Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel was set to fill in for the departed Prince Fielder, until an ACL injury derailed his 2012 season.
For my profile assignment, I decided to find an article written by the renowned Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel sports desk. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for, as an article on the Brewers' first base situation written by Todd Rosiak popped up.
The article profiles Brewers' first baseman Mat Gamel. Gamel, a fourth round pick of the Brewers in 2005, was tabbed as Prince Fielder's replacement in 2012 after Fielder, who played all 162 games in 2011 at first for Milwaukee, joined the Detroit Tigers in free agency.
Tragically, Gamel tore his ACL trying to catch a pop fly against the San Diego Padres in just his 21st game of last season. Brewers outfielder Corey Hart replaced Gamel and succeeded. Gamel was forced to watch Hart thrive in his place, even though, according to Rosiak, Gamel felt "like I could help if I was healthy."
The article profiles Brewers' first baseman Mat Gamel. Gamel, a fourth round pick of the Brewers in 2005, was tabbed as Prince Fielder's replacement in 2012 after Fielder, who played all 162 games in 2011 at first for Milwaukee, joined the Detroit Tigers in free agency.
Tragically, Gamel tore his ACL trying to catch a pop fly against the San Diego Padres in just his 21st game of last season. Brewers outfielder Corey Hart replaced Gamel and succeeded. Gamel was forced to watch Hart thrive in his place, even though, according to Rosiak, Gamel felt "like I could help if I was healthy."
But this year, Gamel will have his opportunity, as Hart injured his knee in the offseason, and Gamel will likely start at first for at least the first month of the year. Gamel says he's excited and that he's almost 100 percent after midseason surgery.
I thought Rosiak's profile was solid overall. His one sentence anecdotal lede carried a lot power, even though it made a brief, general statement. The connotation of regret and missed opportunity in the sentence, "Last year was supposed to be the year Mat Gamel began fulfilling his promise" stands out prominently.
A choice that Rosiak made that I found interesting was his use of "(stuff) happens" in one of Gamel's quotes. In my mind, the parentheses imply that Gamel said "shit happens" and because "shit" is profane, an editor or Rosiak changed the word in the quote. I don't agree with the change, since "shit happens" is a popular expression that doesn't use the swear word in a cursing manner. Nobody really says "stuff happens," and I though having "shit" in there would have made the quote more realistic.
Overall, I was impressed by Rosiak's storytelling style and the way he crafted the profile. His article makes me want to follow Gamel throughout spring training and into the 2013 season, which is just over a month away.
RSS Feed