Let me start off by saying that I really like Sean Casey. I own a Casey jersey, he’s a great ambassador for Cincinnati baseball, and he’s even shown flashes of being a very good hitter at times in his career.
That said, he’s clearly overrated. Now, the media worship of St. Casey has ascended to new heights. Read this:
But the struggle disappeared in the eighth, when the Reds put two runners on with one out for Sean Casey.
What ensued was an 11-pitch at-bat in which Casey sucked the life out of Halsey before finally going down quietly with a pop out to third. He had left his mark, though.
“He gave us a big at-bat,” Narron said. “I’m sure that had something to do with the pitching change right there.”
Sean Casey is now being praised for popping out to third base!
Again, I like Casey and I’m happy that he’s a media, management, and fan favorite. But when Adam Dunn — who is twice as productive as Casey — is constantly criticized for everything and Casey is constantly praised for everything, you have to wonder how things got so out of whack.
Casey and his sub-800 OPS leads the world in double plays, while Dunn and his 900+ OPS is within striking distance of the league lead in multiple offensive categories. Yet, Casey hits third, and Dunn hits seventh. Casey is praised for a popup to third, and Dunn is criticized for not hitting enough sacrifice flies. Casey is untouchable on the trade front, while it appears that Dunn is being actively shopped.
The world has gone crazy.