Hooray everybody! Roy Halladay's gone so everyone can finally relax! Good for Jeff Blair for getting someone with some damn sense (Barajas!) to dispel this line of utter horseshit. To suggest the Jays clubhouse is a better, more relaxed place without Halladay patrolling it is garbage. Maybe last year the rookies were excessively deferential to Halladay, as the only veteran starter on the squad. But remember not that long ago when the Jays much-older clubs were constantly derided for the overly relaxed, country club atmosphere? Where was Halladay then, on hiatus?
At the risk of making way, way too much of this, are the kids relaxing because of a lack of accountability? Without bullpen maven B.J. Ryan and rotation deity Roy Halladay, it's just a bunch of dudes. Dudes who can exhale & not worry about doing right by the game or any such nonsense.
While the Phillies and their fans breathlessly eat up eat up every note of Halladay lore that drifts their way, we're supposed to be thrilled that the Jays staff can recommence hotfoots and DP contests? The former teammates of a guy they listed, to a man, as the best in the biz at their position last year are now glad to see him go? I don't buy, but if it's true, it doesn't say a lot for the economic acumen of this bunch of minimum wage earners.
To follow the path of The Righteous One is, if nothing else, the path to great riches. "Don't stay out on the piss" isn't good advice for ballplayers looking to help their team, it's for players looking to maximize their earnings. When Roy Halladay says starters are assured "five good and five bad starts ... it’s what he does in the other 25 which determines how good he is" he uses "good" interchangeably with "how well paid." Treating every single one of those starts like a job interview is just good business. The window is open only briefly; reach on through when you have the chance.
So if the Jays rotation hopefuls are glad he's gone, that's their mistake. If Ricky Romero is the newest hard-working gym rat, then good for him. As fans, their gain is our gain. They pitch better, we reap the benefits. EVERYBODY WINS.
Image courtesy of David Peliott
I'm afraid to ask what a "DP contest" is. Sounds raunchy.
ReplyDeleteScott
This is something that's bothered me all spring. The only excuse I could come up with [on behalf of the players - thank me later guys] is that the pitchers/new clubhouse 'leaders' are probably asked about Halladay all the time and they can't really go "well, our ace/leader/hardest working pitcher left, and we have absolutely no idea how the rotation is going to hold together, and whether the hitting will improve, and let's face it, we're probably going to be terrible this year...please read about us, watch the games on TV and buy some tickets though!"
ReplyDeleteThey have to come up with some sort of a silver lining. This particular silver lining seems pretty tarnished to me, but maybe it works for player morale or clubhouse chemistry or any of those other nebulous mental concepts I don't really have any idea about.
I don't think it's that anybody's happy about Halladay being gone -- certain headlines have been making it sound as if some kind of weight has been lifted off the team's collective shoulders, but I think that has more to do with overzealous copy editors than it does with anything actually resembling the truth.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I think guys like Marcum and Hill are just happy to be stepping into leadership positions this year. It seems like there's a whole lot of rank-related bullshit in MLB clubhouses and it's nice to see that those guys finally feel comfortable being vocal and helping the younger guys out.
The paragraph about following Halladay's example for - if nothing else - great riches is true I suppose but that's not the point. Seems to me money can be a great motivator in a contract year but people need to desire something more to lead their lives like Halladay does.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece by Elliot thanks for the link.
DP contest is exactly what you think it is sir, I'm glad to know you're a true pervert.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the intrinsic motivation unique to Roy Halladay, but that big contract carrot is out there and likely serves as the main driving force for a large percentage of players.
They might not live their lives like him, but they'll glean enough tips and tricks to make a princely sum.
You guys are talking about double plays, right? Guys?
ReplyDeleteI think the weight lifted is more that the issue is now settled, there is no more "Is he going to stay or leave? How does it feel for him to leave?" etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf somehow having the best pitcher in baseball on your team is a negative, than that team should probably fuck themselves for all eternity.