Joe Morgan Wants Everyone to Quit Attacking Ryan Howard

Joe's Tuesday chat got off to a rough start since he wasn't able to be present to take part in the chat. I am a little confused as to how Joe Morgan doesn't make time for his weekly chat since it is happens every Tuesday at 11am. I would think for a man who likes consistency it would be easy to know whether he is busy at that time and reschedule before the Buzzmaster has to go and try and find him. Joe is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, so the chat has moved to Wednesday.

Last time we left Joe he was announcing Brandon Phillips was the best second baseman in the National League because he is better than Chase Utley for one year, while chastising anyone who thought Joey Votto was on par with Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols, even though Votto has similar numbers to those players for one year. Joe was also butchering the spelling of nearly every MLB player last time he chatted as well.

This week a person asking a question mentioned Ryan Howard and Joe began immediately defending Howard as if he was being attacked. Also, Joe has some All-Star team (lack of) thoughts to share with the world.

JM: As usual, there are a lot of omissions and a lot of players who are not happy with not making the all-star team. I can understand their frustration. It also happened to me on a couple of occasions. One thing to remember, when I was playing, there were 25 players on the roster and now there is 34. You have much better chance of making it now than before.

Joe comes right out of the gate this week talking. After that flight he took yesterday, he doesn't need a Buzzmaster to get the chat going. When Joe played there were also fewer teams, not that what he is saying about the rosters being increased over time is wrong. Since 1980 the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks, and Rays have entered the league and pitching has become more role-specific, which means closers and set up guys have a better chance at making the team than they used to. So it is easier for a position player to make the team now, but there are also three teams in the National League that have been added since Joe played and pitching has become more specialized, so the specialized relievers may also deserve a spot on the All-Star squad. This all potentially limits the positions available for traditional pitchers and position players.

Matt (Jacksonville)

Joe, what is the problem with the Cubs? They have talent, but they can't seem to consistently put it together.

We start the day off with a JoeBait question. I assume any question that has the word "consistent" in it is a JoeBait question.

JM: They have not been able to perform at the high level it takes to win the Central division.

There are four teams below .500 in the NL Central right now. There were four teams below .500 in 2009 and the team that came in second place won 83 games. The NL Central is a two team race this year and a team doesn't have to perform at a high level when they can play the 2010 Pirates and Astros repeatedly throughout the year.

I think they've made some mistakes as far as evaluating some talent.

Joe mentions this every week, yet every week he doesn't tell us what players were the "mistakes" the Cubs made. Joe also claimed last week that every GM in baseball is now held responsible for their errors in judging players, so I don't know what that means in Joe's mind (a scary place to be) for Jim Hendry.

In the long term that hurts you because a lot of the players there performing and you have some players getting paid a lot and not performing. It can drive a wedge between teammates.

That can happen on any team, not just on the Cubs.

Kevin (VA)

do players really pay attention to the all star stuff?

JM: I think people do not realize the importance that a player puts on his legacy. Part of your legacy is whether you make all-star teams,

This is why I think Bill Plaschke's article from the other day is super-retarded. He wants to put Strasburg in the All-Star Game because he wants the game to be a carnival, yet some people do really think All-Star Game appearances really show how good of a baseball player a person was/is. All-Star teams are chosen partially by the fans and even sportswriters, who are supposed to know better than to base career achievements mostly on appearances in game that is half of a popularity contest. Yet, Plaschke would want to make the game more about entertainment rather than an evaluation of a player's actual ability. It is fine to make the All-Star Game about entertainment, but if players are being chosen based on how entertaining those players are then the game better not be used too much to measure a player's legacy in terms of playing ability.

David Waddle (Park Hills, Ky)

Do you agree that Joey Votto was robbed? First in HR, 3rd in B.A, and 5th in Ribbies. If you are choosing based on First-Half performance, which the manager SHOULD be...I'm glad he's not an umpire! He would have never made it into professional ball.

JM: I don't think there is such a thing as robbed. I think there is such a thing as being overlooked.

