Why does everyone hate Kim?

[arthurracoon]

Why?

 

[green machine]

Because he's 10X the baseball player I'll ever be.

Nobody hates Kim. His work ethic and attitude have come into question. There is no questioning the amount of talent he has. Does he have the makeup to be a good starter for many years to come? He will be earning a fairly large salary next year, therefore if we do make a trade with one of our young pitchers Kim seems to be the logical choice to go.

adam

 

[Matrix31]

I dont think many people dislike Kim, i think the media is kind of giving him a bad name by constantly questioning his attitude. I know his work ethic is good as ive heard he throws around 100 pitches a day (Schilling actually told him to stop since he became a starter). I just dont think hes very media friendly being from a different country and not having total grasp of the language so people get the wrong idea about him.

 

[BC867]

I was pleasantly shocked at how well BK pitched coming back from the DL!

Now's the time to package him with Chad Moeller for a cleanup hitter.

C'mon, Joe!

 

[Lefty]

No way you trade BK. I would trade Good or Patterson and another player for a big bat. Kim is only 24 and he has proven he belongs.

 

[AZZenny]

You know what? After the last several games, I don't trade anyone for a big bat. A single big bat won't save this season, and we'd have to give up way too much. The baseball gods seem completely determined to screw us into the ground.

I agree we keep BK, now. Let's get on with a serious overhaul and rebuilding. To think half-a-dozen veteran guys will suddenly discover new batteries and plate discipline all at once - and that's what it'll take - seems almost delusional. Fifty-plus games in, and we can't touch .500 baseball!

Let's aim to be exciting, energetic, and different next season, and let's start now.

Few of the bats get hot for more than a couple games, partly since as soon as they get hot they start forcing because they feel like they have to carry everything, and then they slide back to tepid; partly Brenly's 48-and-counting lineups. We have base-run ourselves out of something like 31 innings. Our defense may be adequate numerically, but we all know it isn't at all crisp or pretty like it always has been. Also we are accumulating more DL and non-DL dings and bruises every day - Webb and Mantei today alone.

White Flag.

 

[RLakin]

Originally posted by Matrix31
I dont think many people dislike Kim, i think the media is kind of giving him a bad name by constantly questioning his attitude.

Sounds like another guy we traded this off-season.

 

[Matrix31]

Sounds like another guy we traded this off-season.

I was going to bring that up, but at the time i was so upset with how the Dbacks played i had totally forgot Durazo's name. It is a conspiracy theory though for those who are in to that sort of thing. When the Dbacks feel like they need to trade a player they spread rumors around that says hes not good for team chemistry so when they do make what seems like a lopsided trade in the other teams favor the fans can just look back and say he wasnt good in the clubhouse. I dont remember anything bad being said by the management or players when Kim had that rough go at it in the 2001 world series, in fact i remember all of his teammates and coaches speaking very highly of him. It just doesnt make sense that when Kim finally gets the starting role he has always wanted that he would then become a cancer in the clubhouse.

 

[moviegeekjn]

Originally posted by AZZenny

I agree we keep BK, now. Let's get on with a serious overhaul and rebuilding. To think half-a-dozen veteran guys will suddenly discover new batteries and plate discipline all at once - and that's what it'll take - seems almost delusional. Fifty-plus games in, and we can't touch .500 baseball!

Let's aim to be exciting, energetic, and different next season, and let's start now.

Very sensible!

Wish they'd work out an exchange deal for season ticket holders.... trade in some of this year's games for some Fall League fare where there are players with some energy and hope for the future

All the talk I've seen about trading one of our pitching prospects for one big right handed bat is a bunch of hooey.... The problems with the team are way beyond a quick, simple fix like that.

