Tom Haudricourt: back at it

[mls4]

Tom is back at it on his blog. I guess I don't understand why he gets so defensive when someone questions him.

[don1481]

Believe me, I am not "shaken up." The only thing that could shake me up is somebody who knows what they are talking about claiming I don't know how to do my job. Then, I'd be worried.

Wow. Just... wow.

 

Then again, this is definitely not the first time that Transitive Property has played the "I know more than anyone" card:

 

Q:	Jim from Columbia, MO asks: How can you have any credibility on these choices when you are a beat writer for the team?
http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/assets/space_clear.gif
A:	Tom Haudricourt: What kind of question is that? You're questioning my credibility? I've covered the Brewers for all but two years since 1985. Who knows their system better than me? I talk with the BA guys all the time to make sure we're on the same page. Jim Callis and I talked extensively about how to rank the top prospects this year, who should be No. 1, etc. I have written for BA for many, many years and consider myself a pretty good authority on their farm system. I think the editors at BA agree or they wouldn't ask me to do the prospect lists. If you don't think I can be a harsh critic or discerning writer, just ask the Brewers. Sorry you have such a low opinion of beat writers. And besides, I'm just as much a national writer as a beat writer, sharing duties with Drew Olson. If you know somebody in the baseball writing profession who knows the Brewers and their system better than Drew and myself, I'd like to know who it is.

Psst, Tom... it's called Brewerfan.net. Maybe you've heard of it...?http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[brettac1]

This stuff aside, I was actually going to start a "Tom Haudricourt Blog Appreciation Thread", because I think it's been excellent all offseason, thus far. I'm really enjoying it, it's much better if you don't read the comments, though. The level of discourse is somewhere below kindergarten.

[RU Rah Rah]

He seems to have caught a mild case of persecution complex down in the Music City.

[gregmag]

We/I got off on this a bit over on the trade forum . . . I think Haudricourt is a petulant jerk, but I agree with Brett that his work, which I've never liked much, has gotten a lot more valuable. His blog this offseason has been really informative and well done.

 

Greg.

[1992casey]

This topic has been split from an old thread. It looks like something that'll be much easier to follow with a new thread.

 

For reference, here's the link to the thread this was split from:

 

Tom Haudricourt getting a little snippy with fans

[dadofandrew]

Tom has been doing some of his best work. It is a shame he doesn't just ignore the detractors. I delete nasty e-mails all the time, as I have nothing to gain from replying.

[ccbrew]

I think he's doing a fine job with his blog. The whole purpose of it is to keep fans informed of things as he finds out about it, is it not?

 

I think the fact that he's responding to one-liner call-outs from "Jim from Columbia" and others is a waste of time and energy. With risk of sounding a little condescending, some of the comments he's been getting are just dumb.

[chinabob99]

I feel for the guy. I'm sure his editors have been really pushing him on this "blog" thing he doesn't really get. "Interact with the readers!," they tell him. "You need to be more accessible."

 

And so he does, reluctantly. And his posts have been like crack for many of us over the last couple days. But I can imagine, after a long day busting his hump running down rumors in a packed, labrynthine hotel in Nashville and generating 5-6 solid posts a day, he tries to do what his editors have been yammering about an interact with the readers. Only to find a few of them calling him a stooge and a liar, and saying the monumentally stupid/uninformed/offensive things we all know get posted all the time on other forums. That kind of stuff must stick out like a sore thumb to someone trying to work in an unfamiliar format.

 

If your only real frame of reference was the jsonline forums, wouldn't you be a little skeptical of the value of blogs? And so, because, as he understands it, blogs are basically the wild wild west except with idiocy flying through the air instead of buckshot, he unleashes a few choice words back into the ether. The one particular commenter he unloaded on seriously posted about 100 times in two days, mostly calling Tom H. a liar because the poster had seen different information somewhere on espn.com.

 

Give the man some time. His posts have been fantastic, maybe he will get the internets figured out by the trade deadline.

[Brian the Automator]

	Who knows their system better than me?

Greg Gross?

 

[Brian the Automator]

Tom has been doing some of his best work. It is a shame he doesn't just ignore the detractors. I delete nasty e-mails all the time, as I have nothing to gain from replying.

I was wondering why you hadn't replied to me.

 

[dadofandrew]

You can spell, Brian, it's not you.

