FORT MYERS, Fla. — Lucas Giolito managed to violate the cardinal rule earlier this week: he publicly acknowledged that he felt he had let his team and his teammates down by incurring a season-ending elbow injury.
This was all a certain subset of fans needed to hear on the hellscape that is X, formerly the hellscape known as Twitter.
The predictably cynical vitriol followed: So is he going to give back his salary? Or Yeah, I bet he’s laughing all the way to the bank. Not to mention He should be sorry, but he’ll still take the money.
Apparently, the worst offense one can commit these days is to be a highly-paid athlete who gets injured.
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It’s natural that fans feel frustrated when a player is lost for the year. But as long as I live, I’ll never get over the idea that some fans have — namely, that injured professional athletes should, in good conscience, decline their guaranteed salaries because, well, that would be the honorable thing to do.
This foolish notion seemed to reach its apex in the final years of Dustin Pedroia’s long-term contract, when fans called him for return the money had legally coming to him, because that would free up additional money for the team to spend elsewhere. As if it were somehow Pedroia’s responsibility to refund his salary to help the Sox fix a poorly managed payroll. As if John Henry and Co. should be bailed out from a legally binding contract to which they agreed.
Put it this way: if you’re rooting for a billionaire to recoup his money at the expense of a player who is unable to perform through no fault of his own, it might be time to re-examine your priorities.
I’ve covered sports for more than 40 years, and yes, I’ve come across the occasional entitled, spoiled athlete. They exist in every profession and walk of life. But in that time, I would wager that the number of players who would prefer sitting out a season while getting paid to earning their salary on the field, court or ice would number less than a handful. Athletes love to be paid, sure, but they love to play even more. It’s that competitive zeal that has brought them to the top of their profession.
The money may seem absurd to most of us, but really, this is no different than a construction worker getting injured on the job and collecting disability. The only real distinction is the number of zeros on the paycheck.
Well, that and an unhealthy case of schadenfreude from fans who should know better.
* It’s not quite to the level of “full throttle” disappointment, but the Patriots’ initial foray into free agency has been, shall we say…underwhelming.
A team with the most cap space of any team in the league shouldn’t be losing players over a few million, which is what happened with Calvin Ridley. The Patriots needed a No. 1 receiver and Ridley was there for the asking. The failure to operate with the necessary urgency is alarming.
* The Bruins attempted to trade Linus Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings, only to have Ullmark invoke his limited no-movement clause to block the deal. The next day, Ullmark, with absolutely not an ounce of bitterness, expressed relief and delight that he was staying put and played what was arguably his best game of the season. Hockey players are just different.
* The only surprising thing about the stolen shipment of Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads is that it didn’t take place in Canada.
* Their biggest need — by far — remains starting pitching. But something tells me that the Red Sox are going to regret not spending $3 million or so on Adam Duvall. Duvall has certainly had his own durability issues, but the Sox can’t be sure how Tyler O’Neill will hold up physically, and while both Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu are talented, but largely untested.
* It may be tempting for the Patriots to value quantity and trade down for some additional picks. They can surely use all of the premium talent they can find in the upcoming draft, and a trade with the Vikings could net them a tackle and a top wideout. But none of that matters if they don’t have the right quarterback in place. And given that it wouldn’t appear the Pats are willing to turn things over to Jacoby Brissett for the next few seasons, they need to stay put and draft a QB around whom they can build.
If they pass this time, who knows when they might next get a crack at a franchise quarterback?
* Two losses in the world of music hit hard last week. Eric Carmen, who led the Raspberries to a string of terrific power pop singles in the early-to-mid 70s, and Karl Wallinger, whose unmatched gift for crafting Beatlesque melodies with World Party made radio more fun in the late 80s and early 90s. RIP to both.
* Do you think the Red Sox are watching the fallout from The Dynasty and starting to second-guess their decision to take part in the Netflix series?
* It’s probably not a coincidence that two MLB general managers — San Diego’s A.J. Preller and Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto — never win anything. The two shuffle players around, execute blockbusters (sometimes with each other) and in the end, fail to make their teams appreciably better. You can’t act like you’re taking part in a Fantasy League when you’re dealing with real flesh-and-blood players.
* Joe Mazzulla gets an “A” for enthusiasm and competitiveness, but stepping out on the floor to contest a shot from an opponent after the whistle blows may not be the best idea. It strikes me as similar to a baseball manager going out to argue a call with the sole purpose of making a statement to his players. Others might call it “eye wash.”
