John Jaso. I was at his baptism. True story.
But first, a true side story.
The baptism happened in spring training at the Zobrist mansion. I say mansion jokingly because it was a rented house on a private golf course with a pool and a view of a tidal river. The place was 5 times larger than my house. The master bedroom had double doors… It was pretty awesome.
And it was a rental.
Zob and I get along like peas and carrots. He’s one of my absolute favorite baseball players in the whole wide universe. I think what really sold him on me was that, even though we’re both Christians, we’re not cliché Christian athletes. Don’t get me wrong, he’s spit polished to a radiant, angelic shine, but he’s not cliché. Me, I’m just a jerk.
Of course, you wouldn’t know he’s not cliche from reading his book. Uhg… uhhhhg. So “filtered for Christian book store” consumption it will make you vomit a plague of frogs. But some people really love that—which frustrates me to no end. In fact, some people can only accept Christianity as exemplified by perfectly clean and proper sources. If that’s you, you’re a target demographic. Did you know Christian bookstores blacklist publishers that break rules concerning what qualifies for Christian appropriate behavior? Good thing the Bible doesn’t have any inappropriate stuff in it.
The fact is, I get Zobrist. I also get what he’s up against. Better still, he gets what he’s up against. God placed him on a big stage, and it’s really tough to be a good Christian on a big stage because the audience misses nothing—doubly so when fans are pointing at you when they talk about “good examples we should all emulate.” That’s rough, especially when you know none of us are “good” examples and it’s only a matter of time before the hyper inflated nature of being famous distorts something about you.
I remember Zob and I were once chatting about walking out the faith in a light as bright as the Bigs. He was telling me about how he got asked to speak at this Christian men’s retreat, and that the topic was about how not to be influenced by fame or wealth since all men are equal in the eyes of God, but, at the same time, the only reason he was getting asked to speak at this event was because he was a famous, wealthy athlete. It was a face palm moment for us both.
But Zob knew that it was better to do the event then to criticize it (I’ve not yet learned that lesson). A lot of faith and fame things are nothing more than political rallies where you speak to people who are paying to hear a message from famous folks that agree with what they believe. It’s a racket, and from what I could, tell it saddened Zob. But he does his best to make it work, and you have to respect for that even if you don’t believe what he does. It’s better to gently expose folks to knew Ideas than attack them as wrong for the ones they have—that never gets you anywhere.
So, what does that have to do with Jaso? Nothing. Just felt like wasting your time. I mean, at least now you know that Jaso is a man of faith, right? Or, at least a man of Zobrist’s holy water spring training rental pool<–where he was dunked. I think I videoed it… I don’t even know why…
Jaso and I didn’t spend a lot of time around each other when I was with the Rays, but the interactions we did have were good. He’s a splendid chap. Kinda reminds me of Chris Pratt, actually…
He was part of that Rays’ Chemistry Quasi Dynasty. You know, when the Rays were young and talented and had that incredible team chemistry as spearheaded by Maddon and Price and Longo and Sonnanstine and Zob and on and on and on…
Then Jaso went to the Athletics where, again, the young up and coming, quirky and competitive vibe was alive and well. He fit in well with both.
As I’ve said in my earlier writings, I’m not a huge fan of the Chemistry factor in a clubhouse, but, I am starting to think that the Jays are. I mean, for goodness sakes, they have 3 catchers now. They just signed Martin, a guy they absolutely didn’t need to go get. That was after signing Navarro last year, who has worked out just fine for the price, and The Jays would most likely get his best year from him this year (contract year!).
But what else have you heard? How about the Dickey is a bad clubhouse guy shtick? Melky was a bad-ish clubhouse guy? Hanley Ramirez was called a #turd by one of his teammates and the Jays didn’t even sniff him. And, then there is that whole, the Jays are heading in a new direction thing, which is why they really like what Martin brings to the clubhouse, and his ability to handle young pitchers.
Okay, sure, I like Martin’s ability to shepherd the young pitchers as well, and he won’t hurt the clubhouse, but, if you’re after shepherds, why not find them in a position you actually need?
Well, for one thing, the Jays do need a left-handed bat with some pop. They’re running a pretty right-hander heavy at the moment. Jaso can catch as a back up, but the concussions and the fact that Martin is really who you want out on the field (and on the bench recovering when not on the field), it’s better to think of Jaso has a DH option who could catch. This isn’t a bad thing. Jaso can hit. He can also walk. A lot. Especially against Righties. The man will take his bases for free (he has coupons), which might work out well for spreading out the Bautista and EE threat. Jaso doesn’t have to hit, he just needs to get on base and put pressure on pitcher. The fact that he can hit is even better. Just because a guy isn’t a major offensive threat doesn’t mean he can’t be a pain in the ass to pitch to.
There is good and bad here. Any trade can be speculated into success via the perfect un-reality that is off-season trade talk. However, overall, I’m not a fan of the move. I’d rather the Jays go after Jay Bruce—if that is indeed a scenario they’re looking at. I’d also rather they address needs in their pen. But, what one always has to remember is that, the Jays can’t sign a lot of players straight up. Their contract length, payroll limits, location… It’s not a lot of player’s first choice. Besides, the Rogers Centre sucks to play on and it is as sterile—in the baseball sense of the word—as an airplane hangar.
They Jays need to make deals. And when you make deals, you have to have things other team’s want. And what does every team want? Pitching and catching.
The Jays have one part of that. If they get the other, they’ll have Jimenez, Thole, and Navarro as liquid assets along with Norris, Nolin and Graveman. If a catcher goes, it will most likely be Navarro since he wants to go someplace where he can play for a big payday, or Jimenez because he’s young and desirable for another team looking for controllability.
—
Author’s Note: Sorry, there are links and ads on this website. Your clicking on them earns me a few pennies on the side, and helps keep content coming. If you find my content entertaining, click an ad, and/or share the story. That’s all I ask. It helps me out a lot. Thanks!