From this morning’s Cincinnati Enquirer:
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Twice during Thursday’s game, Sean Casey grounded into a double play with Ken Griffey Jr. on first base. In the 14 games Griffey and Casey have occupied the second and third spots in the Reds’ batting order, Casey has grounded into a double play with Griffey on base six times.
So, I would surmise then than the double plays are Junior’s fault? Probably because of his hamstring issue? Not because of Casey’s propensity for grounding to the middle of the infield….nah, that couldn’t be it.
If Casey killed someone with an axe, the Enquirer would blame the axe.
Owning a share of the team it’s almost obvious to me that the local rags have taken it upon themselves to really stress the point thatCasey is the face of the team. They tend to describe is personality more than his game, dressing it with an overload ofthe famous teamwork metaphors.
I find credence in some but the barometer for a happy team is scoring runs and preventing them, not off the field realtionships and things of that ilk.
The Cincinnati community has a long history of BA driven 1st baseman who are known for their character as much as they were known for their ability to play the game.
For what it’s worth, when I spoke with Marc Lancaster, Marc said that Casey really is as nice, as gregarious, as much a regular guy as the media makes him out to be.
Now, that doesn’t excuse the fact that he’s hyped way beyond his talent, but I can understand…if you are talking to the guy every day, and you genuinely like him, it seems like human nature not to want to slam him in the newspaper.
I believe that a team in a smaller city like the Reds needs a “Face” and they gladly dole out the love to the players with the great grin. A player like Casey sells tickets in the form of giving the fans a player that they relate to.
It is an importnat part of the franchise’s lifeblood within the community.
However the escalation of the salary structure makes it harder to stomach marketing over substance in the batters box.
I’m apt to beleiver that part of Casey’s salary is because of the type of man he is.
I’d like him to be the type of man who batted 6th myself.
They need to move him down in the lineup until he finds his timing and stroke.
And I agree that he’s the “Brand”. Hard to figure out how to value that.