04/16/24
May 17, 2006
Sorry Coach my ADD was acting up? : LaRoche's Blunder Puts Spotlight on ADD: Adam LaRoche knows how it looks. He doesn't seem to be trying hard. He comes across as inattentive, sluggish, a little too laid-back to be a professional athlete. LaRoche's relaxed approach — and a disorder that makes it hard for him to concentrate — have come under scrutiny after the most embarrassing moment of his three-year major league career. On Sunday, after scooping up a routine grounder that should have been the third out of the inning, LaRoche took his time getting to first and was stunningly beaten to the bag by Washington's Nick Johnson, who was hustling all the way.
ADD or not, that was one of the biggest bonehead plays I've ever witnessed. I'm surprised Bobby Cox didn't bench him immediately like he did with Andruw Jones a few years ago.
posted by trox at 09:24 AM on May 17, 2006
You said it hb74147, Johnson out-hustled him. What a ball player is supposed to do, run out everything. I personally think ADD, or ADHD, or whatever you want to call it, is the most over diagnosed "disorder" in the history of medicine.
posted by mjkredliner at 09:56 AM on May 17, 2006
This story is bizarre. I don't see how he could have ADD that impacts a play like this but wouldn't cause him to zone out and miss fielding routine grounders. Or how he wouldn't zone out sometimes when an 100-mph fastball's being fired near his head. But if it's true that LaRoche is timing his run to the bag to get there as slow as possible and still get the runner out, he needs to look into medication or therapy. That's a pretty big quirk for a professional ballplayer.
posted by rcade at 09:56 AM on May 17, 2006
I'll say this about LaRoche...he has one of the sweetest looking swings since John Olerud. I love to watch him turn on fastballs.
posted by vito90 at 10:37 AM on May 17, 2006
Is there video of this error? it sounds funny as hell, like cassel's 8 second violation. He will never live that down, as long as he lives. I mean that was a cheesy smile.
posted by jonfu at 10:56 AM on May 17, 2006
I hope that he can rebound from this to go on and have a great career for Atlanta. Better now in a game in May than in a tight 2-1 game in late October is all I have to say.
posted by chemwizBsquared at 11:32 AM on May 17, 2006
What does ADD have to do with it? I have ADD, but geez, when I forget something, it's like, I forget to take out the trash. I don't START taking out the trash and then space out halfway to the curb and stop, you know? If I were in the middle of a ball game, and had the dang BALL in my GLOVE, I don't think I'd forget what to do with it. Seems to me like he was just playing lazy and other people are blaming a disease. As a person who really has that disease I kinda take offense.
posted by rgchappell at 11:58 AM on May 17, 2006
I'm with ya chem but any Oct games for Atlanta is looking like a long shot
posted by scottyooooo at 12:00 PM on May 17, 2006
Seems to me like he was just playing lazy and other people are blaming a disease. As a person who really has that disease I kinda take offense. Well, he also has the disease (diagnosed in high school), so it's not like he's "faking it". From the article:While ADD and ADHD are normally associated with children who have trouble sitting still in class, about a quarter of the cases don't show those sort of symptoms. For them, it's simply more difficult to stay focused. They forget things. They're disorganized. They're inattentive to what others are saying. Even within that group, there's another set of symptoms known as "sluggish cognitive tempo," according to Quinn. "That's people who go at their own pace. They get there when they get there," she said. LaRoche fits that definition to a T. So, in conclusion: - he was diagnosed a while ago - he's always shown signs of the disease - this isn't the first time his affliction has affected his play on the field I'm pretty sure he's not just "lazy" and looking for an easy way out.
posted by grum@work at 12:15 PM on May 17, 2006
grum@work, In the article LaRoche sais ADD had nothing to do with the blunder. So how is it that he couldn't have just been lazy on that play. The article did say his easy does it to the bag was his normal routine. So was he disorganized or being lazy?
posted by T$PORT4lawschool at 12:40 PM on May 17, 2006
He might have gotten distracted during the press conference.
posted by yerfatma at 12:44 PM on May 17, 2006
ADDam LaRoche admitted that the miscue was unrelated to his ADD. If I were him I would have played the disorder card and blamed that on why I screwed up.
posted by Clevelander32 at 01:06 PM on May 17, 2006
Yeah, but if his disorder is so severe that things like this happen - why is he not taking any medication? ADD nothing - that's a lousy excuse (which to his credit LaRoche isn't using) and a lousy play. "I remember back when we didn't having learning disorders. We had stupid people."
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:27 PM on May 17, 2006
I'm a teacher and meet kids who are truly ADD and ADHD. I also meet a lot of kids who are just boneheads. That being said, in my entirely unexpert opinion based only on reading this article, LaRoche's behavior screams ADD - right down to the refusal to take medication. Indeed, the students I have who actually have ADD tend to insist that it isn't the ADD that made them lose focus. They are usually a little embarassed about it. Now, the kids who scream "I have ADD give me more time" tend to be the ones who don't actually show the classic symptoms of it but somehow managed to be diagnosed with it anyways. I stress "tend" in both these cases. To make a long story short, good for you, LaRoche, for not blaming an error on ADD. Now go get that patch they talk about in the article so that you can focus when you're on the field.
posted by Joey Michaels at 02:06 PM on May 17, 2006
"I remember back when we didn't having learning disorders. We had stupid people." Here here! Besides, the hyperactive kid was usually the funny guy in class - and sometimes the spaz in gym (with my apologizes to the Euros who took issue with Tiger and his insensitive use of that word). Then ADD goes and ruins dodge ball forever...
posted by MW12 at 02:16 PM on May 17, 2006
I have not seen the play so I can not make an accurate I can not make an accurate judgement of what an accurate judgement of what really accured on the accured on the play.
posted by steelcityguy at 03:41 PM on May 17, 2006
I'll put all of this to rest. If anybody has seen last night's Clippers/Suns Game 5, you all will remeber the play that Sam Cassell made, or I should say didn't make. Sam couldn't cross the half court line in the allowed 8 seconds, and therefore, caused a crucial turnover which helped seal the deal for the Suns, and also gave them a 3-2 series lead. This is the conf. semi-finals of the NBA playoffs we're talking about. Not game #42 or whatever it was of a 162-game MLB season. If Cassell's completely un-excusable mistake in the Overtime does not get a discussion, why the fuck are we talking about LaRoche's little mishap.
posted by im050483 at 04:15 PM on May 17, 2006
I once thought I had mono for a whole year.
posted by seansterps at 04:40 PM on May 17, 2006
Ahhh, shit, I forgot.
posted by jcreibs13 at 07:44 PM on May 17, 2006
grum@work, In the article LaRoche sais ADD had nothing to do with the blunder. Joey Michaels provides my response: Indeed, the students I have who actually have ADD tend to insist that it isn't the ADD that made them lose focus. If Cassell's completely un-excusable mistake in the Overtime does not get a discussion, why the fuck are we talking about LaRoche's little mishap. Because if we started talking about Cassell's mistake, it'll just devolve into a discussion of how damn weird he looks.
posted by grum@work at 11:24 AM on May 18, 2006
He's like a much smaller version of Popeye Jones.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 07:47 AM on May 20, 2006
Don't get me wrong I am sympathetic, but if they start "excuse making" (for lack of a better term) for professional athletes where's it going to end?