House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: of rants and rumors; a ready market

By Alan Carpenter

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 23: Matt Kemp #27 is congratulated by his teammate Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after hitting a second inning solo home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game One of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park on October 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 23: Matt Kemp #27 is congratulated by his teammate Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after hitting a second inning solo home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game One of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park on October 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) and former New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera (R) listen to U.S. President Donald Trump at a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) and former New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera (R) listen to U.S. President Donald Trump at a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images) /

So Christmas is now over and we’re supposedly in this ‘quiet’ period between the holidays.  Still feeling like there’s another blockbuster in the air.

The big question that we want answered, of course, is “will the Atlanta Braves be involved in a blockbuster trade deal?”  With everything going on, it still feels like the answer will – eventually – be ‘yes’.

But before I get to that, I really have something I want to get off my chest.

Every year, it seems that there is something – or someone involved in the Hall of Fame voting process who gets my dander up.  That has happened again.

You’ve probably already heard about this – Bill Ballou, a long-time writer for the Worcester Telegram (Massachusetts) who has covered the Red Sox for 32 years.

As such, he has one of the coveted Hall of Fame voting privileges.  The only slightly good news here is that he opted not to exercise that privilege this year:  he declined to turn in his ballot.

That at least means that no player’s candidacy will be bolstered, but neither will one be harmed either:  induction to Cooperstown requires a 75% majority ‘yes’ vote amongst all returned ballots.

So what was it about his post this last week that has riled up people?  It’s a couple of things.

Not grandstanding… just a bizarre argument

I was going to accuse Ballou of attention-grabbing… except that it would be a false accusation.  Here’s why:

  • He is a writer.  Writers write.  He’s been dedicating a column to his HOF choices for multiple years now.  This is nothing new, and he’s not trying to ‘cash in’ for more readers here.
  • At first blush, you’d note that he only slammed Mariano Rivera… and if he were being consistent, he should tell us why all of the other candidates were likewise dissed.  Except that he chose to stop a step short of the precipice and toss his ballot into the trash.  The attention-grabbers would mail it in.
  • He’s done this kind of thing before.  We’ll see that in a bit.

The problem I have with Ballou’s explanation, though, is that his logic is specious at best… the equivalent of using one bad example to represent the whole.

I will explain…

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