No matter how they slice it
Diva is well worth cost
It’s always amusing when some doltish big league megastar is unapologetic about his and his agent’s latest round of whining and caterwauling for more dough.
“Remember, this is a business,” they always say, somberly. And they are always right.
Yet when confronted with the cold, hard realities of what teams must do to pay the bills, “business” suddenly becomes a dirty word.
Case in point No. 1: Insufferable Adrian Gonzalez had no problem agreeing with the Red Sox on that seven-year, $154 million contract back in 2011. But when he discovered big-market teams with big-name players frequently get booked to play those inconvenient Sunday night specials on ESPN, the big fella boo-hooed.
Case in point No. 2: Chris Sale, the enormously talented Chicago White Sox lefty. This dude is Trump-like in the you-neverknowwhat- he’s- going- to- donext department, including that stunt he pulled last week when he sliced up some throwback uniforms because he felt that wearing one of them would make him . .. uncomfortable.
The next time Sale signs a contract, it’s going to be way north of $200 million. But I doubt it’ll occur to him that among the many ways Major League Baseball is able to afford these gargantuan salaries is by marketing its product.
Such as, oh, I don’t know, having occasional throwback nights, when teams parade around in uniforms from back in the day.
But while the guy may be shortsighted and perhaps not much of a whiz kid, our pro teams have imported players with such heavier baggage. And if bringing in a Chris Sale can help the Red Sox win another World Series, you do it. So, yes, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should assemble another collection of five-tool, top-10, can’t-miss, Baseball America-approved prospects and make it happen.
This year’s American League representative in the World Series is going to be more survivor than pennant winner. It’s a league of flawed teams with shaky pitching staffs, meaning that all but a few teams have a shot at the Fall Classic. Even the Yankees, who have more or less waved the wait’til-next-year flag with their trade of flame-throwing, domestic-violence committer Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, are only a handful of games out of the running for the second wild card spot.
The names we keep hearing in the trade talks are infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Andrew Benintendi, both playing at Double-A Portland. I can tell you I saw Moncada for a couple of games last year at Single-A Greenville, and that on one particular night he came across the bag, collected a low throw and tagged out the runner in a fashion that would have made Robbie Alomar proud. As for Benintendi, I saw him go 0-for-3 in the AllStar Futures Game a couple of weeks ago in San Diego.
That’s my scouting report, and it means nothing. All that matters is that a lot of very important baseball people say these guys are the goods, and that’s good enough for me.
And if they’re good enough to fetch Chris Sale, do it.
The late, great Lou Gorman had the right idea when he traded Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen. And Theo Epstein had the right idea when he sent minor leaguer Anthony Rizzo (among others) to San Diego for Gonzalez. If your counterpoint is that these things don’t always work, you’re right: Andersen helped the 1990 Red Sox to a division title, but then came a four-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland A’s. Andersen became a free agent and signed with the Padres. Bagwell enjoyed a fine career with the Astros and last year missed making the Hall of Fame by 15 votes.
Rizzo? Now with the Cubs, he is one of the game’s top sluggers. Gonzalez had a stupendous season for the chicken-and-beer, out-out-the-running 2011 Red Sox, but he is best remembered as a clubhouse lawyer who was traded to the Dodgers during the crash-and-burn 2012 season.
But the logic is sound: If you can trade prospects to win now, you do it — within reason. If you honestly believe your team can win it all, you do it. If your team is so-so and you’re just trying to appease your fan base . . . no thanks.
Chris Sale wouldn’t be the first diva to pitch for the Red Sox. As we’ve learned over the years, divas win championships.