Is This OK?

 

Marcus Stroman

I've been chewing on how to address this.

When I watch respected journalists get accused of bias or anything else unbecoming, I feel like I have to say something. A lot of people I know would be excoriated if they accepted this.

But, first, a little background.

Marcus Stroman -- pitcher for the Mets -- is a bit of a lightning rod. His personality is such that he speaks his mind and that's pretty great. He interacts with fans and that's something baseball needs.

He's pitched pretty well and that's huge for the Mets.

But.

He also has a problem with media coverage and has made that known repeatedly. He doesn't like, well, anything negative. He doesn't like fans who snap back at him and is well-known for blocking people on Twitter.

So it is that he invited two people who cover the Mets -- Tim Ryder and Mathew Brownstein -- to Citi Field.

Two reporters who happen to be Mets fans.

Two reporters and Mets fans who he gave tickets and cleats to.

"Positive media outlets who cover our squad and more," Stroman wrote on Twitter.

Ryder portrays himself as a blogger for several sites while Brownstein's Twitter account says he is a News Assistant for the New York Times and runs Metsmerized Online, "part of the USA Today Sports Network."

Funny thing about blogs. We always fight for "legitimacy" but doesn't this sort of hurt that integrity? I mean, we can't have it both ways.

And, honestly, how does anyone read the work of these reporters/journalists/bloggers/podcasters without a grain of salt ever again? Can you really appreciate what they write again, especially when it involves Stroman?

So this is my conundrum as I prepared to address this. I didn't come here tonight to rip or destroy but I feel like I do have some questions.

I worry constantly about my own integrity and any charges against that make me insane, to the point where I might even overcompensate.

We have to be so careful with what we accept and while I own Greenwich and Brunswick swag, I also have (or had) things from multiple schools over time. Plus none of these places are professionals. In the case of the Renegades, I work for them. Simple.

All of this would walk a line if I worked for a news organization for sure. Like I said, most of my friends and colleagues wouldn't be allowed to accept this. Heck, some aren't even allowed to give talks about journalism or appear on other media outlets.

So it creates a unique dichotomy that I guess these guys are OK with but, for me, creates issues. You be you, I suppose.

Now, to Stroman.

Isn't he, basically, buying coverage? That's what it sure seems like to me. It sets a bad precedent, doesn't it?

I know a thing or two about "only positive coverage."

You may recall I worked for a news outlet beginning in mid-2016. I wrote a story that summer that included some of my finest news reporting. I did some digging around about a hire in the schools that found a questionable past (and a hat-tip to Susan for some reporting from the Darien Times). I turned in a story that was fair and honest. I was really proud of it.

And the story got shredded by the publisher. I caught heat not only from her but from her husband the next day.

It was disheartening, to say the least, and probably the beginning of a whole lot of other things that, ultimately, led to my departure (and I'm still waiting on thousands of dollars that they never paid me).

So, yeah, I'm a little sensitive to "only positive news."

It's frankly disingenuous, to say the least. There's a way to still tell a story and remain honest and I do that when covering high school sports on a fairly consistent basis.

I'm sorry Stroman can't handle anything negative. The fact of the matter is the Mets are an under-.500 team that has been eliminated from the playoffs. 

Fact.

They also have some fairly polarizing personalities, including Stroman.

Fact.

Truth is, I like some of those personalities -- such as Stroman and Javy Baez. That being said, I didn't want either of them on the Yankees.

Also a fact.

Facts don't mean coverage is negative. Balance is the important thing but given I often hear "the sky is falling/nobody likes us" stuff from Mets fans (and their players) it can get easy to be negative, especially when they were a first place team for so long.

Per this tweet from Anthony DiComo: "No team in Major League history has spent as much time (103 days) in first place and finished with a losing record. The Mets are mathematically guaranteed to become the first."

Once again: Fact.

Remember, this is the team that was all about thumbs down at one point and that brought them more unwanted attention.

In the long run, good for Stroman for inviting the guys to a game to generate some goodwill. People on Twitter seem to think it's great overall.

But...

The whole thing opened some questions for me.

Fact.