 

[schillingfan]

Originally posted by Matrix31
I was going to bring that up, but at the time i was so upset with how the Dbacks played i had totally forgot Durazo's name. It is a conspiracy theory though for those who are in to that sort of thing. When the Dbacks feel like they need to trade a player they spread rumors around that says hes not good for team chemistry so when they do make what seems like a lopsided trade in the other teams favor the fans can just look back and say he wasnt good in the clubhouse. I dont remember anything bad being said by the management or players when Kim had that rough go at it in the 2001 world series, in fact i remember all of his teammates and coaches speaking very highly of him. It just doesnt make sense that when Kim finally gets the starting role he has always wanted that he would then become a cancer in the clubhouse.

This is the first time that the D-Backs have been in a trading away of players mode, instead of trading unknown prospects for stars from other teams - so it's a new experience.

Phillies have routinely engaged in this practice. They bad mouthed the heck out of Curt on his way out of town, and Scott Rolen as well. I hate it because it reduces the value of the players, is a crappy thing to do and it is manipulation of fans which really annoys me.

I think that the coaches and personnel for the team suddenly start mention negative things about players to the media, whereas before they would only tell positive stories.

 

[moviegeekjn]

Bad mouthing players publicly may save on negative fan reaction (not sure it has that much effect on marketing/promotions), but it certainly can't help trade value...

One opposite angle I'm aware of from the 80's... was when the Cardinals suddenly traded away fan favorite Keith Hernandez, who had a stellar on field reputation as one of the games better hitters and perhaps the finest fielding first baseman in the league... The fan reaction was VERY negative against the trade with the Mets, but the Cards management initially kept mum on the REAL reasons...

Herzog had a reputation for building solid teams, and having a knack for moving veterans at the proper time.

The "team chemistry" rumors came out later... with literal emphasis on "chemistry" ...

 

[unc84steve]

It's interesting you mention the Keith Hernandez trade.

My "good buddy" Bill James commented about Whitey making the Hernandez trade in an article that criticized Chuck Tanner for losing control of the 1970's Pirates clubhouse to drug traders. Herzog was not going to let that happen to the Cardinals. He traded a popular player in Kansas City for a similar reason.

I think it relates to the D'back situation not for any substance abuse, but for management-level "guts" to make unpopular, uncomfortable decisions & moves. Nobody wants to tell a player he's past his period of usefulness. More importantly, nobody likes to publicly admit a mistake.

We here talk about "sunk costs"--the D'backs have to pay the guarenteed contracts of Tony Womack, Mark Grace, Quinton McCracken & Matt Williams no matter where they spend their summer evenings: BOB, Tucson, Tampa Bay, Fenway, or a ranch back home. But "admitting" you made a multi-million dolllar mistake 5 years ago, or 3 years ago, or 6 months ago puts one's job on the line (Joe, Jr.) or weakens a public image. It's easier to blame "bad luck" or whisper that someone is exaggerating their injury--saying out of one side of your mouth they're a malingering slacker, while saying out of the other side of your mouth they're an uncoachable work-a-holic.

I think Whitey Herzog would have the "guts" to "retire" the players he wanted "retired", designate for assignment those he wanted to get rid of. That's my hunch. I'd be interested in the feedback.

 

[moviegeekjn]

Whitey was about as objective a judge of talent as I've witnessed, and he cut loose favorite players relentlessly while he performed the GM duties... Very much in tune with the numbers, he often parted with personal favorites, like John Tudor and Joaquin Andujar, when he felt they were entering less productive periods.... in Tudor's case, he took him back when Tudor was getting guys out with complete junk (at a much cheaper price, of course)

Whitey, or someone of his same mentality, would make an ideal GM for the D'backs.... He doesn't give a damn about public perceptions, but makes his decisions based on baseball sense.
He'd never take such a job again because he's disgusted with the brand of baseball that's being played, and he'd want complete control to do what he felt was right. Many have tried to pry him away from his favorite fishing spots, but he's resisted.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I was talking to "Fanboy" here at the office, and he said that Kim isn't liked much around the DBacks clubhouse...

Not sure exactly why, but part of it is due to his desire to be a starter, and not being very friendly I guess...I dunno.

Lots of things we don't really know that go on in a clubhouse.

I for one will miss him, and always feel bad for him having to blow those world series saves...that just had to suck.

Mike