Questions the Press Needs to Ask Elias

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

26 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Probably very little or next to nothing.  But hey, you'd get to ask Elias those hard hitting questions.

Until the warehouse takes away your media pass for being a pest. 

[interloper]

2 hours ago, Bahama O's Fan said:

Being realistic, what are some questions that you feel NEEDS to be asked of Elias this offseason. I know he will give a non-answer but at least they need to be asked. I'll start with one:

How much do you expect your payroll to increase over the offseason?

This question was basically already asked in the form of "do you expect to have financial support for what you want to do this offseason" and the answer, basically, was yes. Elias won't know what the payroll increase would be because it doesn't work like that. GMs typically put in requests for what they want to do budget-wise and it's either approved or denied. Ownership doesn't just say "here's the budget number, have fun". 

[Bahama O's Fan]

36 minutes ago, interloper said:

This question was basically already asked in the form of "do you expect to have financial support for what you want to do this offseason" and the answer, basically, was yes. Elias won't know what the payroll increase would be because it doesn't work like that. GMs typically put in requests for what they want to do budget-wise and it's either approved or denied. Ownership doesn't just say "here's the budget number, have fun". 

So he can have the payroll for what he wants to do. No one knows what he wants to do. If he wants to trade vets and acquire young talent, then obviously the payroll is there. Asking how much it will expectedly increase tells us how active they intend to be in the FA market 

[Pushmonkey]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Sure.

I mean, here's an idea:

Any one of you don't like how the Baltimore press is doing their job?  You do it.  

That's right, you do it.  Start your own blog, start your own board, start a Twitter account.  Do what Tony did.  And I'm sure Tony will be the first to tell you that building a board/community like this wasn't easy.  Thankless hours and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

But if any of you are soooooooo upset about how the Baltimore media doesn't ask questions to Elias in the right way, you come up with a blog/message board and cover the team and get media access so you can ask the questions yourself.  And you better make it good because they don't hand out credentials to just anyone.  

Let's just see how worth it it is for those who criticize the Baltimore press to make sure that someone "holds Elias accountable by asking him the tough questions." 

Do it.  

I don’t think anyone questions how hard Tony works? I think the point of the threads is just average joes wish list of questions. 

[Moose Milligan]

2 minutes ago, Pushmonkey said:

I don’t think anyone questions how hard Tony works? I think the point of the threads is just average joes wish list of questions. 

I wasn't questioning how hard Tony works, not in the least.  I was using him as a reference; building a site like this and getting a following like this is hard.  But, IIRC, it has allowed Tony to get access to some pretty cool stuff that the rest of us don't get to do.  

IMO, the point of threads like these is to take the Baltimore media to task about how they don't ask enough hard hitting questions and that's been a theme around here for years.  That if only the Baltimore media would ask the questions that WE WANT ASKED...

...we'd...what?  Get some more insight as to their master plans?  Make DD or Elias work soooo much harder to sign a free agent?  

It's silly.  Hence, the whole idea that if it's really that big of a deal and if people care that much, they should make the necessary sacrifices in order to gain access to the team so they can ask the questions that they feel the need to be asked.  I mean, what's the point of this thread, to ponder questions that no one's going to get to ask Elias?

And even if someone DID get to ask Elias these questions, what's he going to do?  Give specific answers that'll satisfy what people are looking for?  When has he EVER done that?  What would any of you who think the Baltimore media doesn't do a good job expect Elias to do if he was asked one of these "hard hitting" questions that the media fails to ask?  Hell, the OP even said it, Elias would give a non-answer but for some reason there are questions that NEED TO BE ASKED even though the outcome is already determined.

And before anyone accuses me of being a Baltimore media apologist, I really don't think they do a spectacular job either.  But no one is owed anything outside of what they're currently receiving.

[HowAboutThat]

5 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

This board continues to have a weird obsession with how they think the Baltimore media needs to do their job.  

I’m not being contentious, But I’m suddenly curious as to exactly what you think the job of the Baltimore sports media is?

@Bahama O's Fan Made a perfectly reasonable request, and he offered his own caveat that we would certainly get a non-answer. These guys aren’t journalists, they are “sports writers.” We are fortunate if they can spell. But they do have a specific set of tasks to perform, and sycophancy is not among them.

With that in mind, isn’t it their job to ask questions about the direction of the franchise, the plan of the franchise, the process, the people, and explanation for problems and delays? That doesn’t mean they’ll get answers, but isn’t it their job to at least try to find out? And as @Sports Guypointed out, To ask pointed follow up questions when the inevitable non-answer is offered(something Roch has never done.)