[trwi7]

Greg Gross?

 

Brian just always has an answer. You know you make me look like an idiot when I start laughing for no good reason to other people right?http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

 

 

[GenoSeligPrieb]

I'm with Brett.

 

Tom has done a great job this winter, and I find myself anxious for his next piece. The only unfortunate part here is that he let that jerk get under his skin.

[sauveb]

I am in the pro-Tom camp this winter. While I wish that he wouldn't respond to the negative e-mails, how hard would it be to see those things out there publicly and not be able to just delete them.

[Brian the Automator]

I'm not going to complain too much about Tom. He's really trying his best to get us the latest updates from the Winter Meetings which otherwise wouldn't be available to us.

 

On the other hand, his response to that blogger opens himself way up for tons of criticism. I agree... He should have just let the comments go, because he made himself look pretty bad with his replies (unless of course, it was just someone posing as him).

 

I have no idea what it takes to be a beat writer, walking the fine line between relaying news and betraying sources, so while I give him a good ribbing for some pretty obvious mistakes, I'm not really in a position to say he's worse than other beat writers.

[don1481]

I'm not going to complain too much about Tom. He's really trying his best to get us the latest updates from the Winter Meetings which otherwise wouldn't be available to us.

Honestly, I thought TH was actually starting to get the hang of this "let's provide useful and insightful information to the fans" concept. All the more reason why his snide comments towards that one commenter in his recent blog posts really disappoint me.

On the other hand, his response to that blogger opens himself way up for tons of criticism. I agree... He should have just let the comments go, because he made himself look pretty bad with his replies (unless of course, it was just someone posing as him).

Given how we all know TH's tendency to blow up at anyone who dares question his standing as *the* authoritative figure on the Brewers, I doubt it was someone posing as him. If that was the case, I'm sure the offending content would have been removed by now.

 

I have no idea what it takes to be a beat writer, walking the fine line between relaying news and betraying sources, so while I give him a good ribbing for some pretty obvious mistakes, I'm not really in a position to say he's worse than other beat writers.

Here in WI, who do we have to compare him to (outside of the constant stream of Packers coverage) - McCalvy...?

[Boy Jeenius]

TH does a great job. I trust the guy. What you get from him is credible 99% of the time. I really look forward to the Brewers Round Table discussions every month during the season. But there's always someone who's just sure they know more than the guy who spends every day in the clubhouse with more access to the players and management than everybody else. Or they're positive they know more than Doug Melvin or Ned Yost. We read it everyday here at BFN. I agree with the previous posts that feel bad that he let that person get under his skin. But quite frankly, I found it refreshing that he let off a little steam and told that mope what for.

[mls4]

No I didn't make this post to insinuate that Tom was not doing a good job; I agree that his blog is informative, and for the most part, well done. My only point was in how he responds to the criticism, which correctly said, is not really worth reading.

[don1481]

But quite frankly, I found it refreshing that he let off a little steam and told that mope what for.

 

But that was the point I'm trying to make; TH does that sort of stuff far too often, whether it's in his JSOnline chats, his Baseball America chats, or now his blog. While on one hand it is great and all that he can provide such good information (now moreso than ever), on the other hand his condescending attitude towards fans is what really makes him the target of a lot of commentary around here.

[Fatter than Joey]

But quite frankly, I found it refreshing that he let off a little steam and told that mope what for.

 

To each his own I suppose-- but I would have rather that he just left it alone -- he knows that he knows more than "Jim from East St. Louis" -- I think it just will spawn more antagonistic type comments in the future.

[homer]

I think Tom has done a great job so far this off season. It's obvious he is able to reveal more in his blog than in the print edition - unfortunate but true.

 

But, it's been quite apparent in his blog and in his chats that he has somewhat of a thin skin (and so does Potrykus - you should see what he posts over on Badger Maniac). He should just ignore the riff raff - it is kind of unprofessional to respond like that.

[RU Rah Rah]

And it's not like whining is actually going to make the dynamic any better for him. If anything, it's just going to prompt people to try to goad him.

[Fatter than Joey]

And it's not like whining is actually going to make the dynamic any better for him. If anything, it's just going to prompt people to try to goad him.

 

Right -- and engaging in name calling/my sources are better than your sources, only detract from the way he is viewed professionally.