GatewayRedbirds.com

I figured rather than derail another thread, he'd deserved his own. Strauss and Burwell don't deserve to be associated with this.

He likes good Cardinals twitter people, but I like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and that doesn't make me as smart as him.

You guys are just jealous you've never saved anybody's life. Do you have any idea the amount of damage a bouncing basketball can do to a leg? Basketball courts would be a lot safer if we allowed managers to open carry.

Benjamin went to journalism school at the University of Missouri, where he also managed the men’s basketball team. One day at practice, he was standing on the sideline with a ball in one hand, a water bottle in the other, and a towel over his shoulder. The guys were playing three-on-three at both baskets. A ball was deflected at the far end and came rolling—fast—on a collision course with the ankle of one of the best players on the team, Clarence Gilbert, who never saw it coming. Benjamin sprang into action. He dropped his ball, flung his towel away, sprinted across the floor, wove among 7-footers, and slid like a soccer goalie to stop the ball right before it ended Gilbert’s career.

He seems like a nice guy, but wow is he trying too hard.

Extreme Journalism - the next thing.

Farewell Friends wrote:He seems like a nice guy, but wow is he trying too hard.

I think this is probably accurate. He doesn't seem particularly insightful about baseball, or willing to work to become insightful about it. So--to imitate Hochman--he's all bluff and bluster and gut, winging it to the wind like a frisky frisbee flinger, or the fried frat boy fraternizing while manning the tapper, who fails to tip the cup to max out the beer and minimize the foam, and who hands readers Solos full of sour suds.

His style is brash blarney, the blab of a carny over cascading calliope chords calling Cards fans to step inside to gape at the bearded ladies and pickled punks, but the Greatest Show on Earth only leads you to the egress, regrets, and ticket stubs littering the empty parking lot.

So he isn't toxic by any means. But he seems too eager to build a brand as a next-generation sportswriter, and his style comes off as the literary equivalent of a selfie. I'm not a fan of selfies, so I'm not a fan of his style. At the same time, that style and 'tude fit the times we live in.

sighyoung wrote:

Farewell Friends wrote:He seems like a nice guy, but wow is he trying too hard.

I think this is probably accurate. He doesn't seem particularly insightful about baseball, or willing to work to become insightful about it. So--to imitate Hochman--he's all bluff and bluster and gut, winging it to the wind like a frisky frisbee flinger, or the fried frat boy fraternizing while manning the tapper, who fails to tip the cup to max out the beer and minimize the foam, and who hands readers Solos full of sour suds.

His style is brash blarney, the blab of a carny over cascading calliope chords calling Cards fans to step inside to gape at the bearded ladies and pickled punks, but the Greatest Show on Earth only leads you to the egress, regrets, and ticket stubs littering the empty parking lot.

So he isn't toxic by any means. But he seems too eager to build a brand as a next-generation sportswriter, and his style comes off as the literary equivalent of a selfie. I'm not a fan of selfies, so I'm not a fan of his style. At the same time, that style and 'tude fit the times we live in.

This is accurate and great.

The style, I doubt he will be able to sell it very well as columnist. Especially with St. Louis/SLU/Mizzou sports in a general funk. Even the MLS bid. Meh.

Strauss/Bernie/Burwell had some easy years finding stuff to write about - Teams and personalities. All Hochman has to write about that isn't all doom/gloom is the Cardinals and he can't nose his way in there.

I suspect his job is secure though - as long as P-D is.