TJ Simers is a Clown

I was perusing my Twitter timeline this evening and saw a tweet from @TonyPaul1984.  It linked to the following article.  http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/21/sports/la-sp-simers-20110322.  I like and respect Tony's work and when he calls an article "unprofessional rubbish" i felt compelled to read it.  I was shocked at what I read.  TJ Simers is a sportswriter for the LA Times.  I use the term sportswriter loosely.  This "man" is basically a child stuck in a man's body.  Obviously unhappy with the direction of the current Dodger team and more importantly the team ownership, this child decided to take it out on a new member of the team that hasn't played in regular season game yet.  With nothing more than Marcus Thames' stat sheet to go on, instead of introducing himself as a member of the press to Marcus, he walked up to Marcus and said "Are you that horrible on defense that teams don't think it's worth playing such a home run threat?''   What the hell is that?  When Thames walked away from a situation that obviously was going in a terrible direction, SIMERS was so offended that he decided to write an entire article bashing a player that we all know is a quality person.  He repeatedly makes fun of Marcus' name, calls him a "stiff" and basically says that Thames has no business on a major league baseball team.  


I can understand members of the press coming down hard on a player when they aren't performing during the season.  But to totally bash a guy before the season starts, before the guy has even played a game in your uniform is so low I don't understand how the LA Times can continue to pay Simers a salary.   If he had done any research at all he would have found out what a quality guy they have in their clubhouse.  His mother, paralyzed in a car accident when Marcus was 5, raised her family with the help of a close-knit family.  Marcus joined the National Guard to earn extra money to help support the family.  In fact, he continued to serve his country for 2 years after he was drafted by the Yankees.  A great article about Thames was written by Jack Curry in the New York Times.  If you want a good representation of who Marcus Thames really is I highly suggest reading this http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/sports/baseball/22thames.html?pagewanted=print

Maybe if TJ Simers had read this article first he wouldn't be thought of as the total waste of column inches that he obviously is.  After reading his article, I started checking airline prices and stocking up on TP.  This guy's house deserved it.  I wanted to start an anti-TJ facebook page.  I wanted to blow up his twitter feed with name-calling.  I just wanted bad things to happen to him.  But I am not a child.  I don't resort to childish put-downs.  What I really want is for Marcus Thames to hit 25 jacks this season, and stock the toilet stalls in the Dodgers clubhouse with copies of Simers' article.  And not for reading.