Tier One Free Agent Trevor Bauer Weighs In On The Tony La Russa Debacle... And Nails It
There was a LOT of good shit in here, but let's start with the bad:
Advertisement
Trevor, the chin strap look is sooooo 2008 dude. Get with the times man. I'll send ya a Phillip's Norelco One Blade.
But let's get to the good stuff. I really appreciate Trevor Bauer for taking the time to give us his perspective on this entire Tony La Russa shit show not just as a Tier 1 free agent, but as someone who's capable of thinking rationally and independently. Now, I fully admit to being a sort of Trevor Bauer fanboy and for a few reasons:
1. he's a stud
2. he just doesn't give a shit and operates against the the archaic grain that is MLB and MLB's marketing of its product
So I went into this video already assuming I'd like and agree with its theses. But I'd believe the entire video would be worth watching for White Sox fans even if I was on the side that couldn't stand Bauer.
We're obviously in full meltdown mode right now as a fanbase, again, but Bauer does a fantastic job of breaking down the potential outcomes of this La Russa shitshow. You can really tell he absorbed all of the info surrounding the La Russa shit show, slept on it, and then gave his $0.02 in as rational and coherent a way possible.
I'll give a TL/DR on the first 10 mins, because the 2nd half is what is really good. He lays it out like this:
- is it incumbent on the organization to do something?
- there will be factions of the fanbase that wants nothing to do with having a scumbag like La Russa managing their team, and they will be mad online about it
- there will be factions of the fanbase that doesn't give a shit about his off the field shit or his past political comments, so long as he leads the White Sox to winning baseball games
This lead Bauer to make a statement I wholeheartedly agree with: that the organization can't side with one "side" and pick and choose who they think is a good guy or bad guy based on some (most?) of the fanbases qualifications of who is, in fact, a good guy or bad guy, because that is all just objective opinion in the end. But they have to make their hire based on how he can relate to players, instill confidence in them, and inspire commitment, dedication and energy out of his team.
That's the question the White Sox have to answer, and one I don't think they did with this hire in particular. No veteran players/leaders were consulted on the hire and no other managers were even interviewed apparently. That's a load of bullshit. That said, it's nobody's fault but the man who owns the team. It's his hire and nobody else's. Every day that passes, that much becomes abundantly clear.
But then we get to the 10 minute mark:
- Will this affect free agents? Well, in what was a huge breath of fresh air, he said it wouldn't affect him personally and that he doesn't judge people based on other's opinions on them. He will sit down, have a conversation, pick their brain and make a judgment himself. WOW! That's about as rational a way to operate as anyone has operated in the year 2020. Even with Marcus Stroman publicly coming out and saying he probably wouldn't want to play for La Russa…
Advertisement
Note: Stroman just accepted the Mets qualifying offer, so cross him off your list, but the point remains
…Bauer looks at his free agency from 30,000 feet and says he'd speak with TLR before automatically crossing the White Sox off as a potential landing spot. I personally try to operate like this as well and don't let the loudest people on social media decide who or what I should or shouldn't like, so that's why it resonated with me personally so much. That might be just me, but I thought this part of Bauer's video was A+, and I wish more people thought and operated like this as well, specifically other free agents. There's just too much groupthink and knee-jerk judgment these days IMO.
Watch the video. I truly feel like Bauer hits a home run in his breakdown of this entire saga. I hope it gets into the hands of any free agent target that the White Sox might be looking at and helps them to at least give the White Sox a chance. That's where we're at right now with this hire, hoping free agent targets will look at the organization with an open mind and won't be so turned off by the buffoon manager that they sign here. Jesus fucking christ.