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#1 | |||
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: sans pants
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Rob Neyer Amazon Controversy
This is about a week or so old, but wasn't sure if anyone had brought this up:
Turns out that, using a psuedonym, Rob Neyer wrote a scathing review on Amazon.com about the newly released One Day at Fenway: A Day in the Life of Baseball in America. I caught the tail end of this on the radio yesterday and decided to try and find some information about it this morning. As soon as his review went up, three glowing reviews followed. Neyer, sure that the reviews were from friends/family of the writer, had his friend post another negative review written by Neyer to counter-balance what he felt were bogus positive reviews. Of course the national media got wind of it - so Neyer changed the name on his review to his actual name. It all kind of spiraled downward from there and is "explained" by Neyer on his site. Quote:
Anyway...kind of interesting situation. I don't have a problem with Neyer posting a negative review under a psuedonym, but he probably should have let it go after that... |
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#2 |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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Talk about a bad situation spiraling out of control. He definitely should have let it go, or at worst, encouraged people who had read the book and didn't like it, to post negative reviews. Or, he should have written about it in his ESPN column.
But now that people have to pay for it, maybe that isn't a big enough audience anymore.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#3 |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Jul 2003
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Reminds me of a situation on the Canadian Amazon site a few years back.
Basically Authors were pimping up their own books and slating competitors' books under pseudonyms. Then due to a glitch in the matrix, Amazon Canada started showing the real names. Hilarity Ensues. http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/20...0217023883.htm http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/4450 |
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#4 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Keene, NH
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you know, I'm not really that bothered by what he did here. But every time I read him, I get the impression that I wouldn't like him very much in person.
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Mile High Hockey |
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#5 |
Stadium Announcer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Burke, VA
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I find it amusing that Rob Neyer, much like Dan Rather, is trying to tell us what the "real story" is.
Hey Rob (and Dan, for that matter)... the "real story" is the one we find most interesting, which in this case includes your boneheaded move.
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I don't want the world. I just want your half. |
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#6 | |
Torchbearer
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: On Lake Harriet
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Quote:
Spoken like a true talk radio host! ![]() |
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#7 |
Strategy Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: North Carolina
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The second negative review is just infantile.
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#8 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Placerville, CA
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"Whiny little bitch" is the first thing that comes to mind.
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#9 | |
Roster Filler
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Cicero
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Quote:
Yes, the story is not the facts, it is my spin on the facts.
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http://www.nateandellie.net Now featuring twice the babies for the same low price! |
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#10 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Free pub for the book.
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#11 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2002
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If you had just told me what he did, I wouldn't have thought it was a big deal. After all, I'd bet that half the reviews on Amazon are faked.
But man... after reading that diatribe, I wonder about this guy. He seems like a very bitter man. If he doesn't like a book, he goes out of his way to rip it. If he doesn't like an article, it sounds like he gets on the phone and starts screaming. He just doesn't sound very balanced... I mean, googling the names of the reviews you disagree with to find out who they are? Eesh. And does anyone else find it slightly disconcerting that a successful baseball writer would go to so much trouble to shoot down an aspiring one?
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Down Goes Brown: Toronto Maple Leafs Humor and Analysis |
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#12 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Quote:
It sounds like Derek Smart.If anyone knows the name they know what I mean.I better be careful D might here me and be attracted to this site which would really suck! |
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#13 | |
Stadium Announcer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Burke, VA
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Quote:
How is talking about what most people find most interesting putting spin on the facts? The real story is whatever the general public wants it to be, not what Rob Neyer, Dan Rather, Rush Limbaugh, or Cam Edwards wants it to be. If I started talking about things people didn't care about, I'd soon find myself unemployed. It's not that I decide what the story is, I just have a really good track record at figuring out what people want to talk about.
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I don't want the world. I just want your half. |
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#14 | |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: St. Paul, MN
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Quote:
I agree with the above statement. I wonder how he would feel if Bill James or Roger Angell did the same to one of his books? |
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#15 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Fresno, CA
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Quote:
Ding Ding Ding!!! |
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#16 | |
Roster Filler
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Cicero
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Quote:
I was not referring to you Cam - I've never heard your show. I was referring to the numerous hacks on sports talk radio around the country who are trying to be Rome by making themselves the story.
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http://www.nateandellie.net Now featuring twice the babies for the same low price! |
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#17 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Early, TX
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This reminds me of the druez thing.
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Just beat the devil out of it!!! - Bob Ross |
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#18 |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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I saw Neyer on ESPNews the other day. He didn't sound anything like I thought he would. There's a reason some people write for a living and others speak for a living. Unfortunately, those lines are being blurred too much these days.
