Pirates players have NSFW response to Dennis Eckersley’s criticism
Pirates pitcher Wil Crowe fires back at Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley calls baseball like he sees it.
If good things are happening, he’ll tell you about them in thrilling, jubilant fashion, but the same goes for bad ball; he doesn’t shy away from the truth.
Understandably, the Hall of Famer’s directness sometimes offends the parties he’s discussing. In 2017, he famously said “Yuck!” about one of then-Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez’s rehab starts, causing his teammate at the time, David Price, to fly into an over-the-top rage. The situation was never fully resolved.
This time, the offended parties are Pittsburgh Pirates players Wil Crowe and Bryan Reynolds, who responded to Eck calling the team a “hodgepodge of nothingness” during their series opener against the Sox. Reynolds kept it short and sweet:
"“I couldn’t give any less of a crap what that guy has to say.”"
He followed that up with a first-inning home run to put the Pirates ahead 2-0.
Crowe responded in lengthier, expletive-filled fashion:
"“I think it’s a process. I think what he said was crappy on his part. I’m gonna watch my mouth and my tone so I don’t make anyone mad. We’re in a fraternity, right? The MLBPA. We’re a group of certain, select amount of people. We’re told to back up everyone from Day 1. We’re a team. We’re a collective unit. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He’s one of us. It’s just surprising that a guy of his stature – where he’s from, what he knows goes on in the game – to be one of even fewer that just in the PA, kind of come after us, was kind of crazy. I think it was kind of crappy and bush-league.What he said was kinda crappy and kinda s****y. I think a lot of guys are gonna take it and let it fuel us and see what happens… I know we haven’t climbed that hill completely, but we’re on our f***ing way.”"
While the sentiment of togetherness is nice, the criticism is deserved. The Pirates have been a bad team for years. They’re 45-71 this season, the fourth-worst record in the entire league. They last made the playoffs during the Obama administration, and their payroll is only slightly more than Max Scherzer is making for the season.
There’s a significant difference between all current and former MLB players having one another’s backs and an expectation of blind support for everything that happens in this game just because they’re in a “fraternity.” Crowe isn’t having a bad season, but there’s no denying his team’s overall situation; loyalty doesn’t change reality. If anything, Eckersley being a former player and Hall of Famer puts him in the perfect position to call out teams that don’t seem to have their priorities in check.
Eckersley is right not to pretend that what’s happening with these teams who don’t seem focused on winning is acceptable or beneficial to the overall health of the sport. That’s not about the players as much as it’s about the people constructing the roster, and the ones paying for it. His colorful criticism didn’t seem as directed at the players as it did the organization, but it’s understandable that Crowe would take offense.
Like most people, Eckersley wants to see more competitive, contention-driven teams around the league. It’s better for baseball, and there’s no denying he loves this game more than almost anyone on the planet.
But luckily for Crowe and his crew, Eckersley is retiring at the end of the season, so if they want to pretend they’re in Oz when they’re really in
Kansas
Pittsburgh, he won’t be around to stop them.
