08:42:51

23. rageon

22 Looks old to me.

It's quite around here. Must be the quite before the "Choi is non-tendered" storm.

2005-12-20 09:18:25

24. blue2thebone

I'd like to see more youth in the lineup, but I'm comfortable with the moves of Mr. Ned so far. He's filled in the holes with experienced players for '06, while saving the prospects for '07 & beyond. By gradually infusing the prospects into the lineup over time we should have a good blend of experience & youth.

I'm hopeful that Billingsley can crack the rotation this year, and add Broxton/Kuo/Osorio to the pen.

2005-12-20 09:43:39

25. Blue Thrue and Thrue

From Rotoworld:
As they continue to look for offense, the Astros are involved in trade talks with four teams.
"There are two to four (trades) that we're talking about right now," owner Drayton McLane said. "One of them is really exciting, but I have no idea what will happen. We're ready to do it. It's a matter of getting it done." The Astros are dangling pitching, probably some of their lesser arms for the most part.

This is totally conjecture, but I could see them trading for Choi. They need help at 1b (assuming Berkman moves back to OF), and their GM is more understanding of the Saber point of view than many, I believe. And they have the pitching that we need.

I don't mean to be starting rumors, just thought I'd throw it out there.

2005-12-20 10:20:26

26. Borchard504

4) Herm - pls pls pls - Dunn hits a beautiful moon shot, at the launching pad called Great American. But he is average at best in the following, running, throwing, fielding, and of course, below avg. in strikeouts. $10 million a year, which he will get as a free agent, is better spent somewhere else.

2005-12-20 10:22:03

27. regfairfield

26 10 million on Dunn versus 10 million on Lofton and Nomar the first baseman? I'll take Dunn. It's not like strikeouts are that much worse than any other out.

2005-12-20 10:41:08

28. Vishal

[26] i'd say dunn is well above average in strikeouts. it's a thing of beauty :)

2005-12-20 11:16:36

29. rageon

Not to spark up the moot argument of Dunn again, but when a guy can hit 50 HRs, the number of strikeouts is irrelevant.

2005-12-20 11:27:09

30. Borchard504

That $10 million won't buy you effort though.