BOSTON - Forgive me this week for discussing an issue that hits me harder than it does many of you.
But you see, the Red Sox are "my team." And for the last several years, Mo
Vaughn has been one of "my guys."
Now I, along with the rest of Red Sox Nation, am the helpless child in the
middle of a messy sports divorce, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about
the matter.
Amazing that I can't take a stand after reading a column on Mo-Gate by every
columnist on the payroll of both Boston dailies and listening to countless
nauseating hours of Mo-babble on local sports radio.
Yet here I am, watching what is almost assuredly Mo's final few months in a Red Sox uniform and can't commit to either camp, Mo's or that of Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette.
The bottom line appears to be this: Come next spring, someone will be paying Mo in excess of $10 million per year for his services over the next four or five years. Duquette has come to the conclusion, perhaps as long as a year ago, that the Red Sox would not be that "someone" to give Mo his payday. Add in that Mo, an emotional guy who isn't afraid to speak his mind, seems to like everything about the city of Boston other than Red Sox management and
probably wanted, at least until recently, to stay, and voila! you have all
the makings of a nice, messy contract dispute.
Everything else seems to be window dressing, albeit colorful window dressing. First, Mo flipped his truck on the way back from the Foxy Lady
strip club. Then came his drunk driving trial, at which his attorney at one
point argued that Mo was in essence too fat to perform field sobriety tests
(not exactly helpful to the agent trying to argue his client would continue
to excel on the diamond for the next five years).
Meanwhile, the Red Sox were signing up everyone -- from Pedro Martinez to
Troy O'Leary to Jeff Frye to the Beer Guy -- to long-term deals. The kicker
was the record deal given to Nomar Garciaparra, years before the shortstop
had the bargaining power to demand such a pact. Mo, perhaps rightfully, felt
slighted.
By the end of Spring Training, the only thing the two sides could agree upon
was that no negotiating over a new contract would take place during the season to focus on the matter at hand: winning ball games.
All was quiet for a while although it was clear there was tension bubbling
below the surface. At the press conference announcing the Nomar signing,
Duquette repeatedly referred to the shortstop as a "complete" ballplayer, the
innuendo being that Mo was only a bat man, and thus inferior.
Later, Mo would allow himself to be photographed with now reviled ex-Sox, and Duquette detractors, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco.
Mo finally erupted recently, perhaps prompted by another not-so-subtle jab
from Duquette (something along the lines of "Fenway will be hosting the All-Star Game next year and our fans will enjoy seeing Nomar and Pedro") or
perhaps emboldened by Clemens and Canseco's second trip into town (the latter sported a "Going... Going... Vaughn" T-shirt under his uniform).
The allegations were ugly. Both sides agree the Red Sox requested Vaughn
undertake an alcohol evaluation after his drunk driving arrest, which Vaughn
refused. But Vaughn also alleges that the Red Sox have had him followed by a
private investigator and made statements linking him to drug use. The Red Sox
deny these claims, but Boston Globe columnist Peter Gammons pointed out in
Sunday's edition that last spring at least three news organization were nosing around the area's police departments off rumors linking Vaughn to drugs that could be traced back to Yawkey Way, home of the Red Sox offices.
That, coupled with a statement made by Vaughn to a Toronto reporter that the Blue Jays were his "No. 1 choice" for next year had Vaughn getting booed throughout the four-game series with Toronto, although offsetting cheers grew as the weekend went on. (The Toronto reporter said that he asked a follow-up to clarify that Vaughn meant he'd choose Toronto over Boston and that Vaughn answered in the affirmative. But Vaughn has since qualified that to mean "only if something cannot be worked out with the Red Sox.")
Here is why this whole situation is so difficult, at least for me: The question this whole situation forces us, as fans, to face is whether we care more about winning or care more about liking the people for whom we are rooting.
Mo has unquestionably been a wonderful member of the Boston community, very giving of his time, especially to inner-city children. In addition, when Mo
strides to the plate, you know there's always a chance you're about to see a
ball launched as far as you've ever seen. I was in Fenway a couple of years
ago when Mo tied a game with one swing off then-Chicago closer Roberto Hernandez. And Mo got this wonderful, unexpected season for the Red Sox, in
which they hold a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League Wild Card race, off
to a rocking start with his grand slam off Seattle's Paul Spoljaric to cap a
six-run ninth-inning comeback. Your heart wants to give the man credit for
these things.
But your head tells you that Duquette may be right in his judgement that the
$11 million that it would take to resign the big guy might be better allocated with $3 million going towards first base and the other $8 million
going elsewhere, be it a starting pitcher or an athletic outfielder like Brian Jordan. (Oh, by the way, Duquette may have taken the first step in implementing such a plan by trading for Toronto first baseman/designated hitter Mike Stanley today. Stanley signed a two-year, $6.15 million contract
before the start of the season. The right-handed hitting Stanley could form
half of a first-base platoon with lefty Reggie Jefferson next season.)
After all, you can't discount the possibility that Mo won't be able to maintain his current level of play for four or five more years. His weight fluctuates (A co-worker has a press photo of Vaughn taken several years ago pinned to his bulletin board. To paraphrase the Beatles, Mo appears to be about twice the man he used to be), and the drunk driving arrest raised questions about his lifestyle that cannot be ignored. Not when you are talking about committing $11-million of your payroll to him. Unlike other teams with unlimited resources, the Red Sox cannot afford to make an $11-million mistake.
(In Mo+s defense, however, I will say that I researched the careers of a few
other beefy hitters to see when their stats began to tail off. Mo is now 30,
and those of similar stature who came to mind -- Kent Hrbek, Willie Stargell, Dave Parker -- all cleared their 35th birthdays without serious problems.)
Duquette appears to have a sensible theory that the big money contracts should be reserved for the players whose talents aren't really fungible.
There is really only one other player, Seattle's Alex Rodriguez, who has Garciaparra's combination of fielding prowess and the ability to hit for average and power at the shortstop position. Martinez, too, is special due
to his high level of success at such a young age.
Meanwhile, run-producing first basemen, to an extent, have become like losing Powerball tickets: almost everybody (except for one lucky stiff in Indiana) has one. Duquette seems confident that even without Mo, the Red Sox
will have one next year, too. If it's not the Stanley/Jefferson platoon, it
could be Rafael Palmeiro. It could be Mark Grace. But the Red Sox will survive.
Forced to a make a call, I guess I have to look at the 80 years that have
passed since Boston's last World Series win and just hope that Duquette knows best how to bring that drought to an end.
But we sure will miss you, Mo.
K.O.'s CALLS: K.O. on the Mo Vaughn Saga.
G21 DAY ONE: TODAY: ROD AMIS on the The Evidence of Our Own Eyes.
POWERSSOUND: BOB POWERS "sings" the praises of Sonny Rollins' new CD "Global Warming; looks at the Arbor Records Sampler; GOSSIPS about:
FAX NIKITA: A new installment of our compendium of the bizarre AND the interesting.
BarnesandNoble SEARCH: Every writer here still reads offline. We support Barnes and Noble and hope you will, too. This is the place to find the best and brightest!