I never thought Joe Morgan would be smart enough to try and argue semantics with another person. "Robbed" or "overlooked" the result is the same that a person deserving of an honor did not get that honor. I think we have the real Joe with us today and not the Imposter Joe from last week, and real Joe has been pretty pissed off lately in his chats. Maybe he just wants an argument and doesn't realize both terms mean nearly the same thing. Does Joe do this in his personal life I wonder?

(The minister at Joe's wedding announcing Joe and his wife as bride and groom) "I now for the first time ever introduce to you two souls that have been wedded together---"

(Joe interrupting) "Actually, we haven't been wedded together. We are still two people. Please don't make it sound like we are Siamese twins or anything. We are two souls that have been joined together emotionally to share our lives with each other."

(The minister) "That's essentially what I said. It means nearly the same thi---"

(Joe gets angry) "Silence! You faithless creature from Hell! I know my wordages and those words aren't nearly the same meaning as each other would be in a different context."

(The minister now looking confused) "Fine, I now for the first time ever introduce to you two souls that have been joined together emotionally to share their lives with each oth---"

(Joe interrupts again) "We aren't really sharing our lives together. We live separate lives, but we live together and share money and things like that. We do live two separate lives."

(The minister) "You just told what to say and I repeated exactly what you said---"

(Joe motions to Pete Rose, his best man, who grabs the minister beats the shit out of him, empties his pockets, steals his money and then spends the rest of the day at the race track blowing the money on gambling and whores)

First of all, I'm the biggest Joey Votto fan, because I'm a Reds fan. I've watched him grow into one of the best hitters in the NL.

Just two weeks ago, Joe didn't consider Joey Votto to be the 4th best first baseman in the National League and this week he is one of the best hitters in the National League. Apparently he has progressed significantly in regards to talent in Joe's mind over the last two weeks.

There are two ways of looking at this. First of all, the fans had a chance to vote him in and they didn't. Secondly, the players had a chance to vote him in and they didn't. So, how can you blame Charlie Manuel?

Because he could have selected Votto to the team just like he selected Omar Infante to the team.

Howard has more RBI than he does and Howard has led his team to two World Series the last two years. He's been the MVP and ROY of the league. If that doesn't make him an all-star, then I don't know what does.

This has absolutely nothing to do with whether a player deserves to represent his team in the All-Star Game or not. Only people who have an IQ under 100 could even fathom of justifying a player receiving an individual award based on a measure of team achievement.

Howard's MVP and ROY from 2-3 years ago don't make him an All-Star in 2010. What DOES make Howard an All-Star is getting voted in by the fans or being named to the team because he has better statistics than any other first baseman not voted to the team. All-Star candidacy in 2010 has nothing to do with prior personal achievements...or at least it shouldn't.

It seems all of a sudden, we're only concerned with the first three months of the season.

Are you fucking kidding me? The first three months of the season is EXACTLY the amount of time fans and managers are supposed to judge whether a player should make the All-Star Game upon. Not last year, not what the player did in 2003 or how much his kids love him...but how well he is playing from April-July of the year 2010. Any attempt to make the All-Star Game a lifetime achievement award or to vote players in based on any other criteria is incorrect.

What's an all-star? The three months leading into the game or the full body of work.

The three months leading into the game. The All-Star team is supposed to be chosen based on the players that are playing the best at their position through the first half of the baseball season.

Pete (San Francisco)

Who are your AL and NL MVP's at the half-way-point of the season? I know we still have half a season to play, but if you were forced to choose someone from each league to be an MVP at this point in the season, who would it be?

JM: In the AL, I would pick Robinson Cano. His team has the best record in the league and he's their leader, their star player.

Oh...so Joe just chose the best player on the best team in baseball as his MVP. Excuse me while I go punch someone in the face.

He's been their most productive and consistent player on their team.

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY "POTENTIAL?"

When I hear Robinson Cano's name, I all I can think about is Joe not understanding a question about Cano's potential.

I would have to give it to 2-3 guys: David Wright, Troy Glaus, Pujols. Then I'd have to give Scott Rolen and Joey Votto a nod.

So the National League has five MVP's? Also, as a Braves fan I would like to say that Troy Glaus isn't the MVP of that team, much less the National League.

