Dear Hanley: You Blew it Man!

Dear Hanley,

Your refusal to step up and humble yourself, to be a leader that all of your teammates expect from you, is a disgrace.

Listen, you accidentally “kicked” a ball down the left field line.  There is nothing wrong with that.  Heck that happens.  There wasn’t a single person on your team, the other team, or in that stadium that thought you did something wrong with that accidental “boot.”  What every person in that stadium saw following the “boot” was unacceptable.  You “dogged” it man.  YOU “DOGGED” IT!

You could have been a man. You could have said, you made a “terrible decision and you’re embarrassed about it.”  But you decided to take a different angle that exposed you as a selfish player who could care less about your teammates.  You said,

“We got a lot of people dogging it after ground balls,” he said. “They don’t apologize.”

So you feel like the best route here is to throw your teammates under the bus and call them out?

THEY ARE FOLLOWING YOU!  IF THEY DOG IT, IT IS BECAUSE THEY SEE YOU DOGGING IT!  THAT IS CALLED A MIRROR!

Craig Biggio would lose his mind if he saw that.  Biggio was the most consistent effort guy I have ever seen and because of that WE FOLLOWED HIS EXAMPLE.  Do you see how this works?  Your teammates are following you.  If you went hard then there wouldn’t be people dogging it after ground balls.

But here is my real problem with you.  You disrespected your manager for making the right decision.  You said,

“That’s OK. He doesn’t understand that. He never played in the big leagues,” he said.

Let me tell you something Hanley.  That is the most degrading comment a Big League player can say to a coach, manager, or any other person associated with the game.  That is cruel!   What does that have to do with anything?  That is elitist and wrong!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO PLAY IN THE BIG LEAGUES TO KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND TO CARE ABOUT YOUR PLAYERS!

Listen, you are just a immature kid who needs to get his butt kicked.  I played against a lot of your teammates and the don’t seem like a group to cross.  If I were you I would go up to Wes Helms and ask him for help.  And before you talk to the rest of your teammates, I would crawl into Fredi Gonzalez’s office, take your hat off that you wear “crooked”, and say,

“Fredi, I am so sorry for saying those comments about you.  I lashed out when I was the one that messed up.  You made the right choice in pulling me from that game.  But I really want you to know that what I said about you “not playing in the big leagues” was really mean and I am sorry if I hurt you.”

You know what Fredi will say?

“Hanley this shows me a lot.  I know it is hard to play this game and you have a lot of media pressure.  But we need you.  You are one of the best players in the game and our guys look to you.  If you don’t try then they won’t try.  As far as I’m concerned this issue is water under the bridge.   Thank you for apologizing.  You just took a huge step in becoming a leader.”

Now you crawl into that clubhouse and keep that “crooked hat” off your head and look each of your teammates in the eye and apologize.  NO LOOKING DOWN, NO EXCUSES!  JUST TAKE IT!  If they lash out, then TAKE IT!

Now shut your mouth and never do that weak crap again.  When the media comes up to you, you say that you apologized to Fredi and your teammates and say that you made a huge mistake and that you are sorry.

Now go out there and get 4 hits and win!  This issue is closed!

Morgan Ensberg

---