And if not, would you care, please, to share what do you think their job is? 

 

[Bahama O's Fan]

Sorry that this got derailed into what the job of the media is. Perhaps I should have rephrased is as "Questions you WANT answered"

[HowAboutThat]

Questions: 

what needs to happen before you flip the switch?

How will we know when you have flipped the switch?

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

I’m not being contentious, But I’m suddenly curious as to exactly what you think the job of the Baltimore sports media is?

@Bahama O's Fan Made a perfectly reasonable request, and he offered his own caveat that we would certainly get a non-answer. These guys aren’t journalists, they are “sports writers.” We are fortunate if they can spell. But they do have a specific set of tasks to perform, and sycophancy is not among them.

With that in mind, isn’t it their job to ask questions about the direction of the franchise, the plan of the franchise, the process, the people, and explanation for problems and delays? That doesn’t mean they’ll get answers, but isn’t it their job to at least try to find out? And as @Sports Guypointed out, To ask pointed follow up questions when the inevitable non-answer is offered(something Roch has never done.)

And if not, would you care, please, to share what do you think their job is? 

 

Well if you need me to tell you the difference between someone like Roch and someone like Dan Connolly or Peter Schmuck I'm suddenly curious to know if you know what you're talking about.

But since we're here, let's get into it.

A guy like Roch is, as you put it, a sycophant.  MASN is the mouthpiece for the organization and he's not going to write anything or say anything controversial.  If you accept Roch for who he is and what he brings to the table, he does a good job of staying in his lane...in other words he works perfectly inside his boundaries that are afforded to him by the team.  Wishing/hoping that Roch is all of a sudden going to ask @Sports Guy's follow up question is a fools errand.  It's not going to happen.  

Roch is pretty much a beat writer.  He's on the team's beat each and every day.  There's not a lot of his opinions, there's not a deep analysis.  He exists to report news around the team, give a rundown of that nights game and MAYBE toss out a rumor every so often.  Expecting anything else from Roch is foolish.  On a similar note, this is the same job as Jon Meoli at the Sun, he's their beat writer who occasionally provides analysis . He exists to report what happened in each game, and any daily news around the team.

Guys like Peter Schmuck (who retired last year) at the Sun and Dan Connolly (who I like) at the Athletic exist to provide analysis and opinion.  These are the guys who are most likely going to blast the organization.  As it stands right now, I'm not sure who provides the analysis/opinions at the Sun as I don't follow it like I used to.  Tom Boswell did an excellent job for years for the WaPo.  

I've said it before, I'll say it again here, I'm not sure what any of you are expecting, especially when the best analysis and dialogue on the Orioles is found right here on this very message board.  Quite frankly, I don't need to read anyone's opinion in any publication when I know anything worth discussing will be posted here and broken down a bunch of different ways.  I'd much rather read a @Sports Guypost than something out of the Baltimore Sun.  I've learned more from guys like @DrungoHazewood, @Frobbyand @Tony-OHthan I ever have reading any media outlet.  @SteveA@wildcardand @MurphDoggare always in the know on who's being sent up/sent down and who's on the 25 man/40 man.  Then you've got guys on Twitter like Matt Kremnitzer and a slew of others.

Are you not getting me?  That whole 1950's media thing is over.  The romantic idea of the reporter wearing the fedora and jotting down shorthand notes in his little notebook and having you read about it the next day while you eat your bowl of cereal is long gone.  A guy like Max Mercy in "The Natural" is dead and gone.  

Quite frankly if the Baltimore Sun closed up their sports department tomorrow, would any of us notice?  If MASN sent Roch on vacation for 3 months would any of us really care?  Probably not.  Boards like this and Twitter have rendered traditional media outlets and sports journalism mostly useless.

You're pontificating on who's job it is to ask questions on the direction of the franchise, the plan, blah blah blah...I'm asking you, who cares?  Isn't that what we discuss all day, every day on here?  And I'd much rather hear @Frobby's opinion on things and have a dialogue with him instead of relying on some sportswriter to ask a question.  I'd rather read a @Tony-OHpost about what's going on with our minor leaguers instead of waiting for some sportswriter to ask a question I know he won't ask for a response that will be nothing more than a platitude.

"That doesn’t mean they’ll get answers, but isn’t it their job to at least try to find out?"  Really, isn't Einstein's definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?  Why would you want to press on the media to "try to find out" when you already know what the answers and outcome would be?

