MLB LOSES PILLAR OF HONESTY
By Murray Chass
December 30, 2010
Bill Lajoie was one of the most remarkable men I ever encountered in Major League Baseball. One reason for that status was he was one of the most honest men I ever met in Major League Baseball.
I don’t mean he fell short of being 100 percent honest while others didn’t. With Lajoie it was the other way around. He just didn’t seem capable of lying, or even telling a little fib.
Lajoie died Tuesday at the age of 76. Cause of death wasn’t immediately known, but he died in his sleep at his home in Osprey, Fla., said a statement from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the last of six organizations he worked for.
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WHAT IS SUBJECT TO SCRUTINY DEPENDS ON SUBJECT
By Murray Chass
December 26, 2010
Each news article that appears on the mlb.com Web site carries this tag line: “This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.” That disclaimer is supposed to assure readers that mlb.com has not censored the article or made changes other than routine editing changes.
But what about an article that doesn’t appear? Has that article been “subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs?”
Last week the Yankees’ page on mlb.com carried an article about the late owner George Steinbrenner. “Steinbrenner to be honored at B.A.T. event,” the headline read, referring to the Baseball Assistance Team, which helps former players in need.
That same day another article about Steinbrenner appeared in many, if not all, newspapers and on other Web sites. “Watergate Prosecutor Urged an Investigation of Steinbrenner,” read the headline on the Associated Press story in The New York Times.
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LOST IN THE QUEENS DESERT
By Murray Chass
December 23, 2010
“CLOSED FOR BUSINESS—WILL REOPEN APRIL 2012”
That is the sign I see posted outside the main entrance to Citi Field, home of the Mets in the borough of Queens in the city of New York. It’s not really there, but in the interest of full disclosure and truth in advertising, it should be.
From everything the Mets have said and not done the past two months, they do not appear to be ready to conduct their baseball business next season. They are selling season tickets, but they probably haven’t notified prospective buyers about caveat emptor. That’s Latin for “we don’t plan to be very good and you buy tickets at your own risk.”
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