As you may have noticed, the content in these parts has been sparse. The sparsity has existed for an extended period of time. It’s been so sparse I wouldn’t be surprised if no one is currently reading this. 

There are a few reasons for this, some of which include an ennui about the state of baseball in general, and also the Toronto Blue Jays. Somewhat closer to home, writing about this organization has become increasingly difficult. Certain incidents and messages from certain parties have made me question a lot. Respect is a a key thing and the lack of it can take its toll.

I’ve also come to recognize that my heart is broken. Heartbreak can produce a prodigious amount of creative material, but it can also make one want to disengage completely from the entity that caused the hurt. I’m at a point where I’m evaluating how I’ve spent my creative energies over the past 13 years and how I want to spend it in the future. 

I’m aware of how dramatic all of this sounds, but this situation developed at the same time as some professional challenges, which are definitely too boring to discuss, but the challenges. I know they are boring because they have lived in my brain for an extended period now. As they would say on Drag Race or if you are Keisha Cole, trust and believe. It’s boring.

I don’t know what I’m going to be writing about in the future, but it may be different.

With that being said and because this is a website about baseball and not my flippin’ diary, let’s discuss some baseball.

One of my favourite things that came out of the post-Spring Training cancellation push by sports writers to write about sports when everything was cancelled was John Lott’s interview with Pat Gillick.

Pat Gillick should probably be considered one of the best executives in the history of MLB. Mr. Lott’s piece really illustrates how Gillick has adapted to the changes in the game. 

But Gillick says something about the Astros that made me think. The big story circulating prior to the cancelling of spring training was just how bruised by pitches the Astros should be. Gillick doesn’t hold back:

However, Gillick omits something. He fails to mention the team that actually won the World Series in 2018. I’m not accusing him of deliberately omitting this team because everyone else has, too. 

Where are the Red Sox in this discussion? On March 21, the Boston Globe reported that MLB still hasn’t concluded whether the 2018 Red Sox illegally stole signs.

I appreciate why it is currently delayed. A global pandemic does that. But The Athletic piece accusing the Astros was published on November 13, 2019 and Manfred and MLB released their report on the investigation on January 13, 2020. 

That’s eight weeks. Christmas and the Winter Meetings took place during that time.  As they were investigating the Astros and it was becoming clear that Alex Cora played a key role, why did they not expand the investigation? Did they just think Alex Cora stopped doing this stuff? While managing the team that won 108 games in 2018? Can interviews not be done over the phone?

Are they worried about the can of worms they are about the open? Not just one recent World Series championship but two? Not just one AL MVP but two? 

There is another thing that is tugging at me.  

Hearing that the Oakland A’s complained to MLB about the Astros, prior to Mike Fiers going on the record, to deaf ears just made me wonder what would have happened if the Yankees had made the complaint. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who played for the A’s, said this spring that the Astros were an open secret.

People seem to have collectively forgotten that Manfred already warned the Red Sox about cheating during the whole “Apple Watch” brouhaha in September 2017, the same season as the Astros’ trash can banging scheme. The Yankees complained about the Red Sox, the Red Sox counter-complained and everybody got warning from Manfred to cut it out. In light of that warning, why aren’t the Red Sox getting even more scrutiny?

It has become clear to me that certain teams have a certain status in the league. The Red Sox are a “chosen” team. Their status is paramount, save the Yankees.

And this chosen team has become notably invisible and notably silent. This silence is deafening.