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People are using the word “depression” to mean feeling sad or not feeling well.
What you are describing is the definition of the word depressed – which is what Fowler actually said. For some reason, people here seem to think he is speaking of clinical depression, which, I am certain, is not what Dexter Fowler is suffering from.
As for Jose Martinez in RF over Fowler – absolutely. If Fowler even comes close to Martinez’s offensive output, Mo will claim some huge victory, while also ignoring that Fowler is in the same ballpark of terrible defense as Jose.
But Jose can’t hit lefthanded, and what we really need are more guys who can hit lefty – for some idiotic reason. Martinez has a career OPS against righties of .813, which is only a little below Fowler’s glory years that people are praying Fowler can get back to.
I’ve got nothing against Fowler – I just think this team would be better off without him.
has a career OPS against righties of .813, which is only a little below Fowler’s glory years that people are praying Fowler can get back to.
Not to mention, Tyler O’Neill has crushed RHP in his entire minors career. Besides 2018, he had pretty large reverse splits.
I am rooting for Fowler’s success. Once depression takes a hold of you it is difficult journey back. And no it doesn’t have to be “clinical” depression to be as debilitating. I know. The journey back is hard. Goodluck dude go get them!
I spent some time on “Birds on the Black” this AM. Reis does a great piece on what he goes through with his own issues. He mentions that not everyone is the same, no two people are the same.
I’ve noticed through the years that Reis has “disappeared” at times. Its like that.
Good points, Ny. When you are in the limelight every day with every move scrutinized, when struggling, there is no place to disappear to.
And the guy who supposedly needed to disappear wanted to disappear to RF of a Major League baseball team?
Again, I know people who say they are depressed because they have to eat leftovers that night. People hearing Fowler flippantly say he was depressed during an interview and spinning it to a debilitating mental illness is hilarious to watch.
Thinking about having Fowler start in RF for the Cardinals for the first two months of the season makes me depressed. Someone send a straight jacket.
I find it strange that no mention is made of Fowler seeking help from the mental health people that the Cards have on staff. I wonder if DF was given any prescribed medication? Without it depression becomes very difficult to manage. Years ago, before there was life-saving meds for people suffering from depression, the disease could spin out of control and sufferers would be put into mental institutions for the rest of their lives without ever recovering.
Or was it a serious bout of sadness? You know how youngsters say they are “depressed” at everything that bothers them. Adults have picked up on that vibe and use the same term to describe unhappiness.
Serious claim or merely another excuse? Big difference. I’d like to see a bottom to all of this.
Why do some fans feel they they have a right to know the details of Fowler’s medical treatments? For what valid reason do you feel entitled to know his personal details? To know how badly to trash him?
Here is one I saw last night. While I think it is in incredibly poor taste, it illustrates the sensitivity of many. I know at the time many were all over Greene because “he sucked”, and we did not understand until later the seriousness of his illness. (Some still do not, obviously.)
good thing, as of now, is Dexter Fowler has yet to go all Khalil Greene. #ThinkPositive #STLCards 🙂
— Radical Super-Spreader President-Elect Josh Jones (@jrocke217) December 19, 2018
The only people claiming that Fowler was anything more than Miriam Webster’s #1 definition of depressed (low in spirits : SAD) are cackling hens looking for page views and/or virtue signaling.
When a prideful man who’s had a pretty great MLB career is struggling mightily at his profession, there is nothing abnormal about his spirits being down. In fact, I’d be worried a lot more if he wasn’t really down about it. Making the leap to clinical depression is really odd here.
The real question is if the down year was him falling a cliff, or was it an aberration that he can come back from? I really hope it is the latter, and, obviously, do does Mo (and there is nothing wrong with that). From a fan’s perspective, of course we want to see our RF mash – and it is natural for us to prefer it be the young guy who is “stuck” with our team for the next 5 or 6 years over the old guy who still wears Cubs gear.
Let’s hope for everyone’s sake we see smiling Fowler (and he does have a contagious smile) mashing NL pitching all summer. That way, if O’Neill seems ready, we have options in RF.
That said, it is perfectly okay for people have and express the opinion that they’d prefer he not be on the team. And it is not okay for people to insinuate that those people are insensitive because Fowler has a psychological condition that is (so far as we know) completely made up by a few in the media.
atriple, it is made up because you believe it to be made up. You have a right to your opinion and to express it, but to assert it as fact because you do not agree is not valid.
If Fowler is truly diagnosed depressed then he needs all the support that can be provided. What I was curious about was the history of this. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Not that I have followed his career closely, but i feel this type of issue has never come up before with him.