Tito (Brooklyn)

Joe, Ryan Howard said the other day that he hasn't found a consistent groove at the plate yet. What do you think he needs to do to be more consistent?

Tito from Brooklyn is back asking more questions after getting four of them answered by Joe two weeks ago. Tito is now in official "JoeBait" mode.

JM: It seems like people want to down play what he's accomplished.

NO ONE IS DOWNPLAYING WHAT RYAN HOWARD HAS ACCOMPLISHED BY CRITICIZING HIS CONTRACT! SHUT UP ABOUT THIS!

That's amazing to me. This is a guy who has averaged 40+ home runs and driven in well over 100 every year. He's won an MVP and led his team to the World Series the last two years. A first baseman's job is to produce runs. I don't understand why he doesn't get the credit for being the run producer that he is.

Ryan Howard has made three All-Star teams, won an NL MVP, a 2009 NLCS MVP, and a 2005 Rookie of the Year. He gets a ton of credit for being a great run producer.

KC (ATL)

It looks like playoff baseball in Philly against the Braves. Can the Braves hold them off over the long haul?

Get ready for some rambling. This person is asking Joe for a definitive answer and Joe won't/can't give one.

JM: The Braves can win, the Phillies can win and the Mets can win.

The one who can't win in the answer to this question? KC. He can't win because his question doesn't get answered.

The Mets are in the mix as well.

I think Joe literally just mentioned the Mets as a team that "can win," but I am still glad he cleared up his confusing language and said they were "in the mix as well."

They'll get Beltran back.

(Correction: As pointed out by Paul in the comments, I linked an old article here. I am an idiot and paid too much attention to the date and not the year of the article. Beltran is coming back, so my comment below is poorly informed.)

Maybe not this year...but he will be back at some point. Maybe Joe knows something the entire Mets organization doesn't.

And if the Phillies can get all of their players back healthy, like Utley and Rollins can get back to his game, they can win. And the Braves can win. It's too early to decide.

Joe was given the choice between two teams that may win the NL East, added a third team in the mix and then gave us enough confusing information to where we have less information about who could win the NL East after the question was answered then before the question was posed.

Alex (CT)

Joe Arod is starting to heat up and is 3 homeruns away from 600. Is he going to go down as one of the best in the history of the game?

JM: I feel he's one of the best players in the history of the game, especially if he would have stayed at shortstop.

(Bengoodfella shaking his head angrily)

So A-Rod's candidacy to be one of the best players in the history of baseball takes a hit because he moved infield positions? Are Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth out of the discussion because they played in the outfield?

I think the jury is still out on where his legacy will take him.

A-Rod better get himself voted to some more All-Star Games so he can further enhance his legacy then.

Rob (NY)

The AL Central is pretty much up for grabs at this point. Who do you think comes away with that division?

JM: For a long time I thought it was going to be the Twins. They just have a knack for winning and knowing how to play the game and not making mistakes. You have to look at the fact that Joe Mauer has only four home runs.

Prior to last year Joe Mauer's career high in home runs was 13. I would think last year's output of 28 home runs is the outlying number, not the 6, 9, 13, 7, and 9 home runs he had the few years before that. So I don't think the Twins are struggling because Mauer doesn't have many home runs.

I really think it's going to depend on who makes the right deal at the deadline. If Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago were, to say, get Cliff Lee, then that's the team I would favor.

So the team that gets Cliff Lee is the team that wins the division? I like how Joe puts one certain thing, like Beltran coming back from injury or a team trading for Cliff Lee, as the reason that team will win the division. I think he overrates these moves in many ways. A team can certainly be helped by the presence of Carlos Beltran or Cliff Lee, but they won't win the division because they have added those players halfway (or less than halfway) through the season. It's not like the Rangers are the American League favorite for the World Series now that they have traded for Cliff Lee.

Josh S. (Philly)

Hey Joe, How did matt Holiday make the all star team over Jayson Werth?

Matt Holliday- .297/.374/.500, 12 HR, 42 RBI's, 134 OPS+

Jayson Werth- .282/.366/.523, 13 HR, 48 RBI's, 134 OPS+

My guess would be that Charlie Manuel wanted Werth to get rest or he flipped a coin (which would greatly piss Eric Winston off, because that is no way to decide something as important as which player should make the All-Star team) to decide which player got to make it.

