Gary Smith on Joba Chamberlain

Great take, jgmacg.

A talented quarterback could always use a smart and honest quarterback coach, an equal partner in the quest for continued greatness.

Never thought I'd see a Smith story get less than absolute praise here, but I'll join those who stopped reading after a few graphs. I don't know if I care enough to read about a Yankee relief pitcher and his dad's health issues after slogging through that fawning lead.

Disappointing.

I like Smith best when he's writing about less overexposed people and sports.

My favorite by him remains the one about the deep-sea diver couple from a few years ago. If anyone happens to know where I can find a copy . . . . .

 

In his mind's eye, he thought this would work. That can't really be "coached."

I guess there's a place for Luther Vandross lyrics, but a sports feature's sure as hell not one of them.

 

yeah, trudged through the rest of it today. thought it was ok. but was fine without reading it.

i think the problem was, for gary smith -- and this is odd, and we may see this more and more with him writing more and more -- it was overwritten to try to make up for it being underreported, if that makes sense to anyone else...

 

Whoever said Yankees fans would love it was dead wrong, at least in my case.

The biggest problem I had with the piece was at the end of the lead, he said it's time to tear up the old assembly manual and start a new one. He then wrote the story (at least the two pages-plus that I read of it) like an assembly manual. The problem? NOBODY WANTS TO READ AN ASSEMBLY MANUAL! They only do it so they can put together their fucking entertainment center.

I like what the one poster said about the dichotomy between the physically gifted Joba and his crippled father. That sounds like it would have been a much more interesting angle to take with the added bonus of not sounding like a 'How to' guide.

And I'm not knocking Smith as a writer, I think he's outstanding. This was simply a miss.

 

Hoops, that's a good observation. Rick Reilly once said something to the effect that Smith won't write the story until he talks to 100 people. This one might have the fewest sources he's ever used in a story.

A lot of us writers would like to have just one "miss" among a load of Smithian "hits."

 

Couldn't agree more. I always thought this Smith story was one of his best and I don't think it gets enough love.

 

I had read previously that Smith did not consider his reporting complete before he talked with 50 different sources, but yeah, point taken, the man talks with a lot of folks.

Regarding the acquisition of previous Gary Smith stories ... I happen to own nearly every issue of Sports Illustrated since May, 1995 (and every BASW except 1993, ’94 and ’95) and would be happy to hook up a wanting SJer with an archived story not available on the Internet ... though we would use snail mail. PM me for details.

 

Reading Smith is like reading a James Ellroy novel -- the style is so unique and interesting, it just draws you in. But if you read multiple stories (or Ellroy novels) in a short period of time, the style loses its luster and everything blurs together.

The Joba story was too soon after the Shannon story (which was not that great by Smith standards). No reason why it couldn't wait until spring training.

 

Happy Retirement, Joba Chamberlin. You were too beautiful for this world. May those Yankee Stadium cheers rise and roar like a yearning in your dreams.

Joba Chamberlain says he is retired from MLB

 

He’s only 32. I thought he was going to be so good.

 

The craziest thing is that in the time period since 2007, an arm like Chamberlain's went from being the rarest of commodities to a pretty common asset in most bullpen in the majors. Everybody throws 96 now.