Can we put an end to stupid articles like this?
Yes, B.J. looks awful, horrible, atrocious at the plate right now. Nobody can argue against that.
Yes, B.J. is fantastic, wonderful, amazing at defense. Nobody can argue against that.
Yes, B.J. has a track record of being one of the best players on this team over the last two years. Nobody can argue against that.
No, he didn't whine. Here is the quote in question:
"It's almost like a kick in the face," Upton said.
"To go from being a leadoff guy and last year hitting (No.) 2, 3, maybe 4 ... it's just like I'm back where I started (as a 19-year-old rookie). I was in the 9-hole, the 8-hole and kind of worked my way up," Upton said. "I know I'm not a 9-hitter. I know I'm not a bottom-of-the-order type of guy."
"I'm not going to let this go on for too much longer," he said. "I'm in here every day working on what I need to work on trying to get it right. It's just not working. When it starts working, you know what's going to happen. I'll work my way back up again
Maybe Upton should've used the term "wake-up call" rather than "kick in face", but holy smokes. We evaluate players - or we should at least - from what they do offensively and defensively. I know Shelton would be caught next to a burning orphanage with gasoline in hand rather than on a FanGraphs page, but Upton is worth 1.8 WAR right now. That's more than Carlos Pena and Pat Burrell. Yet when they get demoted in the lineup, nobody writes "PENA MAD ABOUT DEMOTION".
That's equal to the amount of WAR the Jason Bartlett had last year, and he won team MVP. But again, I know most of the media members in this town have no interest in WAR, because, you know, baseball is the one place you can claim ignorance of the newest evaluation tools and treat it like a badge. So it doesn't surprise me all too much that his defense goes without mention, except that he makes some ridiculous plays that mirror what Bartlett did last year.
The sensationalist journalism about B.J. in this town is a joke. He can't win. If he doesn't talk to them then he gets labeled egotistical, if he does, they run with his quotes out of context.
Upton might be the only murderer without a victim, but by heavens is the media doing its best job to change that. In fact, they'd probably let him use their hatchet.