The Greedy Pinstripes… My Apology

Good morning Greedy Pinstripes family. I want to, no I need to, start this morning off with an apology. I haven’t been around. I haven’t wanted to be around. I didn’t even say why, so here is my explanation and my apology.

When we started this blog however many years ago it’s been now I had these vast dreams and hopes of toppling the big boys in the blog world. I wanted to be linked as a source on MLB Trade Rumors. I wanted Joel Sherman and Sweeny Murti and the likes to know me by name. For that reason I went hard, every single day I went hard, and while I never forced content I was a content machine for a long, long time.

That grind began to get to me this season. When the playoffs and offseason hit… I hit a wall. I’ve tried to work around that wall and it’s been a constant struggle. Until recently I tried to fight it but over the last week or so I’ve completely thrown my hands up. This time off has been good though, I feel the batteries recharging but I still feel bad leaving you guys and girls hanging. For that I apologize.

I can’t promise I’m back but I feel better today as I write this than I have in about six months as far as my writing is concerned. I may not be known, I may not be the next Chris Cotillo and although David Cone, Michael Kay and others follow me on Twitter I may not be well known in the blogging world but finally I know… that’s okay.

Burned out. Discouraged. Whatever adjective you want to use, I prefer to just be over it. Finally. Thank you for your patience and your continued support of me, the writers here, the community that has turned into a family (as dysfunctional as we are) and the blog as a whole.

Back to work. 

Trade Deadline: Click Baiting & What Happened to Actually Reporting on News?

Sources: Yankees may deal Chapman to Cubs https://t.co/NJ6ED6uLvP the story is via @ESPNChiCubs Send your comments his way, he loves them

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 25, 2016

What the hell happened to actually reporting on the news? I’m sorry to start your Tuesday morning off with a rant but I feel like there is a lot of things I have to get off my chest right now and this is the best place for me to do so because I don’t want to be blocked by half of twitter or hated on by half my friends. What happened to actual journalism and why is click baiting so damn “necessary” in an era where news is always up to the minute and people are going to be reading anyway? It’s sickening and it’s why I got into blogging, not to change the world but to show people that it can be done the “right” way. 

On Sunday night I went on a bit of a sarcastic rampage because anyone and everyone was reporting what they “knew” about the potential Aroldis Chapman trade to the Chicago Cubs. Now I was on twitter when people like Chris Cotillo were still essentially “nobodies” in the grand scheme of things so I’m not knocking on people because they just own a blog or don’t have millions of followers but I saw people “breaking news” that had 36 and 46 followers citing “sources.” To complicate matters you then had real and true insiders citing these same “sources” with the vaguest titles or the most click baiting titles I have ever seen in my life. 

Andrew Marchand of ESPN “reported” that the Yankees “may” trade Chapman to the Chicago Cubs a good three-or-four hours into the whole debacle where names were being leaked and the trade was reportedly close. And of course they “may” trade him, they may not trade him as well. What’s your point? And where did the journalism in all these things go? Are there anymore journalists left in the world or are we as fans subject to the same recycled crap with a few words changed around for the rest of our reading lives? 

Twelve hours prior to the Yankees being “close” to trading Chapman to the Cubs these same “sources” and insiders had him going to the Washington Nationals. Six hours later they had him going to the Cleveland Indians. Then the Cubs. Do you guys actually believe anything that you write or is being first, whether it’s accurate or not, or does being first mean THAT much to you? What happened to integrity first? Come on guys you are better than this. I know it because I’m old enough to have seen it. Believe it or not you may get more clicks and more views, which I understand is what pays your bills, for being real than being a d-bag. Ask Robert Casey and his Bleeding Yankee Blue site who probably get more clicks per day than you do. Why? Because they are awesome and better yet they are ACCOUNTABLE. 

Oh and Cubs fans. You ought to be ashamed of yourself talking to Julie DiCario the way that you do. Shame the hell on you and I hope I’m around when karma comes back to bite you in the ass. Sad and pathetic little people. Rant over!

So I Guess My “Brace Yourselves, a Robert Refsnyder Trade is Coming” Article Was a Bit Unpopular…

For an article that drew more clicks and attention than many of the posts I’ve put up this year I believe it was popular for all the wrong reasons. When I posted this article it blew my mind at the number of views it got. I got more attention for writing an opinion article on a potential Robert Refsnyder trade than I did for breaking the Mike Leake to the St. Louis Cardinals a good three days before Chris Cotillo “broke the news.” I have received many emails stating that Refsnyder was not going to be traded because Jack Curry and Jon Heyman haven’t reported it yet but I think you’re missing the point here, I never said it was breaking news.

I am wanting to put this out here instead of replying to nine different emails saying pretty much the same thing. I know all nine of you are reading and I appreciate your continued readership and support. This article was not meant to be breaking news, it’s an opinion. This is a fan blog and these are my opinions. When they are facts I quote the person who broke the news. I apologize if there was any confusion on this.

The facts of the article still remain though. Refsnyder is still blocked by Starlin Castro for the next four or five seasons and he is still one of the most attractive trade pieces on a team full of question marks, holes and needs. Other teams are like hawks and they will pounce when they think a team will “sell low” or undervalue their own prospects since they are blocked. This was my reasoning behind my OPINION that Refsnyder will be traded. Will he ultimately be traded? Only Brian Cashman knows. Not Curry, not Heyman and definitely not myself. 

Introduction to Accountability: Part One

So I get this weird email saying that Mike Leake to the St. Louis Cardinals will happen before Christmas. Take w/ a grain of salt. 5-yr deal

— Greedy Pinstripes (@GreedyStripes) December 19, 2015

I want to start this off with a little disclaimer. I’m not bitter, I’m not whining and I’m far from angry or upset about this. I merely just want this exposed for what it is because things will never change if we keep it bottled up and we don’t talk about it. I want to change the world, that’s why I got into blogging. I wanted to be not only different and unique but maybe a little special. Whether that came with fame and fortune and recognition didn’t concern me, I am and will always be happy with a small group of dedicated readers, followers, supporters, fans and most importantly friends. This is a battle I know I’m not going to win but I’m willing to fight the good fight anyway. That’s what makes me, me.

With all that said I want to touch on the news yesterday that Mike Leake had signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Ken Rosenthal and Chris Cotillo were given the credit for breaking the story naturally but that’s not how it happened. See above, this was my tweet almost a full week before the Cotillo tweet was made. I said that, per my source, Mike Leake would sign with the St. Louis Cardinals for five years before Christmas. On December 22, 2015 Leake signs with the Cardinals on five-years with the money details left pending. In a world where getting it first matters more than getting it right I had it first AND I had it right, again I may add… remember when I had Curtis Granderson going to the Mets before Joel Sherman… long before Joel Sherman, and once again I get nothing.

Again, I’m not mad and I don’t necessarily need the credit. I didn’t start blogging to become an insider and I don’t need the credit of everyone knowing I had it first. Everyone who matters knows I had it first, everyone that matters to me anyway.

I appreciate everyone who has had my back along the way and everyone who had my back on Twitter yesterday. It did not go unnoticed and it is appreciated. Thank you.