Joke on Kyle Kendricks of the Phillys

[Max Power]

Did any one else see this on the news anywhere?  They got him good!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/-Trade-to-Japan-leaves-Kendrick-in-shock?urn=mlb%2C67246

[Animal]

ESPN said they did the same thing to Wayne Gomes a few years ago and he actually cried.

It was pretty funny.

[wvbucco]

I would be tempted to act really angry, fire my agent, etc.  See of they'd take the bait.  Turn it around on them.

[Possum]

Yep, wvbucco.  Only I don't rehire the agent.  He would be gone.  I wouldn't get mad I would get even and in this case the agents gets the axe.

[Dogknot3]

I thought it was pretty good.  A lot of people were invloved and they even had a contract for him to sign.  He was probably pretty upset as it was going on, but he renamed pretty cool.  They picked the perfect guy to do that too.

[wvbucco]

Yep, wvbucco.  Only I don't rehire the agent.

Well, nor would I, but then I would have known right off the bat it wasn't true.  Also, my agent hopefully would know me well enough to know that I don't find such things amusing.  I'm assuming here that he is the kind of guy that will pull a prank, so if he gets targeted by one its not such a big thing. 

[Dogknot3]

It was a prank, joke.  Why would one get all upset? 

If it was played on me, I would give many props as it was very well done and had a bunch of people involved. 

It wasn't like he was told while he was on a plane to Japan.  Some people need to relax.  If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't be around so many people every day.

[wvbucco]

Practical jokes are based on the elaborate setup of a lie, designed with sole intent to trap someone into a false belief.  Jokes based on telling lies are not ones I am interested in playing on other people and I hope that others ould have enough respect for me to not play jokes of that type on me.  Why?  One of the ten commandments in the Christian bible forbids lying.  Now, I am no bible literalist, and I believe that ethics are contextual, so that there can be rare cases lying may be not only warranted, but may be the best and most loving thing to do, but not simply to make someone the butt of a joke.  I take the ten commandments seriously and seek always to live by them.   I understand that it's almost never the intent of a prank to hurt anyone, but I seek to always tell the truth, with only exception in cases where compassion might overrule it.

Having said all that, I have no problem with those that do play practical jokes on others being the targets of the same kinds of jokes themselves, as long as I am not expected to participate. 

[Dogknot3]

Don't tell me you are the guy who blows it for the rest of the people? 

As long as no one gets hurt, I don't see a problem with playing a joke on a friend.  There is nothing wrong with the exploding golf balls, trick gum, shocker pens, trick candles, exploding cigarettes, or setting someone up on a prank among friends. 

Brett Myers and Kyle Kendricks are probably good friends.  If they weren't friends, it probably wouldn't have happened like it did.  It wasn't a hurtful lie.  It was a friendly lie and I think there is a big difference.  Eventually, Kendricks was going to find out and laugh about it.  And that was what totally happened.

[wvbucco]

A friendly lie?    LOL.  There's no such thing.  A lie is what it is- deliberate deception, false witness- and it is wrong in almost every conceivable circumstance.  I wouldn't blow anyone's cover, but simply choose not to be involved.  If asked directly, however, I would be honest, so it's best for someone to keep me in the dark about such things if they are planning them. 

[Dogknot3]

I don't agree with you about no such thing as a friendly lie.

I went to a suprise party last year where we had to "lie" to the guy so he would go to his own party.  No one was lying in a hurtful way.  The end result was friendly, just like Kendrick's.

[wvbucco]

Now that's a lie that can have a good intent- a mild case of the ends justifying the means.  I'll concede the point to you on that one.  Practical jokes, though, involve making someone feel bad- at least initially- which I personally cannot condone.  But the surprise party is an excellent example of a lie which, if handled properly, can be totally harmless. 

[Dogknot3]

Don't worry, I will never plan a suprise party for you or play a joke on you.  Just a word of advice, don't get all upset if a joke is played on you.  It wasn't meant to hurt your feelings if it was done by friends.

[wvbucco]

I have reacted poorly to saituations like that in the past and ended up hurting other people's feelings, so I have resolved to be a little more understanding and try to be more mild with my reaction in the future.

[Dogknot3]

You probably hurt their feelings because they didn't intend to hurt you.  A joke is a joke.  I know there are some bad jokes and pranks that go wrong, but for the most part they are done in fun and not a hurtful manner.