WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY

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Players behaving badly appears to be the theme of this week.  To be more accurate, it’s more like star players behaving badly.

Now that Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have been traded, Mets players are unloading on them.  Both being described as “difficult.”

They called JV a “diva” and someone only concerned with himself, while ignoring the rest of the team.  Max, as we know, flamed team ownership and management, and was caught surprised when he was immediately traded.  Just this week, he had another meltdown on the mound with his new team when things didn’t go his way.  Three episodes and counting so far this year.

We now know that both did not get along when they were with the Tigers and there were problems with 3 out of the 5 starting pitchers during those last playoff years. 

It has been insinuated that the issues surrounding these 2 players with both the Tigers and Mets negatively impacted their team chemistry.

Of course, there have been plenty of other incidents of star players causing disruptions and distractions to their organizations.  Enough to disrupt the balance of personalities and performance to various degrees.

And this week, another alleged scandal involving one of baseball’s best players – Wander Franco.  He is now on unpaid leave while MLB investigates.  (Nothing is yet official and the subject is a delicate one so we will not be getting into the details of what supposedly transpired.  Nor will we be approving any comments today that delve into this subject matter as a result.)

Over a year ago, the Tampa Bay Rays made their first really big investment by signing Franco to a 12-year contract that is worth a maximum of $223 mill.  He is their best player.

But there have been some red flags.  Bad decisions, immaturity or attitude problems depending upon whom you ask.  One in particular that teed off teammates and got him benched for multiple days.  Yet despite instances over the past 2 years, he got the mega-contract anyway.

And now, if things go really south, the Rays could be taking a really big hit both competitively and financially.

It’s a huge risk when extreme talent, personality issues and really big bucks collide.  For some, the risk pays off.  For others, it can cost a team dearly.

Which brings us to ask how important a player’s personal make up is in comparison to his talent.

Is having a difficult/demanding personality worth having on a team esp. when their talent is significant?

Or is the price created by their behavior too much of a cost when it comes to the overall roster and team performance?

What would you do if faced with a similar situation?  Is it all about getting the talent or are there other factors to consider?

Make sure to come back and check the final results!

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FINAL RESULTS FROM AN AUGUST TOTALLY TIGERS POLL:

Is it better to trade a secondary player knowing you won’t get a comparable value in return just to be able to say you made a trade?

  • No, keep him and focus on allowing the team to finish the year as strong as possible.  82%  (159 votes)   
  • Yes, trade him no matter what the return is.  18%  (34 votes)

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22 thoughts on “WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY”

  1. JV may be self centered but was also successful for the Tigers and the Astros. May be more of a problem when paired with Scherzer. We don’t know what is going on with Wander but it would seem on a very different level.

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    • JV and Max just can’t be on the same team together. Not sure that Max will be a good teammate anywhere, unfortunately (I used to really like him!). JV seems to be better when he is unquestionably the alpha.

      Liked by 3 people

        • I wasn’t mad at him for leaving. The money was so much better in Washington I couldn’t blame him. I think JV and Max are both Alphas and maybe you can’t have two such strong alphas on one pitching staff?

          Liked by 2 people

  2. It’s always a gamble when you give youth millions, some can handle it and some can’t, 50/50 gamble. JV and Scherzer just 2 alphas and now their 2 veterans alphas.

    Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Do we know of teams whose players’ good character created a competitive advantage? I am trying to think of some, but I just don’t know. With today’s advanced baseball analytics, I wonder if some teams seek to identify and “measure” good character?

    Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, Brooks – Great question. The short answer is yes, that teams look for character because it does give advantages. Some teams have psychologists who develop profiles. Theo Epstein wrote that before he and the Cubs signed anyone, they spoke with other players, family and friends to determine if the character was the right fit. Not jokingly, he said that ex-girlfriends were often the best at information gathering. 😉 – Holly

      Liked by 5 people

      • Interesting. As evidenced by some recent player acquisitions by some highly successful teams known for their analytics, savvy, and thoroughness, no team will be perfect when human nature is involved.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I had no idea Max was a jerk until I saw him 2012 in pregame warmups shagging flies with the other pitchers. All the pitchers except Max acknowledged a large group of kids standing just beyond the outfield fence, even threw balls to them. Don’t know that I’d not sign or trade for him because he behaves like a jerk but I’d have to be in dire need and in a pennant race.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. The talented Tigers with JV, Max, Fielder, etc. prove the point– you can win many games with talent, but a World Series title requires talent and cohesiveness. Winning occurs when the highly talented employee makes less talented employees better, not worse.

    Liked by 6 people

  6. Both JV and Max won championships and individual awards after leaving the Tigers so some bad behavior can obviously be tolerated. But the point of them both wanting to be the alpha so cannot co-exist is valid. At least JV didn’t trash his old teams after leaving (at least not any I am aware of).

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Justin V has always been self absorbed to a degree, but unlike others, he has high IQ, and a strong sense of public relations. He almost always sidesteps the questions that would reveal his motives, and attitudes towards policies, fans, cities, managers and players. That makes him a cut above while actually helping his team by setting the example

    Liked by 3 people

  8. Old friend of mine was a AAAA catcher for dodgers and cardinals. He said it seemed almost a given quarterbacks and pitchers were divas. Especially after touchdowns and no hitters. They all think they did it by themselves.

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  9. Bad behavior almost always loses in the end. No smart team would tolerate it. Scherzer was a problem from the beginning while Verlander seemed to change after leaving the Tigers.

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  10. Another sub-theme is the risk in the long-term contract. You want to keep your young, star player for most of his career, but after a few years you wish the contract weren’t so long. Where has an 6+ year contract worked out for a team?

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    • I worry about this too. Maybe the long term contracts are done to keep the annual cost down knowing the late years won’t be productive?

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  11. We have our own example in Motown. ERod hurt the team by ghosting them in the middle of the season and then pulls his phony stuff with the Dodgers. If he opts out(please please opt out) we will see if the team thinks he is worth it (I don’t).

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  12. Theo was right, due diligence needs to be done when signing a player. JV was always competitive from the start which perhaps explains the Alpa thing vs Max who was more of a prima donna

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