If you have ever heard of Tyler Heineman, raise your hand. If you can tell him apart from his brother, Scott, take two steps forward. If you have no idea who or what either of these guys, count yourself lucky.

For years, friend, Steve Comma and I have given credit to everyone who has reached the big leagues, even if only for an at-bat or inning pitched. That doesn’t mean we can distinguish between objectively good and bad careers. However, we’ve become inured to crap posing as okay (at a minimum). The wonks running the game have changed the standards for what constitutes what is good or average and some of us have had to accept the b.s.

Because this isn’t about the MLB marketing machine, I’m withholding the name of the article’s author. However, I don’t think he learned about verbal irony in journalism school. The 34-year-old catcher had just been traded by the Jays to the Angels, and this was the description offered.

“So far in 2026, Heineman hit .154/.205/.205 across 31 games played. While his numbers do not jump off the page. Heineman is a veteran catcher who understands what it requires to manage a pitching staff.”

Actually, those numbers do jump off the page because of how exceedingly s consonant vowel t t y they are. I’ve considered two different consonants and vowels to cram into the word. One is less charitable than the other. My point being, this writer is trying to cover up how crappy his numbers are and most fans are willing to accept this garbage and pretend those numbers are acceptable.

Heineman’s not the bad guy here, he’s just an example of someone floundering before our eyes. The media, including formerly legit broadcasters, pretend that a .224 batting average is okay, even if it doesn’t come with legit power numbers.

If failing that frequently is so great, why are players like Shohei Ohtani and Yordan Alvarez exceeding this benchmark? Are they doing this to spite the rest of the league? It’s possible to criticize a player with unacceptable stats without making it personal.

My favorite current Cub, Nico Hoerner has had a lousy offensive season. Currently, his .233 batting average is 44 points lower than his .277 career average. It’s not worth comparing his other splits because his game is all about the average. Regardless of the cause/reason for this steep decline, it’s having a deleterious effect on the Cubs offense. He’s stinking up the joint. Nobody can pretend otherwise no matter how beloved he is.

All this being said, I don’t expect rational heads to prevail and start calling crap, crap, but I do hope some fans will sift through all the convenient new stats and metrics and differentiate between good and bad numbers. It shouldn’t change how we feel about our favorite players.