The High Court

Deep Thinkers Only...

Trade Me, Please

January 3, 2006

 

Just trade me, please.  I can’t stand to write for this loser of a website one more day.  All winter long I have begged for upgrades from management.  Anything to give us a chance to be more competitive.  Better web design.  More advertising.  More writers.  More research staff.  Anything.  But what do I get from management?  Minor, superficial changes which amount to nothing.  And they wonder why we don’t have any readers.  At this point I would go anywhere to find an audience. And oh yeah…to get paid.  That’s another thing about this site.  No money.  Jeez.  I would even go to newspapers…and if you haven’t heard, they are about to go the way of the dinosaur.  At least in print.  But people do still read the paper, don’t they.  I would take a move to SI.com or Yahoo! Sports or even…gasp…to the dreaded Evil Empire, ESPN.com.  That’s right, I said it.  I would welcome a trade to my dreaded enemy.  I mean, if Pat Forde can get work there, I should be a lock…

 

There’s just this one problem…I AM management.  That’s right.  As founder and Chief Justice of The High Court of Sports, my dilemma is my own creation.  Nobody to blame here but me.  Captain of my own ship.  Manager of my own fate.  That’s me.  Which sort of makes me the Miguel Tejada of sports columnists.  Let’s explore further…

 

In early December the Baltimore Orioles’ All-Star shortstop demanded a trade, saying the organization had done nothing to make the team better for the 2006 season and that he wanted a “change of scenery”.  Tejada backed off of the idea that he had “demanded” a trade, saying that he just wanted the team improved so that the O’s would have a better chance of winning.  But just last week, apparently stunned by the continued improvement of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees’ signing of Johnny Damon, Miggy went ballistic again.  “I don’t want to say anything bad that can hurt my teammates, but look at Toronto, they have strengthened themselves and we haven’t done anything.”  Not to worry, Miguel.  I am sure that your comments won’t have offended Jeromy Burnitz or Jeff Conine, each of whom were signed by the Orioles this month (How aggravated is Tejada going to be when he finds out that Burnitz backed out of his deal because he would rather play for the Pirates?).  But hey, we see your point.  Neither of those guys pitch.  And no pitching means more losing.  And speaking of losing…Miguel, we yield the floor to you.  “If the Orioles don’t do anything, I want them to trade me because I am tired of losing.”

 

But while Tejada continues to blame management for the pathetic state of affairs in Baltimore, he really needs to look no farther than the mirror for the person responsible for his current situation.  That’s right, Miggs, you are just like the ol’ Chief here.  I chose the role of small-time, independent website operator…so I get no pay, no ad budget, no copy editor, and little audience (although I thank you both for being here).  You, Mr. Tejada, chose the role of $12 million a year shortstop (six years, $72 million after the ’03 season) for a bad franchise.  And it is extremely likely that for a couple million less a year, for a couple less years (think four years, $40 million) you could still be with the very successful Oakland A’s organization.  When Tejada left Oaktown on a cash run, he departed a club that was in the midst of a four-year playoff run.  From 2000 to 2003, the Athletics won three AL West crowns and one wild card spot, winning 91, 102, 103, and 96 games over that span (which adds up to 392 victories in the span).  Tejada was front and center in that brilliance, winning the AL MVP award in 2002.  During that same four-year stretch, Tejada’s suitors from the east won 74, 63, 67, and 71 games (a total of 275 wins), while finishing fourth in the AL East each year.

 

Now I’m not an expert mathematician or anything, but it seems to me that from 2000 to 2003, the A’s won 117 more games than the Orioles.  Or an average of nearly 30 more wins per season.  And that makes me a little less than shocked to hear that Miguel Tejada finds himself in a losing situation in Baltimore.  Perhaps someone should inform Mr. Tejada that after the two losing seasons he has been a part of, the Orioles have now suffered eight consecutive losing seasons (stretching back to 1997) and have not finished higher than third in the AL East during that time.  Once the Oriole Way meant fundamentally sound baseball and a winning franchise.  If the current Oriole Way (rampant losing) had been around in the ‘70’s, Earl Weaver would have been trimming Don Stanhouse’s afro with an axe.

 

Tejada is generally portrayed as the best of baseball.  An ebullient personality on and off the field, Tejada has been everything that is good about the game of baseball in days where scandal and boorish behavior have often been the norm.  He is a favorite of fans, players, and the media (Peter Gammons will nearly faint from excitement at the mere mention of Tejada’s name).  And he is a great player.  A tremendous offensive force from the shortstop position, Tejada is also a good (if not great) defender.  With Alex Rodriguez’s move to third, Tejada stands alone as the finest all-around shortstop in baseball.

 

But his winter whining is a big sack of crap (thanks…I stayed up all night working on that one…if that sort of literary genius doesn’t get me hired by the big boys, well, consider me shocked).  Tejada had every opportunity to stay with a winner in Oakland; he simply would have had to take a hometown discount to remain an Athletic.  But he took the money and ran, when you and I both know he was aware of how badly the O’s sucked.  Which is a lot, and that’s being kind.  Now he supposes he has the leverage to force a trade to a better situation, all the while continuing to get paid his big mercenary bucks.  And that sucks more than the Orioles.  I try to side with players as often as possible, and I really like Tejada.  But his behavior (and that of so many others) makes it hard to defend free agency.  Baseball’s Reserve Clause was a terrible thing, and it turned players into little more than organizational chattel.  But there needs to be a measure in place to stop players from holding organizations (and by extension, fans) hostage just because they have the leverage to do so.  I would much rather Tejada be a professional and do his best to make the O’s a winner, regardless of the rest of the roster.  He claims he will, but why do I have the feeling that if the O’s are mired deep in the AL East basement (which is very possible), that Tejada will force a trade to a contender at the trading deadline?  Because he will…and that’s if he isn’t already in Boston (for Manny Ramirez and change) or Chicago (for Mark Prior and change)...that’s why…

 

And I can hear those of you saying that Tejada shouldn’t be stuck for an organization that doesn’t care about winning.  All I can say to that is this…see the argument above.  If Tejada was so concerned about playing on a winner, he should have stayed as far from Baltimore as possible.  I mean, honestly…we are talking about Tampa Bay north here, people.  I looked up the numbers…couldn’t he?  Did he still think Cal Ripken was in town?  Or even Billy Ripken?  The Orioles stink.  Peter Angelos stinks.  But Miguel Tejada stinks worse today.  Somebody tell him to take a B-12 shot and suck it up.

 

Just be like The Chief Justice.  I’ll be right here, every week.  Battling it out for my guys and my audience (again, thanks to both of you).  You will never, ever see me abandon The High Court of Sports.  No matter how small the audience gets.  At least not until a better offer comes along…

 

 

Contact The Chief at chiefjustice@thehighcourtofsports.com.