As you’ve likely seen by now, Nate McLouth talked to the Pittsburgh media after the Pirates/Braves game this afternoon and made some pretty negative comments about the Bucs. Without even having to look, I’m sure this will cause an uproar within a certain section of the fanbase.
I’m sorry, but I can’t get worked up over this stuff. As much as the non-stop losing drives us nuts, it’s not like the players sit in the clubhouse and relish it or something. McLouth was treated terribly by the Pirates during the Dave Littlefield era, then traded away shortly after signing an extension. I can’t imagine anyone likes to be traded, even if it is from the Pirates to the Braves.
The one comment that’s causing the most consternation seems to be the one about McLouth never realizing that he needed contacts while he was with the Pirates because their eye exam is a “joke.” I don’t know what eye exam the Pirates do and maybe it is a joke, but in general the Pirates’ training staff has drawn pretty good reviews (subscriber link) and frankly, I’m always amazed when baseball players, who’s eyes are incredibly important to them, say things like, “I had no idea my eyesight was bad!” I’ve worn glasses since I was ten years old and contacts since high school, and I always know when my prescription needs tuned up. In fact, about two years ago I went to the eye doctor and I told him, “Doc, I’ve been coming here my whole life and reading this exact same chart year after year. Once I start going, I always know what letters are coming up, whether I can see them or not. But seriously, my right eye is getting a little blurry so please take a closer look at that one.”
Maybe the Pirates should give better eye tests, but maybe they don’t do anything different than anyone else. The Brewers’ Corey Hart recently made a similar discovery and McLouth’s bad eyesight wasn’t even detected by the Braves; it was found by his own personal eye doctor.
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