Those who are regulars here know arnie's dislike of today's definition of "moot point," meaning that the point has "already been decided," when it it should mean "debatable." At least people aren't using it the way the Cubs' manager did: "It's a mute story."

He had meant "moot point."

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
He had meant "moot point."

That's what the reporter (Paul Sullivan) said, but I'm not so sure. Here's how it was reported (from your link).

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A TV/radio reporter who constantly harped on Piniella's use of Alfonso Soriano in the leadoff spot asked the manager before Friday's game about no longer hearing from critics about the decision to keep him there.

"I've said I wasn't going to answer any more questions about Soriano," Piniella shot back. "I said that when we were in Arizona. That's a mute story."

Piniella meant to say it's a "moot" point.

Moot point wouldn't have made any sense in that case. I think he just meant he wasn't going to talk about it. When you mute the TV, you turn off the sound; you silence it. When you mute a story, you don't talk about it; you silence it.

Here's what bob on another forum said about it.

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Paul, how do you know that by "mute story," Pinella actually meant "moot point"? You've obviously had the pleasure of hearing Lou speak more than any of us who simply read his comments, but from my limited perspective, it seems at least as likely that he did mean the seemingly nonsensical "mute story." This is a great neologism, esp. in the context of what prompted the comment. That is, if he said that he wasn't going to comment on Soriano's leadoff position, then his lack of comment would constitute a "mute story," right? In fact, "mute story" makes more sense than your suggestion that Pinella meant "moot point." I love the way a "mute story" can spark so much discussion....

And Sidney.

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... I've said I wasn't going to answer any more questions about Soriano," Piniella shot back. "I said that when we were in Arizona. That's a mute story."

Piniella meant to say it's a "moot" point.

The story is MUTE. Get it? He's not talking,especially to the **** writer that keeps bugging him about Soriano. Are these writers DEAF?
He could have said " **** you second guessing,lowlife piece of ......." and been justified. Instead he chose to use a Yogi like answer which went right over the head of this sports 'writer'.
Lesson: Don't ever second guess Lou or dare correct him. The man is a genius
"It's a mute story"..I love it
Go Lou,Go Cubs!

Chicago sports columnist Mike Nadel

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Lou-ism of the Day

“I said I wasn’t gonna answer any more about Soriano. That’s a mute story.”

Yep, if Piniella won’t talk about Fonzie batting leadoff, I guess mute is the right word.

How did the reporter know that he said "mute" at the press conference? "Mute", in some accents, is often pronounced "moot".

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How did the reporter know that he said "mute" at the press conference?

He probably had a transcript of the speech. People who don't want to be misquoted often issue transcripts rather than relying on reporters' notes. Mind you, they still get misquoted when the editor has a go at their story...

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He probably had a transcript of the speech

A baseball press conference is unscripted. Any transcript would be made much later from audio or video tapes. They would still then be subject to interpretation of whether the word was "moot" or "mute." Reporters more likely used their own notes to write the story, not relying on the "transcript," since they were under a deadline.

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A baseball press conference is unscripted.

I must accept your word for that. I did read the article again and found most of it quite unintelligible, I confess. I probably know less about baseball than I know about football - and that's close to zero.

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A baseball press conference is unscripted

A better description is it's like a rugby scrum except instead of the competitors trying to get the ball away from their opponents, they're out-yelling the opposition, hoping to be heard above the general melee, and then attempting to deciper and copy down whatever is said back to them. Conference is too civil a word for the Tower of Babel that it is.

Leaving Sweet Lou to one side, I often hear, primarily on call-in shows on the radio, MUTE POINT, when MOOT POINT is certainly intended.

Whether the speakers are mispronouncing MOOT, or mistaking the word, is hard to say.

long time ago I accidentally found myself in a chat room where Sports were being discussed. I said, "I don't even know which basket they're supposed to kick the puck through."

Someone replied, "Corner pocket, Jerry."

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Moot point wouldn't have made any sense in that case.

Tinman, I can always rely on you to find all the facts, and I am sorry that I didn't look into this comment further, as well. You could be right that he, in fact, meant "mute story." Does that make sense though? A story that you can't hear? I doubt it. "Moot point," however, fits this situation perfectly (in the non-arnie sense of the word). Soriano's position in the lineup has already been decided (thus it's a "moot point"), and Pinella (and rightly so!) is sick of continually being questioned about it. [Pinella is a great manager, but not that linguistically inclined. Chicagoans would not be surprised by a mondegreen such as this.]

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"Mute", in some accents, is often pronounced "moot".

Chicagoans definitely differentiate between "mute" and "moot" in their pronunciations. "Mute" has a long "u," while "moot" sounds like "moo" with a "t" on the end.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh, August 10, 2008 21:00

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
A story that you can't hear?

Yes, it's a story that you can't hear because he's not going to talk about it.

By coincidence someone in another forum I frequent referred to something being a "mute point" in a post yesterday. I wanted to correct her, but refrained.

"Mute point" (but not "mute story") appears in the Eggcorn Database.

Has anyone checked the tapes to see if this "mute story" was being told in sign language?