JM: I thought Jayson Werth's first half along with him having some productive years that he would make the team.

Matt Holliday has had some productive years also and he had a comparable first half to Werth. I don't think the snub of Werth is too much of a story.

But I agree. Worth fits my image of an all-star.

Apparently Joe Morgan's image of an All-Star involves a tall white man with a large beard. I would also appreciate it if Joe could spell Werth's name right. That wasn't a typo, he just misspelled an MLB player's name...again.

Rob (NY)

Hey joe lets get a LeBron prediction from a fellow beloved ohio ballplayer

JM: In my opinion, if LeBron goes and plays in Miami and Wade and Bosh, then he's throwing his teammates in Cleveland under the bus as if it were their fault that they didn't win in the NBA last year.

If LeBron James goes to any other city he isn't throwing his old teammates under the bus, he is merely taking advantage of his right to change teams when he becomes a free agent. Not to mention, it sort of is partially LeBron's teammates fault he didn't make the NBA Finals. If he had a stronger supporting cast then perhaps the Cavs could have advanced past the Celtics. Of course I do have other thoughts on LeBron's move to Miami, but I will save those for another day.

Taking advantage of being a free agent to go play for a different team isn't throwing your teammates under the bus. If LeBron came out and said he didn't like his teammates and they are at fault for the Cavs losing to the Celtics, then he would be throwing his teammates under the bus.

I've always talked with Bill Russell, the greatest champion in team sports, and he always said it was his duty to make his teammates better.

Bill Russell didn't play in the era of free agency and he was also surrounded by some Hall of Fame players in their prime, so it was easy for him to talk about making his teammates better. LeBron James hasn't played with a Hall of Fame-type player who is even close to his prime as of yet. He will this year while playing with Wade. I love Bill Russell, but it is easier to make teammates who have talent better, and I don't know if Russell would have stuck in Boston if he could have been a free agent. He might have, but we will never know.

If Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Dwight Howard all went together, they'd probably win a championship. So, if you can orchestrate who you can play with at the right time, anybody can win a championship.

So it is cheating for LeBron to get together with good players to win an NBA Title? Does that mean if a General Manager gets a group together like Sam Jones, John Havlichek, and Bill Russell through the draft or through trade that means they cheated? What about the Yankees? Does Joe think they cheated by getting Jeter, Tex, A-Rod, and Sabathia together? Joe has never said anything like this about the Yankees. So why would Wade, Bosh, and James together on the same team be "orchestrating" a championship? Why aren't the Yankees "orchestrating" a championship? Why aren't the Phillies "orchestrating" a championship by trading for Roy Halladay?

Ryan (PA)

Am I the only person who would prefer players from their team not make the All-Star game? I would rather have them have a couple days rest, especially the pitchers from the team I route for.

JM: Any player, who's a good player and wants to be the best that he can be, wants to play in the all-star game. The all-star game solidifies your place as one of the best players in the game. I wouldn't want to be on a team where players didn't want to be their best. In this new age it seems that we don't take the all-star game as seriously as we did in the past.

I think Joe was actually correct in typing that last sentence. The All-Star Game isn't as serious as it used to be, so I don't think the players care as much anymore if they get elected to their 3rd or 10th All-Star Game. It used to be a big deal to the players, but I don't think it is as much anymore.

Though I do find it interesting Brian McCann of the Braves hit a three-run double so the Phillies can have homefield advantage in the World Series. That's sort of interesting to me.

It has happened every year there has been an all-star game. There will be players who deserve to go and did not get to go. That's the nature of the game. At this time there are 34 spots and I think there are more than that number of all-stars out there.

At the beginning of the chat, Joe said it is easier now to make the All-Star team because there are more slots, and then at the end of his chat he says the amount of all-stars exceeds the number of spots on the roster. So while it may be easier to make the roster, it is also just as easy to get passed over (not "robbed" though because that doesn't happen).

Buzzmaster: Thanks Joe!

Thanks for showing up a day late and then telling us absolutely no information. I look forward to learning nothing new in your chat again next week.