It's very quiet out there. Hello there in the RC, is anybody home?
So it seems like baseball has settled into a big game of chicken. The front offices are holding out for falling demands and the players and agents are hoping for 2016 money. Meanwhile we debate the 25th spot on the roster while the silence engulfs us, deeper and deeper. Maybe this is all a plot by Martin Scorcese to publicize his new Silence movie.
David Schoenfield from ESPN has decided to liven up the proceedings with two Blue Jay stories. The first suggests that many teams don't want Bautista because he is a handful in the clubhouse. It is mostly speculation but Schoenfield weaves a couple of quotes from John Gibbons and Steve Phillips to make a narrative of sorts. He doesn't extend the narrative to Mark Trumbo to see if he can make a claim of clubhouse problems with him but that is another days work. We know the Orioles have rejected Jose for this reason, who knows if other clubs feel the same way?
Schoenfield has another story that has three reasons why the Jays are doomed to fail in 2017. The first reason is really two, an aging core of position players and lack of OBP to replace Jose and EE. Second is a lack of pitching depth and third an owner that is not committed to winning. An argument can be made around all of these points, and each one has been discussed on Da Box. However there are still 90 days to opening day and the roster will change by then. Its like forecasted standings at this time of the year, they are outdated before the season starts.
As I was writing this piece a stray thought came to mind. Assume the Jays do not want Bautista back. And also assume they know the PR on that could be very bad. If they did have a trade lined up, or a free agent signing lined up to replace Jose, would they hesitate to pull the trigger because Jose is still out there? Would they prefer to wait for Jose to come off the market and then sign a replacement, rather than get out in front, as they did with Edwin. This seems like a long shot but it could have an influence over some of the deep thinking somewhere in the process.
Meanwhile if your news consumption is more in the Entertainment Tonight category, it appears that Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman are on the outs, or feuding, or talking about each other behind their backs. It is what fills the silence.
Meanwhile the front office silence endures. Here is a new thread for your prognostications.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20170106125337120