Wednesday, November 29, 2006 |
Gun, Fish, And Barrel, Part 2
So, the Angels' new center fielder, who signed an eye-popping, five-year, $50-million contract last week, didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable defending a deal that has been roundly criticized — primarily by Internet columnists — as the worst contract of the winter so far.And indeed, I've been part of a large and vocal crowd denouncing this signing as abjectly horrible. But as grateful and vain as I might be to think that anyone at the Times (Matt Welch perhaps excepted) or any of the other local papers of note is reading this space, the fact is Helene Elliott — a writer who rarely limns baseball, by my reckoning — had a serious, accurate, and damning piece up the day after the signing was announced.
So it's not like the boo birds needed to rouse the gall of the legitimate press. Old memories from 2005 provided the fuel: if the blogosphere was all but uniformly throwing rotten tomatoes, it's because we also had to put up with too many days where players trotted out this ancient canard when they're deep in a 3-47 slump:
Told 2006 seemed to come out of nowhere, Matthews replied, "Only if you don't know my work ethic, my desire to get better and to win. You have to look at the numbers the last three years, my runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs ... the average fan may not notice it right off the bat, but it's been a steady progression."Those words sound eerily familiar — like those uttered by Steve Finley when he accused booing fans of not knowing the game back in August 2005, long after he injured his shoulder and played despite the harm he cost the team. It's hardly a good start to a relationship that didn't look all that encouraging to begin with.
And so we must needs return to the matchmaker, Bill Stoneman. Already, Stoneman is nowhere to be found on the "congratulations, welcome to the team" photos introducing Matthews, leading us to wonder whether he doesn't have the worst case of buyer's remorse since Dan O'Dowd signed Mike Hampton. With Stoneman's contract as general manager expiring at the end of next year, perhaps the time is right to find some fresh perspectives. Not that he hasn't done a good job until this year — the team made half their postseason appearances, including their sole World Series victory, over the course of his seven seasons at the helm. But the Matthews contract, and the lame attempts to sell it, amount to a capitulation, and admit a failure of imagination.
: 11/30/2006 12:26:00 AM : 11/30/2006 10:37:00 AM
: 11/30/2006 12:04:00 PMBill -- well, as I said, I'm not the only one to take it that way:
Whatever happens with Matthews, I like that a player's good character doesn't excuse him from answering for his performance and his prospects. The fact is that - nothing personal, Gary - some of the people criticizing your contract do "know the game."
: 11/30/2006 12:15:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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