Want to see a whiff?
X, formerly Twitter, isn’t always the best way to judge someone’s work because all we see are headlines or tweets specifically designed to attract eyeballs. But Ronsethal’s actual chronicle doesn’t get much better than what you see here, as he equates the horrible crimes of which Franco is accused (which Franco denies) of not being able to run for power or engage in the normal activities of a young man with millions of dollars at his disposal. But being unable to catch fastballs or spending too much time in a club isn’t the same thing as, you know, being a pedophile.
Excerpt from Rosenthal’s article:
“Perhaps the team should have proceeded more cautiously, knowing that few people in Franco’s age range are fully formed adults.”
One would have to imagine that every team is fully aware that players in their early 20s are not fully formed adults, but that doesn’t mean they can expect any of them to have a sexual relationship with a child. For Rosenthal, lumping all players 25 or younger into Franco’s category is insulting at best.
And more:
“Teams will undoubtedly continue to award such contracts, knowing that some will not work out, mainly for performance reasons. But small-market clubs like the Rays, in particular, will benefit if a player of Franco’s level realizes his potential. The player becomes a major asset at a below-market price when otherwise he could become overpriced in arbitration and free agency.
Rosenthal even takes the time to somehow equate sexual abuse of a minor with all the other ways young players aren’t training for ownership, emphasizing that the Rays need to get the things because all their players have to outperform their contracts. because they simply cannot afford to pay players what they are worth. Which is trash. When you take a flamethrower for yourself, it is important not to miss any places.
While MLB could certainly use a better selection process for minor league or draft-eligible kids, as well as better training for everyone, the idea that teams should be wary of signing an extension of contract with a young player, because it could be a secret. A Kind of Sex Pest is about as cynical as it gets. And certainly something many owners would use as a false flag to keep their money in their own pockets, something they never need more prodding for. Were the Rays supposed to hire private investigators to follow Franco and all their players 24/7?
Rosenthal continues:
“As things stand, Franco’s presence in spring training and availability for early 2024 appears doubtful. And even if the Rays received long-term financial aid, they would still lose a shortstop who was on the All-Star team last season.
Franco’s availability to the Rays at any time is not an issue, not considering what he has been accused of. No one cares, or no one should, and the Rays are certainly not any sort of victim here. It should not be mentioned.
However, there is more:
“If Franco, at 5-foot-10, 189 pounds, outgrew his position but failed to add power, he could turn out to be nothing more than a corner infielder hitting simple – and not worth the $25 million in salary he would receive in 2017. each of the final five years of his contract.
Once again, Franco getting fired up because he didn’t develop the way baseball is is not the same galaxy he is accused of. The two can’t be related, and even implying that other players who didn’t succeed on the pitch as youth players in the same group as Franco is offensive to them to a degree we can’t really calculate . It’s not the same thing.
Rosenthal goes on to mention benching Franco for starting with Randy Arozarena or not hustling on the bases, which again are not in the same universe. And they’re certainly not an indication of what was to come, something the Rays should have figured out. The transition from “did not lack merit” to “statutory rape” is not exactly common.
Rosenthal continues to tie Franco’s situation to Fernando Tatis Jr.’s issues in San Diego, such as his motorcycle accident and PED suspension. While Tatis has certainly made some truly stupid decisions and his apparent lack of motorcycle skills could put others in danger, It’s still not statutory rape. One wonders what Tatis might think about being linked to Franco in this piece and whether he would have any thoughts to share with Rosenthal on the matter.
The article then says that Franco’s chances of playing in MLB again are still alive, no matter how remote, which is something no one should think about, let alone claim. Certainly, no one wants Franco to return to MLB at this point, and it would take some major revelations for that to be a possibility. We are already considering the possibility of Trevor Bauer returnsand he was never charged with a crime and he should never play in the MLB again either.
Rosenthal ends his column by imploring teams to be even more careful about awarding contracts, which sounds an awful lot like saying every team should assume all of its young players are possible sex criminals. As if teams weren’t already doing a lot of due diligence on maturity levels and composition, and I repeat, maturity level, composition, and support systems are still thousands of miles away from statutory rape.
MLB players already face a huge challenge getting paid their bonuses and free agency is still stuck when most of them are past it, and even current free agents like Jordan Montgomery or Cody Bellinger apparently can’t get the money they are. worth it at the moment because of how cheap baseball is. Rosenthal, by dismissing the possibility that fewer players would be paid before leaving arbitration because one of them might have turned out to be a sex criminal, is only doing the owners’ work for them, all being extremely unpleasant.
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