I actually don't dislike Paul Daugherty, but this kind of crap is what I can't stand about sports journalism today:
spring training is about new starts, so I figured it was time to patch things up w/Adam Dunn... occasionally, writers and players have problems with each other... usually they pass... ours lingered, which was dumb, because Dunn is among the most engaging and self-effacing Reds, not to mention one of the most important. So when I asked Dunn today if we could bury the hatchet, he didn't bury it in my head. We had a great talk, he seems a changed guy. More serious about the player he can be, more aware that his vast potential was going a little untapped. More mature, generally. Good for him. Good for the Reds. I'll write about him for Sunday's paper. Meantime, it feels good to patch things up.
If anyone comes across as immature here it's Daugherty (more aware that his vast potential was going a little untapped?). Good for Daugherty for kissing Dunn's ass and fixing things, but it's ridiculous that it ever got to that point in the first place. I also read somewhere that Marty still hasn't spoken to Dunn this spring, probably for similar reasons as Daugherty.
Normally I wouldn't rush to defend the player in a situation like these, but the way Dunn is treated on the air and in the local media borders on criminal. Dunn would have been perfectly justified to tell Daugherty to kiss his ass, but he didn't, because he's actually a pretty damn humble player. I wonder how old he'll have to be before he starts getting credit for that humility.