John "Jack Ass" Rocker

Atlanta Braves | Pitcher | #49
Bats: Right Throws: Left
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Born: Oct 17, 1974 in Statesboro, Georgia
Intelligence: None

John Rocker has opinions -- strong opinions. In fact, he has many of them. And he's not afraid to spout off at the mouth and let anyone and everyone know what they are. By now, we all know Rocker said some idiotic things in a Sports Illustrated article earlier this year. For a while, it was all over the news, the talk shows and on the minds of sports fans and non sports fans alike.

Not unlike many Americans  these days, Rocker is not one to look on the bright side. He likes to bitch and moan and shred things, and his voice -- deep, intimidating -- is naturally suited for the task. So are the thick eyebrows. Let's face it. The dude looks like a serial killer. And a stupid one at that.

And like all stupid rednecks, he just doesn't get it. The white man is the ruler of the land and all others are eating away at what is good about this country. This is what he really thinks. In fact, all in bred toothless bubbas think this way. You get the feeling that Rocker has David Duke's private number on speed dial. (Being an in bred toothless redneck does not mean you really don't have teeth.)

And then there was the latest incident this past weekend when Jack Ass cornered the fellow who wrote the original piece for Sports Illustrated. Rocker offered a few not so thinly veiled threats. As if it is the reporter's fault for what happened. Hey, Einstein, you fucking moron, all the guy did was to tell the people what you said! That's his fucking job! Your job is to get batters out. His job is to report on what he sees and hears.

(Rocker's not doing his job this year. His numbers are down in just about every category. The Braves front office maintain that the sole reason Rocker was sent to Class AAA affiliate Richmond was his pitching performance. The only thing I can say to that: Poor Richmond.)

But let's back up here. After the story first ran in SI, there were some people to come to Rocker's defense. Isn't there something about freedom of speech in that document, The Constitution? Don't we all have freedom of expression? And is that not one of the things that make this country great?

The answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes. Actually, it's "Yes, but..."

We are all afforded the gift of freedom of expression in this country. But that simply does not preclude freedom from consequence. We all suffer consequences for our daily actions and, yes, our words. Chances are in your line of work, if you had said anything remotely similar to what Rocker said, you'd have been fired. And deservedly so.

Of course, all that debate is for naught now. The Braves, in their infinite wisdom -- and their desire to win another World Series -- allowed him back in their dugout with a proverbial slap on the wrist. This allowed the exchange between Rocker and the SI reporter to take place.

So now it is not about freedom of expression. It's about a man who is literally off his rocker. He turned his baseball cap around (like Lou Pinella arguing with an ump) so that he could get in the face of the reporter, so that he would be a little more intimidating. It is no longer an issue of freedom of expression, but an issue about a guy who is acting far outside the norms of civilized behavior. How long before this man physically assaults someone?

In short, the man has to be let go. The Atlanta Braves, major league baseball and their fans simply cannot condone what this man stands for. Jesus. He makes Bobby Knight look like a fucking boy scout. There were many people who said that Rocker was not a physical danger to anyone not crowding the plate. This past weekend sheds doubt on that statement. A World Series ring will never make up for having this man in your bullpen.


Here are some highlights from Rocker's interview:

On New York City: "The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?"

On ever playing for a New York team: "I would retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing."

On the New York Mets: "Nowhere else in the country do people spit at you, throw bottles at you, throw quarters at you, throw batteries at you and say, 'Hey, I did your mother last night -- she's a whore.' I talked about what degenerates they were, and they proved me right. Just by saying something, I could make them mad enough to go home and slap their moms."

On Mets manager Bobby Valentine: "The guy is not professional. Could you see [Yankees manager] Joe Torre or Bobby Cox getting thrown out of a game and then putting on a Groucho Marx disguise and sneaking back into the dugout? If a player got kicked out of a game and did that, Joe Torre would probably suspend him for a week. Bobby Cox would probably demand that the player be traded and tell him not to come back to the team. The Mets' manager did it! That, and his college rah-rah s---? I don't like it."

Driving In New York: "So many dumb asses don't know how to drive in this town. They turn from the wrong lane. They go 20 miles per hour. It makes me want -- Look! Look at this idiot! I guarantee you she's a Japanese woman." (According to the reporter, said driver was in reality a white woman.)

On New York Knicks guard Latrell Sprewell and the notorious choking incident with his coach, P.J. Carlesimo: "Why do you think that is? Do you think if he was Keith Van Horn,  if he was white, they'd let him back? No way. That guy should've been arrested, and instead he's playing basketball."


Comments From His Teammates After the Initial Story:

Andruw Jones -- "It's disappointing. But I lived with Rocker for one year and he always was kind of crazy, but not to say stuff like that. I don't know if it came from his heart, or it came from his head or just stupidness."

Chipper Jones -- "I wouldn't want to be in the same county with him (right now). You don't come out and say things like that without some people taking some extreme objection."

Brian Jordan -- "You can't respect a guy that makes comments like that publicly."

In the locker room at Shea following Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, as Rocker ranted and raved, fumed and fussed, Mike Remlinger, a 33-year-old left-handed reliever with six years of major league experience, was asked whether Rocker had gone too far. Remlinger -- quiet, thoughtful -- paused. "The thing is," he said, "baseball is a game of humility. You can be on top one minute, as low as possible the next. When you're young, you don't realize it. But sooner or later you learn -- we all do. Be humble."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman -- "I'm glad he's not our problem."

There's more from the article:

Much of Rocker's rancor traces to Game 4 of the NLCS, when the fans were especially harsh, the night especially frigid and the Braves one win from reaching the World Series. Rocker entered in the eighth inning to protect a 2-1 lead, with two outs and runners on first and second. After a double steal, John Olerud, the Mets' dangerous-but-struggling first baseman who was 0 for 7 lifetime against Rocker, rapped a bouncer up the middle, slightly to the left of second base. Atlanta reserve shortstop Ozzie Guillen, who had just replaced starter Walt Weiss as part of the double switch that brought Rocker into the game, lunged awkwardly for the ball. It hit his glove, then dribbled into the outfield. Two runs scored, and the Mets won. Afterward an angry Rocker called Olerud's single "one of the more cheaper hits I've given up my entire life." In retrospect he doesn't even allow that much credit. "If Walt is playing shortstop instead of Ozzie, that's not a hit, and we win," says Rocker. "But we had a 38-year-old guy [actually 35] playing shortstop, and he can't make that kind of play."

That's not all. At Shea, Rocker was a one-man psycho circus. He spit at Mets fans. He gave them the finger. During batting practice he would shag a ball in the outfield, fake a toss to a throng of waving spectators, then throw it back to the pitcher, smiling wickedly. Once he took a ball and chucked it as hard as he could at a net that separated fans from the field. "If there wasn't a net there, it would have smoked 'em right in the face," he says. "But they're so stupid, they jumped back like the ball would hit 'em."

Cox, who was routinely asked about Rocker's behavior, told the media before Game 3 against the Mets that he had spoken with the pitcher, requesting that he tone down the act. "That never happened," Rocker says now. "Bobby never talked to me about it, and I never talked to him. Why would he? We were winning."

(Let's all give Bobby Cox a big pat on the back for that call. That's if we can really believe Rocker's version of the story.)

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