Do You Sleep at Work?

Let's be honest.  Have you ever slept at work?  Have you let your head nod a little bit while reading through insufferable emails?  Do you daydream with your eyes shut while your boss goes over last week's TPC report?  Do you just flat out fall asleep on your desk like Keith Hernandez does? 

In the last week, there have been two instances in Major League Baseball where employees of big league organizations have dozed off on the job. 

Now I realize that watching the New York Mets or the Seattle Mariners play baseball can be excruciatingly boring, but come on.  You get paid to do a job centered around the best sport that there is in the world. 

I promise you, that if the Seattle Mariners need me to DH, or play right field, or come off the bench and pinch hit in the 8th inning, that I will be wide awake.  Its just like any other job.  Give me a warm cup of java and I'll be good to go.  Put me in coach. 

And you couldn't pay me enough to be part of the New York media and have the opportunity to sit at Citi Field and cover Mets games all summer.  Having 3 to 5 million peopl listen to me analyze a professional baseball game every night couldn't possibly be my life long dream.  Nobody would want to do that job.  It would be so boring.  I'd have to find time to catch a 5 minute power nap at some point during my extemely tough day. 

Yes, Griffey has denied the report of falling asleep in the club house during the 8th inning of a tie ball game.  But how do you fall asleep playing a baseball game?  Better yet, a game you get paid to millions of dollars to play.  Rumors are circulating that Griffey may be let go, most likely due to his lack of productivity.  Falling asleep in the club house may just be the icing on the cake. 

In the real world, if he was really sleeping, he absolutely would be let go.  Lazy, overpaid old guys are let go in the business world for way things not nearly as bad as falling asleep on the job.

And Keith Hernandez should be let go too.  How many lazy former ball players will continue to get analyst jobs and screw them up royally either by molesting an intern, sexually harrassing Hannah Storm, or falling asleep on the job? 

Give the job to a regular Joe Schmoe who lives and dies the game of baseball.  Somebody who brings excitement to the booth and will actually prepare between innings rather than catch up on some zzz's after staying out to late chasing cougars around Manhatten. 

Griffey and Hernandez should be embarrassed.  Loyal fans of the Mariners and the Mets should be embarrassed too. 

Respecting the game is a big part of what a lot of young guys talk about (see Dallas Braden).  Sleeping during a baseball game that you get paid to be a part of is about as disrespectful as you can get. 

Sleeping Beauty, a Legend in Progress