Sam Mellinger leaving KC Star for Royals

[wicked]

ask anyone who covered the pre-championship Nationals how awful things got once a former beat writer started running PR

Ooh, I'd love to hear the stories about this.

Wasn't Posnanski at the Star for a decent length before his career journey?

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

Ooh, I'd love to hear the stories about this.

The Nationals have always run PR like they're a high major Division I football program--and supposedly, Mike Rizzo wanted to hire her b/c he thought someone who'd been in the trenches would improve relations--but she was an abject disaster from quite literally day one. Lurked on every interview, cut them all short after three or four questions. Unnecessarily combative with everyone, if not downright nasty (yelled at a Mets PR person when she didn't hand a microphone to a reporter before the latter asked a question in the Mets' conference room after Scherzer's no-hitter...sweet irony: that PR person took her job). The rumor is the final straw was her throwing Dusty under the bus when that whole can Strasburg pitch or not thing was happening in the 2017 NLDS. Bad, bad, bad. Even the TV and radio guys hated her guts.

 

[wicked]

That's interesting, considering how often she was on TV before she switched gigs. Ok, done threadjacking.

 

[playthrough]

Poz is a restless, curious soul. He was never meant to have one steady gig for any too long. Just the way he is, not a matter of "burning through" anything.

He was on Jeff Pearlman's podcast a few months back and talked about his path. I think you're right, plus he got hitched to destined-to-crash wagons like "Sports on Earth."

 

[wicked]

The Paterno book harmed him more than I think we want to admit. It was a borderline hagiography.

 

[Liut]

Poz is a restless, curious soul. He was never meant to have one steady gig for any too long. Just the way he is, not a matter of "burning through" anything.

I imagine quite a few of us could identify with that at one point or another, myself included.

 

[swingline]

I have heard differing opinions on how Pos is to work alongside others from people who have. Really good writer, though.

 

[Patchen]

Mellinger will be missed. He did a fine job.