As we mentioned last night, the Giants are in full ass-covering mode after lacking out on their third prime free agent. They whiffed on Aaron Choose, couldn’t recover from Carlos Correa’s ankle after which Shohei Ohtani discovered life is fairly simple whenever you don’t have to maneuver and you’ll nonetheless get $700 million. Whereas Giants followers are most likely pissed off, deep down they most likely get it. The Dodgers are simply forward of them in each means, even with Ohtani they’d nonetheless have issues to do to make the Giants a constant contender, and so forth.
However as a ultimate kick to the yambag, their most beloved participant prior to now 20 years desires Giants followers to know that it’s type of their fault they’ll’t signal big-time free brokers.
You already know it’s actual hassle that in the event you seek for “Buster Posey” on Twitter the primary end result comes from Outkick. All the time a gaggle you need to be your bullhorn.
Apparently, LA is a few crime-free paradise. Isn’t that unusual for these of us who grew up within the Nineties and heard so regularly referenced because the epicenter of all the things that was fallacious with American, and in addition that “Escape From L.A.” was truly a documentary.
It’s arduous to know the place to begin to spotlight this because the totalhorses–t that it’s. Had Ohtani signed in San Francisco, it’s extremely unlikely that within the contract it could be said that he must reside downtown, and even within the metropolis in any respect, and must park his sports activities automobile within the Tenderloin. What metropolitan space is it that’s completely freed from the issues that America has instituted upon itself? Oh, proper, the hermetically sealed Truist Park in suburban Atlanta, proper?
When the Giants misplaced out on Choose, was it as a result of New York had abruptly grow to be Eden?
And if Posey is so involved with what has occurred to central San Francisco, and there are various causes town has issues now, it could be prudent to level out that Posey made $150 million throughout his enjoying profession and who is aware of what else via endorsements and sponsorships. Wanna assist out?
Actually, if Posey actually have been keen on looking on the depth of the problem, which he most definitely isn’t, the construction of Ohtani’s deal — and one the Giants have stated they have been prepared to match — is one other big indicator of how all of us obtained right here. As a result of $680 million of Ohtani’s deal will likely be paid after he’s most definitely accomplished enjoying, and doubtless buggered off to a different locale, California and doubtless even the US isn’t going to get any of the taxes that will come from that wage. If Posey is so involved about crime and medicines and the state of San Francisco’s downtown, a superb start line is how millionaires like him and billionaires like Ohtani, in the future down the road, don’t should pay their justifiable share in order that we would truly be capable to do one thing in regards to the root causes of poverty, dependancy and crime. However you may guess your ass that if it have been even instructed that we get to a correct tax fee for the wealthy that each different developed nation has discovered, Posey would most likely be one of many first to fill his pants about it.
However no. Posey simply desires everybody to understand it’s not the Giants’ lack of ability to supply a star via the system in 10 years apart from Logan Webb, or his personal retirement, or years of a scarcity of clear plan to construct a basis that has stored free brokers away from Oracle Park. It’s what Giants followers let San Francisco grow to be, in his eyes. Approach to go, jerks.
Talking of dopes with nothing significant to say . . .
Good day for obtuse loudmouths apparently, as Carli Lloyd couldn’t resist the prospect to point out her ass on the identical day it was revealed just how much abuse the USWNT received in the course of the World Cup:
It’s apparently Lloyd’s quest to grow to be the chief of the “Again in my day…” gang to glorify her accomplishments, that are many, however which the USWNT has already proven weren’t completely required for them to be nice (they received the World Cup in 2019 along with her barely contributing, which she’s nonetheless not directly bitching about).
Lloyd hated Megan Rapinoe’s kneeling. She hated the group combating for equal pay. She’s hated gamers speaking about something apart from the best way to break down a low block. Apparently, the abuse is OK so long as you utilize it for gasoline on the sector, which is all that issues to Lloyd as an alternative of an insidious a part of sports activities that must be rooted out. However that’s the way it works whenever you’re such a performative try-hard that Lloyd was, even together with being top-of-the-line gamers of her technology.
MLB with one other cynical, thinly-veiled shell sport
Swinging again to baseball, MLB announced a new feature of spring training for subsequent yr and past, the place groups will bottle up their finest prospects right into a squad to play one other’s squad of finest merchandise, to be a double-header with a standard spring coaching sport.
It’s nearly definitely an indication of my rising paranoia and cynicism, however I all the time increase an eyebrow when MLB is doing but one thing extra to focus on the minor leagues, a corporation they needed to be dragged kicking and screaming to even pay pretty solely throughout the previous yr and are nonetheless combating each means they’ll.
Any pleasure that MLB can generate amongst followers about its personal groups’ prospects is strain they’ll reduce for them to signal free brokers or swing massive trades for stars. Fanbases may be mollified, to an extent, in regards to the low cost labor that is likely to be coming and switch in opposition to paying premium for established execs, with sufficient hype, which is strictly the best way MLB desires it. You don’t should look too arduous to seek out groups doing that proper now, just like the Orioles or Reds or Cubs or Crimson Sox, who hype what is likely to be coming tomorrow to excuse not paying for what’s on supply at the moment. MLB even rigged the system to penalize groups for signing free brokers by harming what they’ll entry for the longer term, i.e. draft place (boy, if solely there was a union to combat such issues).
Groups’ finest prospects already get into spring coaching A-games and create highlights we see on the socials. Possibly it’s a stretch, however this looks as if an oblique means of MLB throwing a smoke bomb to get extra followers to take a look at what’s cheaper for them to pay to distract them from getting upset about groups not paying for what’s dearer and extra thrilling.
Comply with Sam on Twitter @Felsgate and on Bluesky @Felsgate.bsky.social