I may very well be wrong, but being depressed or sad or bummed out is not the same thing as clinically depressed.
I remember (As others brought up) Khalil Greene who struggled mightily with Social Anxiety Disorder, and while comparing two people’s struggles is never the best way to make a point, his struggles were a part of his history before he arrived in StL and after he left. He found his path and it meant stepping away from baseball altogether in his prime.
The two disorders are entirely different, and depression can take hold at any time. But i do worry that the word is used by many, including myself, too lightly when trying to explain other things. Even personal feelings. That doesn’t mean denying it, but more makes it important and worth figuring out the level or the actual prognosis
I am not eloquent about all this, but the casualness some people use the term “depressed” is undeniable. And “BEING” depressed at times is a part of all of our lives to some degree.
I hope he gets professional help, or at least sees professionals to get to the bottom of what he is feeling and how it may be helped or gotten through. The fact that he is talking about it is a good sign IMO, but it does make me curious on whether there were signs of it before now that could potentially help in understanding his slumps or poor play too. Whether said or unsaid.
IMO, it is natural to wonder, but when all is said and done, why is someone’s else’s mental health records our business?
I have an aquaintance who has had occasional bouts with depression.
She also has lupus which has caused other health problems. She says that depression is far worse than any other health problem.
I also observed her in one incidence and she had no energy and was not confident that she could do anything. And she was a quite gifted professional hair dresser. Nothing that could be done or said seemed to help. Just had to wait until it went away.
If Fowler has a depression issue and I have no reason to doubt it I can understand how hard it must be for him to compete.
I have intentionally shied away from commenting on this subject because I don’t really know what the facts are and I don’t want to come across as crass, but just based on what I see on the surface, the whole thing seems dubious to me.
First, there is definitely a big difference between a diagnosis of clinical depression and just feeling “bummed out.”
Second, as has been noted before, this seems to have come out of nowhere. I don’t recall any mentions of depression during the glorious 2016 season of “you go we go”. It seems that being in St. Louis has brought all of this on. If that is the case then it seems logical he should be more than willing to waive the NTC and get out of town instead of pandering for sympathy.
Again, I’m not a trained psychiatrist so all I can go on is a layman’s point of view.
I was thinking the same thing gscottar, as it seems like an “excuse” to me, has he seen a doctor at all on this or is it just his feeling that way?
“IMO, it is natural to wonder, but when all is said and done, why is someone’s else’s mental health records our business?”
It is, only in the sense that he cites this as the reason he cannot do the job for which he is being paid many millions of dollars. We, the fans, did not raise the issue of mental health. He did. While I agree we fans have no right to his “mental health records,” I believe that we, as the ultimate source of the millions he is being paid, have a right to a clear statement of whether or not he is seeking professional help for this problem that has rendered him incapable of earning his pay.
I did not like the Fowler signing. But why not give him the benefit of the doubt on this? We will soon know by his performance whether he can go back to form or not. I am rooting for the man even if I rather not have him on the team. A productive Fowler is a win for the team.
I disagree, CIF. Fowler owes the fans (and the media) nothing, but gave plenty. He owes a full explanation only to the satisfaction of his employer, which by all accounts has occurred.
atriple, it is made up because you believe it to be made up. You have a right to your opinion and to express it, but to assert it as fact because you do not agree is not valid.
I asserted nothing as fact, I just read the words that came out of Dexter’s mouth and applied Occam’s razor. Others trying to insinuate a mental health disorder are the ones trying to assert something.
Enjoy those page views!
I guess Rougned Odor was “incapable of earning his pay” after his 2017 season?
He bounced back fine from a .224 BAbip.
atriple, in case you did not notice, this totally free message board has no advertising. I make no money from it. Not one cent. In fact, it costs me in money and time to run. I provide it free of charge to people like you to express opinions about Cardinals baseball. I do the same. I disagreed respectfully and I would appreciate the same in return. Thanks.
I dont think you can come out in the media using something as an apparent excuse and then hide behind it being a private matter. If he had left it beteeen him and his employer he would only need to answer to his employer. He put it out in public so nao I think it is fair game for public scrutiny
Fowler first mentioned his “mental health” to Goold in an interview months ago. Goold went to Fowler’s house later and wrote an article about what he was told by the player and his wife. Did Fowler initiate it? Did people hope he would evade what he says is the truth? He said plenty, and many have applauded him for it. For others, it is not enough. So be it, I say. It isn’t going to change anything.
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