Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Adam Greenberg by now. Ozzie Guillen says he'll pinch-hit Greenberg at some point during tonight's game against the Mets. While most fans seem OK with Greenberg getting a chance to hit one more time, there is certainly a vocal minority wondering why Greenberg deserves a second chance at playing in a major league game while many, many others reach Triple-A -- often spending years there -- yet never get the opportunity.
In his newsletter today (subscribe here), Joe Sheehan writes:
- Sports, and especially the best sport there is, should be a meritocracy. When you buy a ticket to see a ballgame, you should expect to get the highest level of play that the teams can give you. Sometimes that means the 2001 Mariners, and sometimes that means the September 2012 Red Sox, but there should never be any question that the guys on the field are the best that were available to those teams on that day. Giving away roster spots and at-bats in the interest of ginning up goodwill is an affront to the men who, even as I write this, are in a weight room or a batting cage or an agent's office, doing anything they can to earn that which, sometime tonight, is being gifted. It's not right. Baseball shouldn't be a sideshow, despite the best efforts of the game's administration to make it one.
Joe's point is fair, but I have trouble getting too angry over this. I'll be rooting for Greenberg to get a hit. You can listen on live on ESPN Radio, which will cut in whenever Greenberg's plate appearance comes up. Click here to listen (sometime between 7 and 10 p.m. ET).
By the way, only in America: Vegas has posted odds on Greenberg's result. From Bovada.lv:
Strikeout, 7/5
Groundout, 11/4
Air out, 7/2
Single, 4/1
Walk/HBP, 5/1
Double/triple, 10/1
Home run, 50/1
