Can you think off-hand of any business (outside
of the military) that manhandles any employee if he/she
supposedly "gets out of line"?
No? I can.
It's the Florida Marlins, namely their
wanna-be Marine Corps Drill Instructor named Joe Girardi.
Seems that last week Marlins pitcher Scott
Olsen got a little miffed that when he came into a game
because the umpire short-changed him on his alloted warmup
tosses. To Joey Pitbull, that was a no-no, so he grabs
Olsen roughly by the jersey, pushes him against a wall
and gives him a tongue-lashing.
Way to go, Joe.
To kids watching this, they'll get the impression
that it's OK to grab somebody and push them against a
wall. For a guy who does a segment for kids on FSN Florida's
Marlins shows (wonder if he stresses having short hair
and no mustaches as a sign of being a good person as well?),
he should know better.
Some example Joey Pitbull is setting here.
One of your teammates not behaving? Just grab him and
throw him against a wall. If that had been me, Girardi
would have had problems.
Only two people ever had the right to grab
me like the way Girardi grabbed Olsen…my parents.
As far as I'm concerned, had I been Olsen
and Joey Pitbull grabs me, I'd be within my rights to
haul off. Bottom line, you don't manhandle a player to
show who's boss. Nor do you browbeat a player either.
Former Golden State Warriors coach P.J.
Carlesimo learned that lesson when Latrell Sprewell got
fed up with Carlesimo's bullying and tried to strangle
him.
Go back about 30 years when Rangers manager
Frank Lucchesi kept calling Lenny Randle a "punk." His
coaches kept warning Lucchesi to stop. Lucchesi kept doing
it and Randle had enough and broke some bones in Lucchesi's
face. Randle was soon traded afterwards.
As soon as Lucchesi was healed, he was fired.
If Olsen had struck back at Girardi, I would not have
been surprised in the least.
One thing is for sure. Somebody will not
be back with the Marlins next year. Since it seems that
the front office is going along with Girardi, Olsen will
be traded.
Right now, it seems that everybody is trying
to paint Olsen with the "troublemaker" brush. Maybe so,
but given Olsen's potential, some team will liberate him
from Joey Pitbull.
Girardi is soon going to have a player
revolt on his hands. Watch players start to grow facial
hair to show him up. He'll soon find out that The Stadium
Formerly Known As Joe Robbie isn't Parris Island and that
if he pulls that stunt again, a player will eventually
shove back…
