If this were his first 'transgression' then oh well, but its not. Same thing last year in Spring Training where he was the only one of his teammates not to show on time for the 'voluntary' team workouts. Yes, it annoys me. And no. Carlos Lee does not care if i am annoyed.
And yes all of this wailing and gnashing of teeth relates directly to the money Carlos is being paid, and about his lack of expected production. If the highest paid player on the team was hitting well, and the team was doing well, I doubt folks would be nearly as annoyed at his all-to-regular lollygagging on the basepaths, and occasionally in the field. But he's not carrying his weight at the plate, and the team is doing poorly. His actions stand out, and they reflect poorly on him. His failure to show up, or call Wade or Mills directly, appear to be more of the same. His actions appear at times wear on his teammates as well. The Keppinger stare down from a couple of months is demonstrative of this.
No, I do not know what's going on in Carlos' mind. He may care deeply or he may not give a shit. Even if he doesn't give a shit, however, he's getting paid enough to at least pretend like he gives a shit. His actions often don't particularly reflect that he does.
Do I give a shit? Enough to be annoyed for a bit and bitch about it at SnS for a couple of paragraphs, but that's about it. Was I surprised that Carlos was the only one to miss the practice (besides Bourn - excused absence)? Not in the least.
BTW: as for whether Footer's potential bias colored the initial coverage, if was Fallas who first reported Carlos' no-show and remarking that it was "unexcused."
And to save Jim the trouble, let me just add in response to my own post ether WFW or Fuck Off. I'm sure I've earned one or both...