Not every blog around here is going to be a 1,000 word dive into future presidential candidacy of a former Chicago Mayor. And not every thing we talk about will be as deep as Nancy Pelosi’s remarkable set of tits or whether I can get into playoff hockey without completely losing interest after round 1 game 1.
Some times we just need to keep it as simple as turning to Javy Baez for another dose of enlightenment. And in that case, we’re often left saying one of baseball’s best phrases:
I’ve never seen that before
Even here in a meaningless spring training game coming off by far the worst season of his career. Even with absolutely nothing to play for other than checking the box on the calendar towards opening day. Even with no motivation, incentive or sensible reason to risk himself at all, IN THE LEAST BIT, you’ll find him springing into the air and sacrificing the back of his skull to break up the fielder’s choice.
Scorekeeper check: 1st inning of a 0-0 baseball game on March 12th. Just double checking we’re all on the same page here?
And this is why it bothers me to hear Tigers fans bitch, piss, moan and complain about Javy Baez.
I concede he was a -1.1 bWAR player last season and I further concede that’s about the worst regular season player with 80+ games to his name.
But he’s also utterly sensational when healthy and generally playing night games. Day games can be a different story if he was out the night before and that’s also a different story.
For now I just want to address the fact that I think he still has another gear left in him. And I can deduce that simply from the fact that he bodied up that throw to first base with his brain.
He obviously hasn’t given up yet and that’s arguably the most critical thing with a player like Baez.
Tigers’ fans may have quit on him and that’s up to them.
But it’s not until the player is completely checked out that you can rule him out from playing above his potential. There’s still a chance he gets hot and sees the baseball like a pizza pie and goes on one of those crazy streaks. And if it happens, there’s honestly nobody better across baseball at turning games around in every phase: defense, special teams, on the bases, slugging percentage, bunting… you name it, Javy Baez can do it extremely well provided that he’s playing extremely well.
It’s a unique relationship and arguably one of the more unique players in MLB.
For now though I just wanted to entertain myself heading into a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon with some Javy Baez nostalgia.
And truthfully – I am happy to see him playing somewhere else because our best times have long passed between him and the Cubs. More than any player from the 2016 team, I feel like a college breakup where it just would never work in the long-run anyways. So let’s just enjoy the sex now and not make any stupid mistakes and respect the fact we’re going to be better off settling down with other people.
That’s how I feel about Javy Baez which is why I am able to confidently say without a shred of remorse, I truly wish him the bet.
Now do Willson Contreras
Nice try guys.
In other news, here are the best teams to follow if you like following 2016 Cubs:
- Angels: Hendricks will get regular time and Soler is in the outfield mashing
- Tigers: run by Scott Harris who is a Theo/Jed protege and they have Baez
- Rockies: Kris Bryant, obviously
Otherwise it’s slim pickings and this is the first time I got sad about that. It’s the first time realizing most of these guys are long out of baseball, and those left are on the last legs of their careers.
In that respect it actually makes watching and cheering for Javy that much more important. Who knows how much longer he has left? Especially if he’s sacrificing HIS FUCKING HEAD in a spring training game.
Never change Javy.
Never.