Family planning and the bullpen

[RU Rah Rah]

Twice this season, the Brewers have been left semi-shorthanded in the bullpen because relievers were traveling to be with their wives as they gave birth. (First Linebrink, and now Shouse, who is currently in Peoria with his expectant wife.)

 

I'm not going to suggest that players shouldn't be present for the births of their children. (If it were me, I would be there to see my kid come into the world.) But is it irresponsible for players to intentionally conceive children in, say, January when they know there's a chance that it might interfere with their work nine months down the road (September)? People in other professions (teachers come to mind) often will plan pregnancies around their work calendars.

 

I'm sort of on the fence on this one.......

[brettac1]

How do you know that they intentionally conceived children, so as to be born during the season? Sometimes it just happens.

[RU Rah Rah]

How do you know that they intentionally conceived children, so as to be born during the season? Sometimes it just happens.

Oh, you're right, we don't. I should have been clearer and shaped the question as, "Assuming it is intentional, is it irresponsible?"

 

[trwi7]

What I don't understand is why you would want to be there. Yuck, I'll pass on that.

[logan82]

I am going to go out on a limb and say most players don't live where they play so it is kind of tough to conceive a child during the 7-8 months you are gone during the year.

[brettac1]

The nights are mightly cold in Peoria in January, and sometimes Shouse has gotta warm up.

 

I think logan is pretty much right, married couples probably don't see one another very often during the season.

[JimH5]

I'm not on the fence at all.

 

Nobody's job is more important than their children. Family always comes before work, whether you're a teacher or baseball player. If somehow that is now considered unprofessional, then I think we need to reconsider our priorities.

 

It's not exactly the same, but a little similar. . .During the 1934 pennant race, Hank Greenberg didn't play on Yom Kippur for religious reasons, and was largely celebrated for his convictions.

[trwi7]

It's not exactly the same, but a little similar. . .During the 1934 pennant race, Hank Greenberg didn't play on Yom Kippur for religious reasons, and was largely celebrated for his convictions.

Didn't Shawn Green do the same thing a few years back?

[And That]

I mean, if the owners even brought this up in the next CBA talks, they'd have to give up 2 years of arbitration just to get past the shock.

 

I am not on the fence about this - if a child is conceived, and the due date happens to be at an inopportune time for the player involved, it is up to him to decide what to do about it.

[JimH5]

Didn't Shawn Green do the same thing a few years back?

 

He may have. . .but honestly, I'm not sure. And I would (perhaps ignorantly) assume that Ryan Braun may be facing the same decision.

 

Would that lead some to consider him unprofessional?

[mothershipconnection]

I'd bet the relative frequency of "breeding behavior" is far higher in the offseason than during the season. Guys can spend more time with their wives and can relax and take vacations and whatnot, which boosts the libido a bit more than constant stress and scrutiny. Thus, it'd be more likely that the child is born during the season, unless it's conceived at the very end of the offseason.

[areacodes]

Didn't Shawn Green do the same thing a few years back?

 

He may have. . .but honestly, I'm not sure. And I would (perhaps ignorantly) assume that Ryan Braun may be facing the same decision.

 

Would that lead some to consider him unprofessional?

 

I'm pretty sure Braun said somewhere (maybe the quick little SI article) that he wasn't overly religious and gave off the impression, atleast to me, that he wouldn't miss a game for that reason. Not that he would be unprofessional for doing so, even during a playoff run. I also believe that Green did skip a game for a holiday when he played with the Dodgers.

[mls4]

I'm with JimH5 on this one. Honestly, I can't believe it's even a question.

[jason21nl]

It's not exactly the same, but a little similar. . .During the 1934 pennant race, Hank Greenberg didn't play on Yom Kippur for religious reasons, and was largely celebrated for his convictions.

Didn't Shawn Green do the same thing a few years back?

 

green did sit out a very important game once because of that. I have no problem with a player leaving to go to the birth of a child. It shouldn't even be an issue

[AJAY]

Threads like this tell me that we are all getting really edgy being in a close playoff race. Who would have even thought about this kind of stuff if we were either way ahead or way out of it? Maybe if Ned could a handle pitchng staff better, we would have a bigger lead and wouldn't be questioning the mating behaviors of our middle relievers.

