Cliff Lee and the media

Bob Raissman writes about how really no one in baseball media got the Cliff Lee story right. Fair enough. I can’t remember the last time everyone was this fooled about a big signing. But I think Raissman is a bit unfair with this passage:

In fact, none of the legion of ESPN’s highly promoted, self-decorated baseball reporters, all who appear on the World Wide Leader’s multiple media platforms, knew what the heck was going on with Lee and the Phillies. Since ESPN promotes these baseball reporters as better than the rest of the schlubs on the beat, it should be embarrassed.

No one at ESPN got the story, true, but it should be noted that Jayson Stark was one of the first -- and may have been the first -- to surmise that the Phillies could be involved (even Heyman, who first reported that a “Mystery Team” was involved didn’t believe it was the Phillies). Stark got there, not based on actual inside information, but based on his overall read of the situation. I’m not suggesting that Stark be lauded for breaking anything because he didn’t, but I think that understanding what’s going on based on experience can be just as valuable as actually getting the scoop. In some cases, more valuable. ESPN should not be “embarrassed” for this.

Everyone is wrong sometimes and everyone is right sometimes, but I prefer that the baseball writers I read spend as much time thinking about this stuff as they do checking their Blackberries. It’s certainly a lesson I’m learning as I dip my toe into the scoop biz more and more.