It was late and out west so I didn’t see it, but San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Hank Schulman witnessed something in L.A. last night that is is kind of mind boggling.
It happened in the sixth inning, when Matt Kemp made an error on a Melky Cabrera single to center. Kemp had trouble getting a handle on it, allowing Cabrera to take second. Cabrera ended up scoring on a Joaquin Arias single, which Kemp had a hard time getting too.
Now, remember: Matt Kemp has a bum hamstring, so it’s a miracle he made the lineup at all.
Anyway:Many fans here booed when Kemp misplayed Melky ball, didn’t reach Arias RBI single.If that’s what they were booing, they’re total idiots.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 8, 2012
Then later, after a Kemp hit:
Now they’re chanting “MVP, MVP” for Kemp. These really are the worst fans in baseball.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 8, 2012
Now I’m getting Tweets saying fans weren’t booing Kemp. Just booing a Giants run. What a load of crapola. They were booing Kemp, period.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 8, 2012
Kemp gets three hits on one leg. Carrying that team. Fans booed because he let ball get by him when he could barely move.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 8, 2012
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe fans were expressing deep-seated hatred for Joaquin Arias.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) May 8, 2012
To head one argument off: Schulman may cover the Giants for the Chronicle, but (a) his reporting is always good and fair; and (b) he has always offered his opinion in his Twitter feed, both on baseball and other topics like politics, so it’s not like there was some official breach of objectivity here. It’s how he rolls and I’m glad he rolls that way. As someone who is often accused of bias, I think it’s worth noting something: we all have biases or, short of that, opinions. I worry more about those who act like they don’t and silently harbor them than I do about the ones who have them, are up front about them and allow you to judge their work for itself.
With that out of the way, please tell me Schulman was wrong and Dodgers fans weren’t booing the best freaking player in baseball and the leaps-and-bounds best player on their team? Who, as Schulman noted, went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored a run despite having a bum hamstring.
If so, Magic: Talk to your fans, OK?
UPDATE: Dodgers Thoughts and Chad Moriyama both say Schulman was off base.