 

Anyway, I love kids and stuff. But we haven't been in the playoffs in 25 years.

 

Wear a condom boys.

[jaybird2001wi]

Why is this even being discussed? Players are virtually on the road for nine months on the year from February (Spring Training) until possibly late October (playoffs). That gives players a three-month window to "conceive" a child. Things happen. The Yankees' rookie pitcher Ian Kennedy has a wedding Oct. 6 and if the Yanks make the playoffs, he calculated it to the point where he may have to start the game Oct. 6 and may be "forced" to change wedding plans.

In the real working world, you don't see your average blue-collar manufacturing worker trying to conceive at certain points of the year because they know they have to work year-round and what not, but employers give the workers "family leave" when their wives are giving birth, etc.

This is a non-issue. Players have about as much responsibility to family as us "average folks" do.

[DHonks]

speaking of Braun...I was going to ask if we even know that he is a practicing Jew. Plus, he could be of the Jewish ethnicity and not the Jewish faith. Although, I almost had a funny typo there, to show how Ryan is almost god-like. I originally referred to him as "He." So who is Ryan Braun? "He am, who am"

[dlk9s]

What I don't understand is why you would want to be there. Yuck, I'll pass on that.

The days of the father passing out cigars in the waiting room are long over, my friend.

I guarantee that when it comes down to the day of your child's birth, you will want to be in the delivery room. You can be up at your wife's head. And if you don't want to be in there, your wife will make you.

[logan82]

What I don't understand is why you would want to be there. Yuck, I'll pass on that.

The days of the father passing out cigars in the waiting room are long over, my friend.

I guarantee that when it comes down to the day of your child's birth, you will want to be in the delivery room. You can be up at your wife's head. And if you don't want to be in there, your wife will make you.

 

Yeah you can sit where you don't see to much. Do not miss the birth of your child. That is one thing you would never live down.

 

On that note I was wondering how Russ is handling the impending birth of his first child. I seem to remember he mentioned something about a due date around the playoffs and how he could make it to the games.

[jwill535]

Just because you want to conceive a child at a certain time doesnt mean its going to happen. There are people that can try every month and nothing happens or there are people like me and my wife(blowing on fingers and rubbing on my chest) it happened the first month we tried.

[Paul77]

Anyone really think Shouse wants to be gone right now, in the middle of a pennant race? He knows how important he is to the bullpen. But at the end of the day, it comes down to his family. And not "his cousins wedding" type of family, it's the birth of his child.

 

Every time I hear or read someone talk about this I roll my eyes. I think it's very selfish (for fans) to even question why a player is absent at the time like this. In a world where athletes are notorious for being poor role models we're talking about a couple of guys who are absent to be with their wifes during childbirth, whats wrong with this picture?

[djoctagone]

players' wives may tend to give birth during the season, but players' mistresses tend to give birth during the off-season. do the math.

 

for a moment, i thought this topic was about seth mcclung and his experience being a teammate of elijah dukes.

[Fatter than Joey]

The only other aspect I will add to this, is that the Brewer management knows that this is going to happen, probably 6 months ago. As long as Shouse tells DM/NY his wife's due date -- It becomes DM/NY's responsibility to work around it.

[RU Rah Rah]

Just to reiterate (quoting myself at the beginning of the thread): "I'm not going to suggest that players shouldn't be present for the births of their children. (If it were me, I would be there to see my kid come into the world.)"

 

I guess the argument is that, to the extent that it can be controlled, perhaps intentionally conceiving a child in January/February isn't ideal for an MLB player. I don't think that's really a crazy claim. And that certainly isn't to suggest that Shouse is a bad guy, or that he shouldn't be in Peoria.

 

Also, I don't think the comparison with religious holidays is valid. Individuals really can't control the date of Yom Kippur, but they often can control when their children are born. (Obviously, that isn't 100% in every case, given the vagaries of conception.)

[rluzinski]

On that note I was wondering how Russ is handling the impending birth of his first child. I seem to remember he mentioned something about a due date around the playoffs and how he could make it to the games.

 

Due Date: Oct 7th

Date of home playoff games in first round: Oct 6th & 7th

 

Talk about irresponsible!