LaPorta gets a boner from the Red Sox
This made me a little bit queasy...
10 months ago
thevicar
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Not cool, LaPorta. You’re going to have to be extra awesome to earn my love now.
by cleveland teamer on May 7, 2009 9:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
After this and Shapiro heaping praises on Pedroia (during the radio broadcast last night), I feel ill.
by Toxicadam on May 7, 2009 9:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
If I divorce myself from the personality issues, Pedroia is a good player and I would not mind his level of production at 2b.
Sometimes, I just like to b****.
by emd2k3 on May 7, 2009 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wish I never read that. The whole thing. From the Fenway love to the Him references, it was completely unnecessary.
No, not you. Your helmet!
by PatBordersHelmet on May 7, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
LaPorta commenting on his faith is a regular event. That’s part of the package, and I respect him for it.
by ShawnK on May 7, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yea, I would think someone with the Twitter name Gator4God probably is very faithful. I see no reason to vilify him for that
by Roger Dorn on May 7, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The eye-rolling at LaPorta’s Christianity is getting tiresome. There are lots of athletes and public figures who reference their faith regularly. LaPorta must be setting off some people’s B.S. detectors, but unless and until he’s knocking on your door asking you to accept Jesus, I can’t see the gripe.
by fleerdon on May 7, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fact is, a huge number of major leaguers are quite serious about their Christian faith, many of them evangelicals, and of course there are quite a few serious Catholics. While only the Rockies explicitly attempted to build a team of Christians, my impression is that most clubs have player prayer groups that meet pretty regularly. The population of baseball fans is significantly more intellectual, and to some extent secular humanist, than the population of pro baseball players, a trend which almost certainly extends to the coaches and probably into front offices as well. It’s ultimately a small industry.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 7, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just read it is as a young guy who is hyper-modest, that’s all.
by joeee on May 7, 2009 9:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Me too. His phrasing was inelegant, but I read the whole thing as “it’s pretty awesome that everyone from Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds have hit homers here. If Wedge lets me play, I’d like to hit one of those stupid Wakefield knuckleballs into the Monster seats.”
by FredOx on May 7, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Right. Fenway Park is a huge part of baseball history and LaPorta sounds like a guy who knows and respects the history of the game. What’s wrong with that?
by Buckeye Brad on May 7, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Cut the guy some slack. At least he was smart enough not to sign with them.
by woodsmeister on May 7, 2009 10:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Growing up a Cubs fan in Florida…
UGH is tehre any worse way to grow up?! And now Fenway?
Would anyone be offended if I hated LaPorta?
I'm *always* in the driver's seat, cugino -- Chuck
by Turkmenbashi on May 7, 2009 10:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The kid group up in Florida watching WGN. I’m just glad he chose to support the Cubs over the White Sox. It sounds like he appreciates tradition…I like that.
by ShawnK on May 7, 2009 1:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have more respect for White Sox fans than Cubs fans, the the reverse is true of the organizations
I'm *always* in the driver's seat, cugino -- Chuck
by Turkmenbashi on May 7, 2009 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Funny, I respect the White Sox org more than the Cubs. I can’t think of much that the Cubs do right.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 7, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And I have more respect for (true) Cubs fans than Sox fans. The only thing I think of with White Sox fans is beating up 1B coaches.
by Ryan Kelsey on May 8, 2009 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Eh, he’s just a baseball player appreciating the history of Fenway Park. Regardless of what you think of the Red Sox and their fans, every baseball fan who understands the history of the game should respect and appreciate parks like Fenway and Wrigley. Those are the last two historic parks left in the game. I don’t think there is anything wrong with an Indians player saying that he enjoyed playing in Fenway Park; he’s just a baseball fan like the rest of us.
by Buckeye Brad on May 7, 2009 10:48 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It’s truly a privilege to play for a visiting club here, or play for the Red Sox, I’m sure.
Eff. That.
I stopped reading after that sentence.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
by rolub on May 7, 2009 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is this just a story about Lebron James with his name replaced with “Matt LaPorta” and Madison Square Garden replaced with “Fenway Park”?
by AllenSmith on May 7, 2009 10:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Actually, I think LaPorta had the same kind of reverence/adulation when he played in Yankee stadium last year in the Futures game.
by Toxicadam on May 7, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Our best players wear suits?
www.lowbrowsophisticate.com
by kwoog on May 7, 2009 1:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Some people around here are very sensitive about their fanhood.
Sometimes, I just like to b****.
by emd2k3 on May 7, 2009 1:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don’t understand why the title of this has to be so sophomoric.
by NickFantana on May 7, 2009 1:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It was the most appropriate way I could think of to sum up the article
by thevicar on May 7, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Were you farting as you typed “sophomoric”? Admit it – just a lil’ squeaker, wasn’t it?
How hilarious is this title in light of recent Manny-events?
by joeee on May 7, 2009 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Manny had the same affliction as LaPorta, obviously. He just tried to get back a little of what he lost in that trade.
Though I look right at home, I still feel like an exile
by Manhattan Tribe Fan on May 7, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I’ve been to Fenway once, in 1999. I thought it was kind of a hole. And a 12 oz cup of beer was like six bucks. It was the game when Jaret Wright beaned somebody in the head (Damon Buford?) and the benches cleared. That part was awesome.
by piersall on May 7, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I’ve been twice (both non-Indians games) and enjoyed both visits. Camden Yards is much nicer, but doesn’t reek of history like Fenway does.