Peter King is another one. That guy's got one of the most annoying voices ever.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#19 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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What interests me about the whole thing is that Neyer does not delve into any sort of detail about why he dislikes the book so thoroughly. In the quoted material above, we hear again and again about how much he hates the book, but he offers little or no explination as to why. If he's going to such great lengths to express his displeasure, you'd think he'd submit some substantial evidence as to why he dislikes the book so thoroughly.
The second thing which bothers me about the whole ordeal is that Neyer used his website to air his dirty laundry. Sure, part of what he's trying to do is clarify an already bad situation and voice his side of the story (both well within his right), but I fail to see how the postscripts quoted above offer anything more than a "I'm right...see?" mentality.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton Last edited by samifan24 : 09-14-2004 at 02:40 PM. Reason: clarity |
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#20 |
Strategy Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: North Carolina
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Did he even read the whole book? His story doesn't really make it seem like he did.
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#21 |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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What is "his website" anyway? Robneyer.com? I've been there twice today and can't find any mention of this.
This is what he says above about why he doesn't like it: "The book includes hundreds of quotes from interesting people like Theo Epstein, Spike Lee, and George Mitchell, and yet somehow not more than a tiny percentage of these quotes are remotely insightful or interesting. Quotes aside, the writing is amateurish throughout, seemingly written for an audience of sixth graders of the non-precocious sort. It’s just a bad book." I've hated things for less. He doesn't have to have a good reason to hate it.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#22 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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Quote:
The man ought to have something more than a simple "I just don't like it" if he's going to convey his feelings publicly, especially given his profession.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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#23 |
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: sans pants
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I finally ventured over to Amazon.com and read his full review.
Unprofessional at best, mean-spirited at worst, it just left me thinking the reviewer had been wronged in some way by the author... Of course he hadn't...which makes me wonder why Neyer would bother to write such a shallow, flippant review in the first place. His seeming disinterest in taking responsibility for the whole thing is probably the worst part of the whole story, though. |
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#24 | |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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Quote:
He did. I quoted it.
__________________
M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#25 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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Quote:
In the material you quoted above, Neyer says his dislikes the book, but fails to offer any substantial reasons as to why he dislikes it. If he's going to go public with his dislike for the book, he ought to have some substantial reasons for disliking the book, else he leaves himself open for criticism.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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#26 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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DOLA
Neyer says that the quotes in the book were uninteresting. Ok, why? Was it the context in which they were used? Was it that the quotes were simply misplaced and had little to do with what the author was describing? What exactly was it about the quotes which lead him to react with such aversion? That's what I'm trying to get at here.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton Last edited by samifan24 : 09-14-2004 at 03:25 PM. Reason: to clarify "boring" and replace it with Neyer's own idea of the quotes being uninteresting |
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#27 | |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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Quote:
He sad the writing was bad and the quotes were neither insightful nor interesting. I guess if he was going to write a full-fledged review, he probably would have gone into more detail. But I don't see what's wrong with the general comments he made above. I also read his review over at Amazon, and I agree that it has way too much "this book sucks" without enough explanation. But the general explanation he offered up later is enough for me to understand why he didn't like it.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#28 | |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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Quote:
He gave comments about a book he read (or tried to read). He wasn't asked to publish a full review of the book. In this case, the proper response to his review is to give it the credibility you think it deserves - which is none, if you don't think he adequately explained "why" he din't like it. SImply disregard his comments.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#29 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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Quote:
Right, I agree: it's really just a matter of preference and depends upon the level of credence you give that sort of a review. I, personally, would like to have something more substantial, especially from a baseball writer of his calibre. For others, it isn't as big an issue. At least we agree on that.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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#30 |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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And I think his initial review was supposed to be under the guise of "just one of the crowd" giving his opinion about the book. I think if he set out to review the book in one of his columns, he probably would have gone into much more detail. At this point, he might as well do a full review.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#31 | |
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: sans pants
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Quote:
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#32 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Maryland
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Quote:
Sports Guy has a dweeby voice too.
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#33 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2002
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Quote:
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Down Goes Brown: Toronto Maple Leafs Humor and Analysis |
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#34 |
This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off.
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: In Absentia
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I'm pretty sure I've never heard The Sports Guy speak. He kinda looks dweeby, though. Neyer kinds looks like a husky Pacific-Northwestern guy, but he doesn't sound like it.
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M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete." |
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#35 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Conyers GA
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"And by the way, who tipped off Davidoff, and why did he feel the need to implicitly slander me? Is it unfair of me to wonder if he's a part of this whole tawdry conspiracy?"
Is he really accusing the reporter of slander? That's unbelievable. Maybe he needs to realize that he did something wrong and not blame everything on others. "Well... Other people were posting bogus positive reviews!" "That reporter didn't give my side!" Screw you, Rob. |
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#36 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Keene, NH
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Rob Neyer's writing style reminds me a little of Barry Sanders.
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Mile High Hockey |
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#37 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Conyers GA
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Quote:
I didn't know he was a writer. |
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