I learned to love trades or free-agent signings that never came to fruition the day at the winter meetings that Dan Duquette sidled up to a bunch of us Montreal baseball writers and apologized for not giving us much to write.
“What about a deal that didn’t happen?” the then-Montreal Expos general manager said. “Would that be a good story?”
Uh…
The idea was we’d put something together based on background and run with it. Source says ‘blah blah blah.’ It was a while ago, but I think it had something do to with Rondell White or Cliff Floyd for Jim Abbott, who pitched in the majors (and could handle a bat) despite not being born with a right hand.
At any rate, we never got to see Abbott handle National League duties but it was a good story: a deal that was never consummated, why it was never consummated, what it showed about the organizations intentions, etc. The deal that didn’t happen is a distant cousin of ‘we made a competitive offer but (insert name) didn’t take it,’ or ‘we offered more, what else could we do,’ or ‘we were close on a couple of things but just ran out of time.’ All of which could be true at any time. Or untrue. Just face-saving, in a way that really doesn’t negatively affect anybody.
What Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported at Winterfest on Saturday was a little different, but nonetheless intriguing: that Bo Bichette acknowledged the Toronto Blue Jays gave him a heads-up that they were going to talk to free-agent infielder Didi Gregorius, who ended up signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. Ostensibly, the idea would have been to move Gregorius to second and use Cavan Biggio in a utility role that involved some time in the outfield, something to which Biggio said he agreed, while not name-dropping Gregorius.
Further, Bichette suggested he’d be open to a move off shortstop if a transformative move materialized. Transformative as in, say, Francisco Lindor.
Other than Lindor’s current employer, the Cleveland Indians, no organization has had as much face-time with him than this one, by virtue of president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins’s time with the Indians. Atkins was there when the organization kept Lindor in the loop while Jose Ramirez was promoted ahead of him, in a neat bit of internal politicking.
Now, I’m not saying Lindor will be with the Blue Jays. That would be a bigger shock to the system, frankly, than Troy Tulowitzki or David Price ending up here in 2015. Massively more so, given Lindor’s age and health. But coupled with the signing of Hyun-Jin Ryu, agent Scott Boras’s Blessing of Intentions and the fact that the Blue Jays have financial depth simply by virtue of contracts going away, the idea that this organization is stuck in neutral no longer holds.
In the very least, the words and actions of Bichette and Biggio suggest internal expectations exceed external expectations, and who knows? As Alex Anthopoulos showed, when front-office contracts start to run down, the equation changes.
QUIBBLES AND BITS
• One of the saddest aspects of the firing of Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and his New York Mets counterpart Carlos Beltran as a result of the investigation into the Red Sox’s and Astros’ use of electronics to steal signals is the setback it has dealt to the cause of visible minorities being hired as managers.
Not because it means all Puerto Ricans will be cast as guilty; not because it means that the actual number of minority managers has shrunk. Rather, it’s the power both could have wielded in two of the biggest baseball markets in the world – Cora, a World Series champion and face of a franchise in a city that hasn’t always been welcoming to minority players and managers. Beltran, as a much-liked former Major Leaguer tasked with helping the Mets regain lost glory in a big Latino market.
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They could have – should have – opened doors. This was a crap week for baseball but it was a disheartening week for folks who have been fighting that fight for so long. Oh, and my guess is Beltran’s Hall of Fame odds just got way lower.
• Look: I know All-Star Games are by and large an illegitimate reflection of anything. But the voting does tell you something about fan engagement in the age of social media and for that reason I see a significance in the fact that Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors is second in fan voting among Eastern Conference front-court players.
Kawhi Leonard was voted to start last season; Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have also been voted in as starters twice. So Raptors fans love to show their love in a manner that reinforces just how much of a career a guy can have up north.
But the voting for Siakam is different: flying in the face of the notion that last season’s NBA title and the departure of Leonard might lead to a little stodginess or – dare we say it? – a success hangover. Here’s Siakam: lower pick, a guy who hasn’t even been a starter for long, playing in a position loaded with talent. This isn’t Kawhi or Lowry or DeRozan cashing in on their status as all-star regulars.