Why would you spend an ounce of energy wondering about the job the media does when all the answers and information you could ever want is found right here on this message board?

 

 

[HowAboutThat]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Well if you need me to tell you the difference between someone like Roch and someone like Dan Connolly or Peter Schmuck I'm suddenly curious to know if you know what you're talking about.

But since we're here, let's get into it.

A guy like Roch is, as you put it, a sycophant.  MASN is the mouthpiece for the organization and he's not going to write anything or say anything controversial.  If you accept Roch for who he is and what he brings to the table, he does a good job of staying in his lane...in other words he works perfectly inside his boundaries that are afforded to him by the team.  Wishing/hoping that Roch is all of a sudden going to ask @Sports Guy's follow up question is a fools errand.  It's not going to happen.  

Roch is pretty much a beat writer.  He's on the team's beat each and every day.  There's not a lot of his opinions, there's not a deep analysis.  He exists to report news around the team, give a rundown of that nights game and MAYBE toss out a rumor every so often.  Expecting anything else from Roch is foolish.  On a similar note, this is the same job as Jon Meoli at the Sun, he's their beat writer who occasionally provides analysis . He exists to report what happened in each game, and any daily news around the team.

Guys like Peter Schmuck (who retired last year) at the Sun and Dan Connolly (who I like) at the Athletic exist to provide analysis and opinion.  These are the guys who are most likely going to blast the organization.  As it stands right now, I'm not sure who provides the analysis/opinions at the Sun as I don't follow it like I used to.  Tom Boswell did an excellent job for years for the WaPo.  

I've said it before, I'll say it again here, I'm not sure what any of you are expecting, especially when the best analysis and dialogue on the Orioles is found right here on this very message board.  Quite frankly, I don't need to read anyone's opinion in any publication when I know anything worth discussing will be posted here and broken down a bunch of different ways.  I'd much rather read a @Sports Guypost than something out of the Baltimore Sun.  I've learned more from guys like @DrungoHazewood, @Frobbyand @Tony-OHthan I ever have reading any media outlet.  @SteveA@wildcardand @MurphDoggare always in the know on who's being sent up/sent down and who's on the 25 man/40 man.  Then you've got guys on Twitter like Matt Kremnitzer and a slew of others.

Are you not getting me?  That whole 1950's media thing is over.  The romantic idea of the reporter wearing the fedora and jotting down shorthand notes in his little notebook and having you read about it the next day while you eat your bowl of cereal is long gone.  A guy like Max Mercy in "The Natural" is dead and gone.  

Quite frankly if the Baltimore Sun closed up their sports department tomorrow, would any of us notice?  If MASN sent Roch on vacation for 3 months would any of us really care?  Probably not.  Boards like this and Twitter have rendered traditional media outlets and sports journalism mostly useless.

You're pontificating on who's job it is to ask questions on the direction of the franchise, the plan, blah blah blah...I'm asking you, who cares?  Isn't that what we discuss all day, every day on here?  And I'd much rather hear @Frobby's opinion on things and have a dialogue with him instead of relying on some sportswriter to ask a question.  I'd rather read a @Tony-OHpost about what's going on with our minor leaguers instead of waiting for some sportswriter to ask a question I know he won't ask for a response that will be nothing more than a platitude.

"That doesn’t mean they’ll get answers, but isn’t it their job to at least try to find out?"  Really, isn't Einstein's definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?  Why would you want to press on the media to "try to find out" when you already know what the answers and outcome would be?

Why would you spend an ounce of energy wondering about the job the media does when all the answers and information you could ever want is found right here on this message board?

 

 

I appreciate the rant, but you’re missing something. Regardless of how intelligent the people here are we are on the outside. All we can do is speculate. However logical a conclusion might be it is only speculation. We CANT find “all the information” here.

 The whole idea of the beats is that they are close enough to the inside that they can get meaningful information(and yes I know the difference between Roch and non-Roch. That was an unnecessary paragraph. The reason I mention him is because HE insists that his Pulitzer is just around the corner) otherwise they serve no purpose because all basic information is going to be on the team website.

Whether they are obsolete or not is a large topic but if they don’t provide meaningful insight into the team direction and the other things I mentioned, then yes there is no need for them, and pre-and post-game press conferences are as useless as stenographers.

However, they remain, and because they remain, they owe it to us, and definitely to themselves, to be relevant.

that’s not rocket science, and I’m not dreaming of Sam Spade when I join the chorus of folks wishing we had guys who could get an answer.

