Sunday, January 25, 2004
SPIRO FACES THE HEAT
"There is absolutely nothing to that story," general manager Bill Bavasi said. "They either have bad sources or they're fools, or both."
Larry LaRue and Bill Bavasi confirm what most of us are thinking: the story from Justin Spiro of DetroitSports.net is one steaming, fly-infested pile of crap (though he's standing by it). The Tribune article even says that Scott Boras and the Mariners haven't even talked yet about Ivan Rodriguez, further pushing back the Spiro story. I really wish he was a regular writer for a legit source, like a Sporting News or a legit newspaper, but there's second-guessing everywhere at this point because it's frigging Detroit Sports Net.
It turns out that all of this was enough for KJR to put him on the air (zip file that opens as an mp3 file -- ~23 minutes). I'm listening to it...(here's your quick recap) David Locke starts out saying that yes, Detroit Sports Net is just a website. Locke gives Spiro some credit for at least calling back when KJR called him. Spiro does not have a lot of links to all the guys Locke knows in Detroit. Spiro tries to justify his position, and doesn't have Red Wings credentials yet. Basically the first few minutes is Spiro trying to boost his legitimacy. Locke asks him what the risk would be if Spiro got the stroy wrong. Spiro says that the same source broke the Jason Johnson and Fernando Vina signings. Spiro says that even he had his doubts, but eventually felt confident. He says if it was wrong, it would hurt him, but that he had confidence in the report. Locke asks how it came about. Elise Woodward asks about the Sasaki delay. Spiro says Boras is stalling, and that the Tigers' only chance is if the Tigers go upward in their cash. Locke puts another disclaimer out, saying KJR doesn't know who Spiro is or anything, almost like a liability thing. Locke: "What's your goal in this business?" Spiro wants to move up with ESPN, who he apparently has contributed for. Locke gets handed the Detroit Free Press article saying the Tigers had agreed on four years. Spiro says he is not fazed by that report. Spiro then says that Boras is trying to get an offer out of the Mariners, and then Locke jumps on him. Spiro tries to cover up, saying Boras is trying to get more money on the table. Locke basically says, you're making me think he's signed, but then you go and say he's just trying to get an offer on the table? You're telling me there's actually not a deal? Spiro says he thinks time will tell as to the credentials of his site. Spiro then says he believes Pudge has a verbal agreement with the Mariners, but that he might agree with the Tigers if they up their offer for more than $2M per year. Locke tries to take him up on some email/phone message discrepancy (Locke is really laying into this guy). Locke asks Spiro why the source is telling him this; Spiro says he has a direct affiliation with the source and a friend of the family. Spiro tries to defend himself and his integrity and the tips that have come true for him. Locke says if Spiro is right, he can call KJR back anytime and Locke will have his back.
If Justin's wrong about all this, he's not totally screwed. Every time some misreporting like this happens, I quickly think of the fact that Dateline NBC is on the air to this day, after that thing where they rigged the GM trucks to explode in a side-impact crash back in 1992. But there were some NBC jobs lost over that, that's for sure. Okay, so I guess DSN isn't totally screwed, but Spiro will probably be screwed in some way or at least tarnished.
Larry LaRue and Bill Bavasi confirm what most of us are thinking: the story from Justin Spiro of DetroitSports.net is one steaming, fly-infested pile of crap (though he's standing by it). The Tribune article even says that Scott Boras and the Mariners haven't even talked yet about Ivan Rodriguez, further pushing back the Spiro story. I really wish he was a regular writer for a legit source, like a Sporting News or a legit newspaper, but there's second-guessing everywhere at this point because it's frigging Detroit Sports Net.
It turns out that all of this was enough for KJR to put him on the air (zip file that opens as an mp3 file -- ~23 minutes). I'm listening to it...(here's your quick recap) David Locke starts out saying that yes, Detroit Sports Net is just a website. Locke gives Spiro some credit for at least calling back when KJR called him. Spiro does not have a lot of links to all the guys Locke knows in Detroit. Spiro tries to justify his position, and doesn't have Red Wings credentials yet. Basically the first few minutes is Spiro trying to boost his legitimacy. Locke asks him what the risk would be if Spiro got the stroy wrong. Spiro says that the same source broke the Jason Johnson and Fernando Vina signings. Spiro says that even he had his doubts, but eventually felt confident. He says if it was wrong, it would hurt him, but that he had confidence in the report. Locke asks how it came about. Elise Woodward asks about the Sasaki delay. Spiro says Boras is stalling, and that the Tigers' only chance is if the Tigers go upward in their cash. Locke puts another disclaimer out, saying KJR doesn't know who Spiro is or anything, almost like a liability thing. Locke: "What's your goal in this business?" Spiro wants to move up with ESPN, who he apparently has contributed for. Locke gets handed the Detroit Free Press article saying the Tigers had agreed on four years. Spiro says he is not fazed by that report. Spiro then says that Boras is trying to get an offer out of the Mariners, and then Locke jumps on him. Spiro tries to cover up, saying Boras is trying to get more money on the table. Locke basically says, you're making me think he's signed, but then you go and say he's just trying to get an offer on the table? You're telling me there's actually not a deal? Spiro says he thinks time will tell as to the credentials of his site. Spiro then says he believes Pudge has a verbal agreement with the Mariners, but that he might agree with the Tigers if they up their offer for more than $2M per year. Locke tries to take him up on some email/phone message discrepancy (Locke is really laying into this guy). Locke asks Spiro why the source is telling him this; Spiro says he has a direct affiliation with the source and a friend of the family. Spiro tries to defend himself and his integrity and the tips that have come true for him. Locke says if Spiro is right, he can call KJR back anytime and Locke will have his back.
If Justin's wrong about all this, he's not totally screwed. Every time some misreporting like this happens, I quickly think of the fact that Dateline NBC is on the air to this day, after that thing where they rigged the GM trucks to explode in a side-impact crash back in 1992. But there were some NBC jobs lost over that, that's for sure. Okay, so I guess DSN isn't totally screwed, but Spiro will probably be screwed in some way or at least tarnished.
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