Hating Hart

Posted on | February 4, 2009 | No Comments | by Chris

With Rickie Weeks now in the fold, just one Milwaukee Brewer is facing an arbitration hearing: Corey Hart.  Reportedly, Hart and the Crew are far apart when assessing his value, and the sides appear to be pretty well dug in and unwilling to approach the midpoint in determining his 2009 salary, at least at this point.

The reaction from many quarters of Brewers Nation has been loud and clear…and decidedly anti-Hart.  I suspect the harsh critique of Hart is tied to his calling out the fans for their booing the team at home last season.  I feel this way because many forum contributors and blog commentators refer to the comments in Hart made while the team was playing in PHL in September.  So that tells me that many fans have the RedAss about Hart articulating his feelings, and that sting is lingering.  Therefore, I am led to believe that many are down on Hart and are anxious to rip him for his poor September and overall subpar second half due to the perception he created by chiding the fans for making Miller Park less hospitable for the home team (never mind that Hart’s remarks were well-founded).

I believe that if Hart had kept his mouth shut about the fans we would be seeing a much more forgiving attitude on display, with many more people willing to write off his swoon as a fluke while being less strident in their comments about how much Hart deserves in arbitration. In other words, I am sensing the public opinion on Hart’s contract status is personal, not just business.

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