I Can't Watch Javier Baez Play Baseball Anymore
I can’t do it anymore. I simply can’t do it anymore. Look, there are a lot of problems with the Detroit Tigers. They wear their issues on their sleeve. Every time this team takes a step forward, they’ll take two steps back. Even their good players look terrible right now. They’ve been embarrassed by a New York Yankees team that I think stopped trying weeks ago. They are a joke. With that said, I don’t like everything about a baseball player exists in Javier Báez. I can’t deal with it anymore. I can’t deal with it. Watching Javier Báez play baseball is a form of torture. He is the definition of insanity personified. The man does the same shit, over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, and he expects a different result for some reason.
Al Avila did many terrible things as the GM of the Detroit Tigers. He could've shot me in the face, and I would still say that it was less offensive than signing Javier Báez to be this team's shortstop after the 2021 season. I'm just going to say it, this team will not win anything with him on the roster. Next year, if they get off to a good start and are competitive, I look forward to the day in when they cut them and actually trade for a real short stop at the deadline. I do not care what kind of clubhouse presence he is. I don't care if everybody likes them. I don't care if he saves kittens in his spare time. He is the worst baseball player I've ever watched. You don't even need to give me the numbers. Don't tell me that old Dickie McGees Cockburn from 1945 actually had a lower OPS. That guy wasn't getting paid $140 million.
"But what about the contract, Chris?" I DON'T CARE. Another GM signed Javier Báez in the heart of another regime. Scott Harris has adamantly wanted to find players who dominate the strike zone. While the players he's added to this roster have seen mixed results, all of them better understand the strike zone than Javier Baez does. It is remarkably hypocritical for a president of baseball ops to say that he wants players to dominate the strike zone while also employing Javier Báez. I understand that it would create an issue getting rid of Javy. There are no shortstop prospects down in the minor leagues that are any better. I may come to regret this, but I don't care. There isn't a worse option. Even if you get a guy who can't hit worth of shit, I would still argue he'll be less of a detriment to this team than Javier Báez.
The numbers are just the numbers. When a player swings at everything and is often responsible for one pitch outs, he hurts the baseball team he plays for. He doesn't drive up pitch counts, he has zero discipline, and he hasn't even hit for power this year. We can oogle at all his incredible defensive plays. That's not what we're paying him for. And ultimately, he's a wildly overrated defender. The older I get, the less I value defensive metrics. They're remarkably flawed. I freeze every time this guy spikes a throw in the dirt at first base.
What scares me is that I feel like Javier Báez's awfulness is rubbing off on the rest of this team. Nobody can hit right now. Parker Meadows got called up and looks pretty good. Give it a few weeks. He'll start chasing sliders in the dirt. Javier Báez is the venom symbiote of baseball players. Once it sticks to you, you can't get rid of it.
The one positive about Javier Báez is that he provides me with endless material. Even I'm getting tired of that. I try not to be selfish with the stuff. But in this instance, I'm going to. I can't take it anymore. I don't care if he goes deep today. You can dig up any tweet I've sent and throw it back in my face because he got his OPS up to .590. I don't care. I don't want him here. And I know what's going to end up happening. They're going to keep him around, and by some miracle of God, he will have a big hit one day in a big situation, and people will act like that contract is worth it. It's not. He's destroying any good will this team has night in and night out. I'm tired of him. Dump him, for the love of God.