Guys We Despise: Eaton, Chipper, Cowboy Joe
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be unveiling a list. After careful consideration by the lot of Phillies Nation writers, we’ve come up with the players, teams, coaches, and umpires throughout baseball that we just don’t like. That is, on the baseball field, of course.
You know, the guys that the Phillies just can’t get out. The people that just annoy you to no end. The Phillie killers, so to speak.
#8 Adam Eaton:
Could this be called the worst contract in Phillies history? Pat Gillick made some decent moves in his day as Phillies General Manager, but this certainly wasn’t one. I mean, what was he thinking giving Adam Eaton a three year, $24 million contract after never really having pitched well in the majors?
Prior to him inking that ridiculous deal with the Phils, his best season came in 2004 with the San Diego Padres and it looked like this: 11-14, 4.61 ERA, 1.28 WHIP. That was his BEST season. Yes, the Phillies won the World Series, but Eaton didn’t do much to help the cause, evident by his 14-18 record with the Phillies over 49 starts.
Unfazed by his historically bad numbers, Eaton fired this gem after being let go by the Phils:
“A lot of things went wrong, but a lot of things went right, too. I helped them get to the playoffs two years in a row, and obviously we won the World Series last year.”
False. But, maybe we shouldn’t really blame him. He was never that great to begin with and it was the Phillies brass who made the mistake of signing him.
Did he deserve to get booed while accepting his ring? Probably not. However, on any other day that would have been warranted.
#7: Chipper Jones:
Respect. I’m pretty sure this is why we all despise Chipper Jones. It’s not the same kind of dislike you would hurl toward a guy like Rob Barajas, who stunk here and then lit up the Phillies whenever he got the chance. A reason you disliked Chipper was because of his smug attitude and swagger that came along with winning the NL East 14 straight times.
His 46 home runs vs. the Phillies are the 2nd most against any team during what is sure to be a Hall of Fame career. Jones not only crushed the Phillies with long ball after long ball, but his .332 average and 1.042 OPS stand out, too. You just couldn’t get the guy out, as is evident in his 162 BB/128 K line.
As a kid, I fondly remember going to the Vet and hearing all the drunks yell “Larry” for about seven innings. They wouldn’t make it nine because the Braves would crush the Phillies or the fans would have left by that point.
But again, it comes down to respect. You wanted a guy like Chipper Jones on your team and hated him because you didn’t have him.
Update: Literally, just as a launched this post, Chipper Jones will be announcing his retirement from baseball following the 2012 season.
SPECIAL UMPIRE ADDITION!: COWBOY JOE WEST:
Anyone that gives themselves the nickname “Cowboy” deserves to be on some sort of list. My feeling is that Joe West isn’t ending up on many good lists these days.
If you’re a Phillies fan, you know this guy and you know him well. West is not exactly a guy you’d like to go have a beer with a shoot the breeze. He’s a guy you’d like to spurt a few expletives at for making the game about himself. Always smug, always rude, controversy surrounds this guy at every turn – and he seems to enjoy that fact.
Ultimately, you’d like an umpire to blend in, call a good game, and go home. That’s impossible for West to achieve. He makes the game about him. Maybe he’s a super sweet guy off the field; but on it, he’s a ornery as they come.
Mark Buehrle had a gem after being called for two balks in a game by West (he was then ejected by West):
“I think he’s too worried about promoting his CD and I think he likes seeing his name in the papers a little bit too much instead of worrying about the rules.”
