A curmudgeon is defined as an ill-tempered person full of stubborn ideas or opinions. Normally a curmudgeon has to be old but A’s pitcher Dallas Braden is already making great progress at the age of 26.
A’s To Dallas Braden: “Get Off Our Marketing Campaign”
You know Braden for two things. The A-Rod on the Mound incident and the perfect game he threw a couple weeks later. With Braden going 0-5 since perfection, the shine has worn off a little. So the A’s have decided to pounce on the one thing Braden still brings to the club...notoriety. They’ve begun selling “Get Off My Mound” t-shirts and with the Yankees in town, it’s sure to be a hot seller.
“I think we all understand where they are coming from, but it’s just a serious, gross, lack of tact,” Braden said Monday. “At the end of the day, I hope I do not become associated with that kind of approach. They didn’t ask anybody that would potentially be involved in it. From that standpoint they should probably tighten that ship up a lot.”
The A’s had a closed-door meeting with Braden and listened thoughtfully to his concerns. Then, in tactful PR-speak, they told him to shut up, throw strikes, and leave the marketing to them.
“We regret that Dallas has expressed concern in regards to the ‘Get Off My Mound’ T-shirts that are being sold throughout the stadium. The organization created these shirts in response to numerous fan requests and made them to generate interest in this series...We will speak privately with Dallas about this to clarify our position and make sure we have a clear line of communication going forward.”
Not that there’s much he can do one way or another, Braden has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Hopefully he recovers before the Yankees start selling “Get Off The DL” t-shirts when the A’s comes to town. He REALLY won’t like that.
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