National Post (National Edition)
Osuna pickup continues to burn Astros
Short of parting ways with Roberto Osuna, nothing should come as a surprise in the way the Astros deal with or comment about anything to do with the reliever and his checkered past.
The trouble, in fact, started when the team acquired Osuna last July from the Blue Jays, a team that couldn’t get rid of the closer and his domestic violence issues fast enough. The Jays decided there was no room for Osuna in their clubhouse while the Astros appeared to choose closer over character.
At the time of the trade, remember, Osuna was still serving a 75-game suspension for violation of MLB’s domestic abuse policies. They acquired him despite concerns from veterans in the clubhouse that there was potential for him being a poor influence.
And they acquired them well aware of the fact there would be fallout in the community.
And now comes another mess surrounding Osuna, who was accused of assaulting the mother of his child in Toronto, charges that were dropped when a peace bond was signed and he agreed to avoid contact with the woman for a year.
The latest incident reportedly occurred after the Astros clinched a berth in the World Series with a win over the New York Yankees. According to a Sports Illustrated report, following the game Astros assistant GM Brandon Taubman taunted three female reporters by celebrating the team’s July 2018 acquisition of Osuna.
“Thank God we got Osuna. I’m so f — — — — — — glad we got Osuna,” SI reported Taubman as saying, a claim confirmed by two Houston Chronicle reporters who witnessed it but was rather snarkily denied.
Yes, the team that acquired the burden of Osuna then made it worse by discrediting the report. In a somewhat heartless statement released on Tuesday afternoon — mere hours before Game 1 of the World Series opener against the Washington Nationals — the Astros called the SI report “misleading and completely irresponsible.”
It was a display of tone deafness that normally would be described as incredible. But this is the Astros, a team that banned a Detroit reporter from doing his job earlier this summer because pitcher Justin Verlander told them to do it.
Taubman dug the hole a little deeper on his own statement, released and presumably vetted by the team first. He actually called himself “a progressive and charitable member of the community” before offering a hollow apology. “I hope that those who do not know me understand that the Sports Illustrated article does not reflect who I am or my values,” Taubman said. “I am sorry if anyone was offended by my actions.”
Incredibly, an organization that acquired Osuna in the first place kept making it worse with Taubman defending his actions to essentially negate the apology.
“My over exuberance in support of a player has been misinterpreted as a demonstration of a regressive attitude about an important social issue,” Taubman want on to say.
Actually, there was no misinterpretation at all, even with Astros owner Jim Crane’s hollow attempt to placate those offended, by saying in a separate statement his team continues “to be committed to using our voice to create awareness and support on the issue of domestic violence.”
Almost incredibly, it was then left to Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who was three hours away from his team’s most important game of the season, to bring some sincerity and sensibility to the situation.
Good on him. Bad that it was left for the manager to handle given the more pressing duties of his day.
“I’m very disappointed for a lot of reasons,” Hinch said. “It’s unfortunate. It’s uncalled for. For me as a leader in this organization, I take everything that happens in the clubhouse to heart.
“No one, it doesn’t matter if it’s a player, a coach, a manager, any of you members of the media, should ever feel like when you come into our clubhouse that you’re going to be uncomfortable or disrespected. I think we all need to be better across the board, in the industry.”
Hinch was bang on, of course, and from a competitive standpoint, it was the last thing he needed at the worst possible time. While well down the list of concerns regarding Osuna, this won’t sit well with the pitcher.
Remember his troubles with the Jays began when he left the team briefly due to anxiety issues. And remember as well that he gave up a two-run homer to blow a save in the last game he pitched.
In standing up for his player in an ill-advised manner, then, Taubman may have added a huge amount of pressure to Osuna. In its original denial, the Astros called Sports Illustrated irresponsible for its report.
The Jays decided to walk away from Osuna for good reason, doing their own due diligence that surely mirrored that of MLB, which opted for the huge suspension. The Astros welcomed him with open arms and have continued to live with the fallout and the consequences.