Dear Artie,
It is OK to call you Artie?
Anyway, I’ll get to the point.
Your rush to join the talk-show circuit after the debut of “Money Ball” generated some good news and bad news.
Let’s start with the good news.
You didn’t send your wife to do your bidding and talk to the media.
Thank goodness you’re a student of history. That’s how you so deftly navigated the righty-lefty match-ups, right?
I bet you analyzed how playing the wife card didn’t work for Nicolas Sarkozy and decided to take a pass on this tactic.
Smart.
Now the bad news.
You came off as silly, publicly discussing how “Money Ball” wronged you.
C’mon, it’s a movie.
This is Hollywood, not C-SPAN.
Nuance and shades of gray don’t play well on the silver screen.
Making a sports movie that sells requires good guys, bad guys and the occasional f-bomb.
Geez, you worked under Bobby Valentine, so you saw firsthand the gap between a good narrative and reality.
Yes, I can understand your unhappiness with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s physique. Why he decided to channel Jack Black in “School of Rock” and put on 20 pounds is beyond me. If it’s any consolation, I always thought you cut a rather svelte figure in your green and gold unie.
Look, I know this isn’t easy.
You want to defend your honor.
I get it.
But Artie, you were in the game for over 30 years. If you felt this strongly about your rep, call some of your compadres to put out the word that the real Art Howe got the most out of his talent and if Billy Beane is such a genius, why has it been five years since the A’s produced a winning record?
It sounds so much better when your buddies say you’re a great guy than when you say “I’m great.”
Better yet, how about reaching out to some of those players you managed on the A’s to share their perspectives on your managerial acuity?
That’s really the advice I wanted to share.
I don’t mean to rub salt in the wound, but even your Wikipedia profile is flagged with the words:
“Please help by adding reliable sources.”
Short of showing your stuff again – can’t quite see the Red Sox calling – third-party validation is the next best thing to setting the record straight.
Good luck and if you decide to continue down this path, we do happen to offer media training.
Sincerely,
Lou