I never saw it in the paper, but I distinctly recall Garner telling Charlie Palillo on his radio show last year that Morgan wasn't hurt. It surprised me because just about everyone in the media, here, and indeed the Astros organization was stating otherwise.
During the Game of the Week broadcast of the Rangers/Astros, Eric Karros was talking about the type of manager Garner was. The conversation was about Hunter Pence actually and the things that Garner had said to Karros about him. Karros came away with the impression that Garner is a total player's manager type. Meaning he will deflect and defend players from media scrutiny and try to focus on the good things a player brings to the table. Even his criticism of the player are soft peddle type of slams. And Karros ended his statement with "and that is why players love to play for Phil Garner."
Except maybe Chris Burke, but I digress.
Any way, it reminded me of when Larry Dierker was manager. He would talk freely about his players to the media. He had no shut off valve when he was asked about a player and he said some things that really irked his players. He slammed Shane Reynolds during one playoff performance "He looked like he didn't want to be out there today", which basically ended whatever relationship Dierk ever had with Shane right then and there. He slammed Billy Wagner when he was making a comeback in 2001, "His fastball looks very hittable now and he just doesn't throw as hard as he used too!", which lead to Waggs saying "Let him grab a bat and step in to see if I still throw hard!". He blasted Craig Biggio once during his second year as manager (when he won the MOY award and the team was at 102 wins at the end of the season, lead by none other than Craig Biggio) which lead to a confrontation on-board a late night flight between the two. Then he wrote some things about Brad Ausmus in his website columnist gig while manager that really irked guys like Hampton and others.
It's not that Dierker was not entitled to have said opinions of his players, it is just that he went to the media first to tell them what he thought of the players instead of going to the players themselves. Phil Garner suffers from the opposite with the media. He doesn't share with them his opinion of his own players and it turns into media fodder that Scraps is delusional about his players abilities, like say for instance Orlando Palmeiro. Scraps knows what he has in Palmeiro, the media does not have to try and prod him to say it to them what he thinks. He'll go to Palmeiro as a man and talk to him about his desire to see more out of him (which is what he is doing now). But the media wants something, so Scraps gives it to them.
Sweet pablum. It is a version of "manager's decision" only different.
