The Changeup: Baseball Junk for the Week of July 23rd
The Woe-rioles
I know there is probably some rule against it, but in this lost season, I posit that the Blue Jays should just play the Orioles for the rest of the season.
Yes, the Jays have looked mediocre at times but the Orioles are a real confidence boost. It's like the 2015 season is reborn.
This was the first series in the post-Machado era for the Orioles, so I'm sure it was surreal for both the team and their fans.
I did make fun of some Jays fans who said they'd "prefer" to be like the O's just because they know "the gig is up" and have started the rebuild while the Jays are "delusional."
First, no one sane would prefer the Orioles. (Do the O's have Vlad Jr.? No? Then shut your face, Doug.)
Also, who on the team is worth something close to what Machado is? Who isn't currently on the DL? No one.
Stro Shoves Post Rant
As we are all well aware, Marcus Stroman threw a little tanty in a post-game scrum when Arash Madani asked him a question that wasn't to Stro's liking. (It was about the Vancouver Canadians- I probably wouldn't have asked Stroman about that when his blood was up, but as Keegan Matheson pointed out, access to Stro is rare.)
"I’m f–ing terrible! We’re f–ing terrible! And you’re asking about Nat f—ing Bailey!” was his response, for the record.
I don't really have much to add at the time, other than I wouldn't have asked about Stroman's time in the minors in that context. I will say that Madani can ask what he likes and Stroman can respond however he likes, and both can just accept the consequences. I'll also say that I don't particularly care that an athlete is testy after a poor start. There would be equal, or more, criticism if the athlete acted as though personal and team sucking didn't bother him.
I did roll my eyes a bit by the radio broadcast's comments after Stroman's excellent first start after the ASB . It was Mike Wilner, Arden Zwelling and Chris Leroux calling the game.
I don't know who exactly said this, because I can only recognize Wilner's voice 100 percent of the time and it wasn't him. Anyway, NotWilner brought up the outburst again after the game and said something along the lines of, "It'd be nice to be able to talk about this great start."
Here's the thing, members of the media, especially the broadcast media, have some control over the narrative surrounding the team. If you want to discuss Stroman's great start then focus on Stroman's great start. There is no need to bring up the rant, which was already a week old and had been amply discussed.
Don't act like you have no control. You have control.
I hurt myself rolling my eyes.
It could be worse than Stroman's rant.
How Much Worse?
Stroman's rant faded into the background once Brewers' relief pitcher Josh Hader gave up a three-run homer in the All Star Game and people went sniffing around his Twitter account.
Turns out, he tweeted repugnant things in 2009 and the Internet never forgets. I won't post them here, but imagine the worst racist, homophobic and sexist nonsense you typically can find on Twitter.
There has been a lot of interesting discussion about this.
Hader had a press conference, apologized and cried. His teammates showed up to support him, and his black teammates (including Lorenzo Cain) made statements to the media in support. (Is the baseball equivalent of "I can't be racist, my best friend is black" something along the lines of "I can't be racist, ask my black teammates." ?)
Brewers fans gave him a standing ovation in his first appearance after the All-Star Game, which is about as stupid as it sounds.
His apology might be legit and I'm all for forgiving people who are determined to change and learn, but a standing ovation?
Being sorry for hate-filled and bigoted tweets is pretty low level when it comes to human decency. It's not an achievement. Neither is being held accountable for something.
It also brings up how white men and men of colour are perceived by our wider culture. Over and over, Hader was excused because he "was only 17". Jon Heyman bent over backwards trying to illustrate how childlike Hader remains. White men are considered "young" and "naive" while men of colour are policed in their actions and words, and expected to be wise adults much sooner.
I thought about this when Marly Rivera was tweeting about Yankees fans were complaining about Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez needing interpreters.
Sure, young Latinos should be expected to speak English well enough to converse with New York media but there should be allowances for a guy who is a part of perhaps the most privileged category in our society (white, American, male) because he was young?
There is so much wrong with all of this.
Right into my Veins
Baby Vlad riding the Métro? Bien sûr.