-Erik
by drerikbrady on May 7, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was there in 2000. Saw a day-night doubleheader (we split) in Sept. It may not be the prettiest place to watch a game, but it is awesome to know that Ruth, Williams, Boudreau, Feller, etal have all played on the field, in basically the same configuration. That to me is pretty cool.
by talonk on May 7, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And apparently to LaPorta, too. Fans seem to want the players to show the same foaming at the mouth hatred for rivals that they themselves feel, for LaPorta to say “I hate this place, it’s the Hellmouth. I hate Boston. I will feed on their young and wipe the blood from my fangs with the pelts of their family pets.” But the players don’t feel that way, even if they want to pound the opponent into the ground once the first pitch is thrown.
by FredOx on May 7, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’ve been three times since I moved here to Boston, going again tonight. I have to admit I love it. There’s the annoying fan factor, but pretty much every good time has a lot of annoying fans. I think I might have been lucky in terms of my seats, but I’ve had great experiences.
by APV on May 7, 2009 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
My big problem with Fenway is that I cannot fit in the seats
by Roger Dorn on May 7, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The seats I’ve sat in actually haven’t been bad. I think two of the games I’ve been in the remodeled seats, which I think are a little more spacious.
by APV on May 7, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I like the stadiums astethically. It’s the pricing that does it in. It’s the least afforcable day at the ballparks in baseball according to this from boston.com (the Boston Globe’s online version). Cheap beer is $7.25 as of last night. It prices too many fans out of seeing a Major League Baseball game.
by thevicar on May 7, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’ve been to Fenway twice, once for an Indians game. That was the infamous game where Fausto gave up the game-winning home run to David Ortiz during his failed closer experience. I was so devistated — I thought we had the game won and was ready to talk crap to all the Red Sox fans. But we lost and my wife and I had to endure harassment leaving the ballpark (not that I wouldn’t have done the same had we won).
by Buckeye Brad on May 7, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t really get the vitriol targeted towards LaPorta just because he happens to likes Fenway, or that he’s openly religious. The guy’s saying what he thinks, and frankly there’s no point in getting bent out of shape about it as long it’s not affecting the team (as in, criticizing a teammate or creating bulletin board material), or the fanbase. As someone said above, this is the equivalent of LeBron waxing poetic about MSG.
by Ryan on May 7, 2009 4:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I am in total agreement with you. But I fear if he had said something similar about Yankee Stadium, half the posters would have called for his immediate trade (yes, chuck, that’s you leading the masses).
by talonk on May 7, 2009 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m actually willing to bet that only a few posters would care
by Roger Dorn on May 7, 2009 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wouldn’t say half. Just a couple very vocal posters would care.
by Ryan on May 7, 2009 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It would certainly spark a large discussion. Some people here (and not just Chuck) cannot stand to hear something good said about anything attached to the Yankees in any way. It’s getting so that you can’t have an intelligent discussion about any topic that relates to the Yankees (or Red Sox for that matter, as this thread shows).
by Buckeye Brad on May 7, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can’t speak for the others, but my negative comments are hardly vitriolic. With how things have been going lately, i decided it was time to intentionally overreact to everything.
You know Selig? Ombudsman.
by rolub on May 7, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have no problem with his respect for Fenway and desire to play there. But while he’s an Indian he should make it clear that he’s excited to play against the Red Sox at Fenway.
by cleveland teamer on May 8, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
My read on this is that he was simply trying not to offend, and he had a great experience there when he visited in 2006.
I just hope one day that I have the opportunity to play here.
He means, “like tonight.” He was not used in the game the night before, so he has never played at Fenway.
It’s truly a privilege to play for a visiting club here, or play for the Red Sox, I’m sure.
Awkward sentence, obviously didn’t come out the way he wanted. I think he started: “It’s truly a privilege to play for a visiting club here,” which is what he is doing — and this is what you wanted him to say. But he then realized that that could leave the impression that it’s not a privilege to play for the home team, which wasn’t what he was really trying to say, so he awkwardly adds: “… or play for the Red Sox, I’m sure.”
I don’t see the big deal.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 8, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I mean, he makes it perfectly clear that he believes God wants him to be playing for the Indians now, what more do you want?
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 8, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That does make me feel better. I just wish we could get some divine intervention in the bullpen too.
by cleveland teamer on May 8, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Happy to help.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 8, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Happy to help you feel better, I mean. Don’t think I can do much about the divine intervention, but I will do my best.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 8, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ha, when I read your first comment I thought you meant you were going to help with the divine intervention part. I’m glad you clarified — I thought maybe you were letting all this power go to your head!
by Buckeye Brad on May 8, 2009 12:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, this is no different from any Wedge discussion. Either Jay has no power whatsoever over anything that happens (in which case, who cares about the guy one way or another). Or he does, and he’s screwing up royally, and needs to go.
by dgcambridge on May 8, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I guess I’m the one who probably should be traded for a reliever.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
by Jay on May 8, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree. My top favorite baseball fantasys are probably 1.) win WS for tribe 2.) starting 2b for the Tribe at the Jake 3.) playing an MLB game at Fenway
by joeee on May 8, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is the most cleveland.com thing I’ve ever written. I’m a creative writing minor. Great. Note to self: stop typing sideways, on your bed.
by joeee on May 8, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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