That Siakam is where he is says a great deal about the strength of the Raptors brand.
• There’s a lot to dislike about the Astros after what we’ve learned recently, and it’s safe to say that the game at large has already put an asterisk beside their World Series title – and that of the Red Sox – even if commissioner Rob Manfred can’t.
And, yes, I’d expect the Astros to set a record this season for hit by pitches. But the whining about how “ill-prepared” Astros players were for reporters’ questions at their fan festival this weekend, or that folks like former Astros hitting coach and current Jays coach Dave Hudgens won’t offer profuse apologies is silly and a waste of time.
What else did anybody expect? The commissioner’s office has essentially absolved players of responsibility for two reasons that have nothing to do with morality – first, because punishing players would involve discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association and likely result in grievances being filed, which would drag out the process even further. And second because the players, cheaters or not, are the product.
For Manfred, there’s doubtless been enough damage done. So what we’re left with is a media class upset that players and people who have been given immunity wouldn’t throw it away and admit guilt or express remorse at something for which they aren’t being blamed. This is what happens when, instead of journalists, you raise a generation of critics with unrealistic expectations – who would do the very same thing were they in a similar position.
They’re shocked – shocked! – that there is gambling at Rick’s.
• The All-Star Break can’t come soon enough for defencemen and goaltenders, apparently: Saturday was the second day this season in which eight teams scored at least five goals. In the previous quarter-century, the only times more teams scored at least five goals on the same day were Nov. 21, 2018; Jan. 31, 2017; Dec. 29 and Jan. 11, 2007. On those days, nine teams scored a minimum of five goals.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been victimized for five-plus goals on four of those occasions – including Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks – and were out-scored 25-12 on those days.
Only one team has scored a minimum five goals on all of those days. Which one? Hands up if you picked the Minnesota Wild.
• I can see Buck Showalter managing the Astros and Dusty Baker managing the Mets. The Red Sox? I have no clue, given the fact that GM Chaim Bloom’s natural predilection would be to follow what he learned in the Tampa Bay Rays front office, and the two franchises are vastly different with different issues and expectations.
The Red Sox job is the toughest of the three to fill with spring training so close and teams likely not prepared to give permission to interview coaches.
As for John Gibbons? I’d hire him in a heartbeat to run any of the three if my focal point was leadership and someone whose presence and personality would restore integrity to a club. It’s what he did here after John Farrell bolted on the Jays.
• One baseball friend wonders if Showalter’s real endgame isn’t to be Jeff Luhnow’s replacement as GM.
Showalter is analytics friendly if not necessarily analytics savvy. He wanted to be GM when he was with the Baltimore Orioles all along. Would the Astros bring him in on interim basis to help a new manager set up and run spring training? Come to think of it, how about a Showalter/Gibbons ticket in 2020? Just kidding.
THE ENDGAME
Well, say this for Sheldon Keefe and the Maple Leafs: they’ve given all of us a lot to think about over this bye and through the All-Star Break. That includes general manager Kyle Dubas.
For me, it’s really easy from this point on: it’s all about collecting as many points possible, without worrying about how or why they’re coming or how you make the playoffs or who you face.
Like most of you, I went into the season expecting a berth in the Stanley Cup Final – seriously – or, at least, a two-round run in the playoffs. That’s where they should be every year in this market.
I’m still kind of there, but after firing Mike Babcock mid-season, watching Frederik Andersen have the type of season that, coupled with his lack of playoff success, has me happy that he’s only under contract for one more year, well, I’m wondering whether I want Dubas to do anything at the trade deadline that smacks of a short-term fix.
The good news for those of you screaming right now is Dubas and his math guys rely on more information than that to make their decision. They need hard evidence. Tangible stuff. And, to that end, having a coach like Keefe who doesn’t need a crisis to leave no stone unturned has to be a boon. My guess is the braintrust has learned more about their team under Keefe than they did under the obstinate Babcock.
Jeff Blair hosts Writers Bloc with Stephen Brunt and Richard Deitsch from 2-5 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 590/The Fan. He’s not big on the NFL, because he has a conscience.
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