Because the alternative is conceding they were wrong.
Give me some credit, if I though Laverde kicking 6 wasn't worthy of mention was I going to be impressed by Baguley being fed 3 goals when he could hardly get near the ball in ground level play?
This obsession with every shit small forward we have gets in the way of people's judgment.
If it was the GWS game last year, for example, that would be the "yeah he proved us wrong" game.
Congratulating Baguley on his performance yesterday is basically just congratulating him for being on the field. If that's the level at which we appreciate performance it seems that a lot of us didn't get the memo for the other 43 players on the list.
What is it with these guys? Do you people see them as making AFL accessible to your meager talents? I say that being a shit player myself that could not even imagine what it would be like to be good enough.
If a ruckman sized player performed at the equivalent level he'd be despised. No one would be saying "but he got 20 tap outs".
Just look at some of the comments about Stewart above. Imagine if he too played in a functioning team when he was struggling? Could he not have "found a good spot"?
Edit: Daniher is another example of someone who despite being a gun cops an inordinate amount of shit just as Carlisle and Ryder did before him.