 

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, Philip said:

I appreciate the rant, but you’re missing something. Regardless of how intelligent the people here are we are on the outside. All we can do is speculate. However logical a conclusion might be it is only speculation. We CANT find “all the information” here.

 The whole idea of the beats is that they are close enough to the inside that they can get meaningful information(and yes I know the difference between Roch and non-Roch. That was an unnecessary paragraph. The reason I mention him is because HE insists that his Pulitzer is just around the corner) otherwise they serve no purpose because all basic information is going to be on the team website.

Whether they are obsolete or not is a large topic but if they don’t provide meaningful insight into the team direction and the other things I mentioned, then yes there is no need for them, and pre-and post-game press conferences are as useless as stenographers.

However, they remain, and because they remain, they owe it to us, and definitely to themselves, to be relevant.

that’s not rocket science, and I’m not dreaming of Sam Spade when I join the chorus of folks wishing we had guys who could get an answer.

 

That's where we ultimately differ...I don't believe they owe us anything more than they already give.

[HowAboutThat]

6 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

That's where we ultimately differ...I don't believe they owe us anything more than they already give.

But they give us literally nothing. We can get all the transaction news online. The purpose of the writers is to offer in-depth “stuff” and they don’t. They don’t even give in-depth “fluff” Frobby gives more all by himself.
Steve comes closest to giving real analysis I guess because he mainly covers the minors, but Tony has the minors well covered here.

Evan Grant writes for the morning news. He’s not a great writer, any more than most beat guys are, but he offers real Analysis and is perfectly willing to go in-depth about this or that player and how he is really doing. He’s never rude or cruel but hes honest and when a guy isn’t earning a spot, Grant will say so. I don’t follow the Rangers much and haven’t for a long time but it’s nice to read what he writes.

I guess in the final counting we do disagree. And that’s cool.

 

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, Philip said:

But they give us literally nothing. We can get all the transaction news online. The purpose of the writers is to offer in-depth “stuff” and they don’t. They don’t even give in-depth “fluff” Frobby gives more all by himself.
Steve comes closest to giving real analysis I guess because he mainly covers the minors, but Tony has the minors well covered here.

Evan Grant writes for the morning news. He’s not a great writer, any more than most beat guys are, but he offers real Analysis and is perfectly willing to go in-depth about this or that player and how he is really doing. He’s never rude or cruel but hes honest and when a guy isn’t earning a spot, Grant will say so. I don’t follow the Rangers much and haven’t for a long time but it’s nice to read what he writes.

I guess in the final counting we do disagree. And that’s cool.

 

 

Dude, you're sitting here saying they give us nothing.  

I'm like "Yeah, that's cool, I don't expect much," and you're like "I KNOW YOU GIVE US NOTHING BUT GIVE US SOMETHING!!!!!"  

Yes, we do disagree.  

[HowAboutThat]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

 

Dude, you're sitting here saying they give us nothing.  

I'm like "Yeah, that's cool, I don't expect much," and you're like "I KNOW YOU GIVE US NOTHING BUT GIVE US SOMETHING!!!!!"  

Yes, we do disagree.  

Yes they give us nothing, but giving us something is their job. It is the reason for existence. Why do we have stenographers when every trial in the world is videotaped anyway? Because stenographers are tradition. I’m sure that somewhere in the New York subway you can find a phone book.

Why do we have beat writers? You pointed out that they are an anachronism, and my response is yes that may be true, but if they’re not an anachronism then they have to serve a purpose and they are not serving any purpose. Does that make sense?

Your response is to go with the flow, and my response is for them to do their job. Yes Roch is a shill so he doesn’t count. And none of the other guys is a good writer. But they gotta work with what they got, and atm, they ain’t.

[Moose Milligan]

3 minutes ago, Philip said:

Yes they give us nothing, but giving us something is their job. It is the reason for existence. Why do we have stenographers when every trial in the world is videotaped anyway? Because stenographers are tradition. I’m sure that somewhere in the New York subway you can find a phone book.

Why do we have beat writers? You pointed out that they are an anachronism, and my response is yes that may be true, but if they’re not an anachronism then they have to serve a purpose and they are not serving any purpose. Does that make sense?

Your response is to go with the flow, and my response is for them to do their job. Yes Roch is a shill so he doesn’t count. And none of the other guys is a good writer. But they gotta work with what they got, and atm, they ain’t.

But they are doing their job.  It also bears mentioning that these guys most likely exist for the casual fan.  

As I said, if you don't like how they're doing their job, step up and show them how it's done.  Start a blog, gain a following and you can grill Elias in the manner you see fit.