If you thought the "grinder" "gritty" "gamer" comparisons between two short, white dudes (the calling card of lazy reporting) began and ended with David Eckstein and Dustin Pedroia, you were wrong. So very wrong.
It seems that the Boston media has discovered a new short* white gamer/gritty/grinder infielder to compare to David Eckstein: Jed Lowrie.
And, of course, even the article's title comes with a "short" pun:
And they're both short, John! And they're both white! Aren't they SO MUCH ALIKE, John? They have SO MUCH IN COMMON. They both HIT HOME RUNS. Amazing!Jed Lowrie's impact no small factor for Red SoxDavid Eckstein knows exactly what Jed Lowrie is feeling right now.
They're both converted second baseman playing major league shortstop. They both worked their way up through the ranks of the Red Sox system, though Eckstein eventually became a standout with the Angels.
And now they both know what it's like to hit a game-winning home run.
Sportswriters must get so psyched when the Blue Jays come to town. Automatic built-in Eckstein comparisons... wheeeeee!
* Yes, I know - Jed Lowrie is nowhere near as short as Mighty Mouse Pedroia. But apparently he's short-ish enough to draw Eckstein comparisons.
on August 27, 2008 1:39 AM
I admit that Lowrie kind of looks like Craig Counsell (so much that my mother's become confused when watching Brewers and Red Sox games at the same time) but for some reason neither Lowrie nor Pedroia really meet any of the "gritty" requirements other than the short and white ones. They're actually, um, good.
BTW, there's been some work done on quantifying grit. This is stat-based unlike what those hack journalists put out, so black guys like Rickie Weeks can be gritty too. (The KUG: Kendall Unit of Grit, named for gritty Brewers catcher Jason Kendall.)