NEW YORK _ In a recent interview on ESPN-98.7's "The Michael Kay Show," Brian Cashman said: "To try him (Manny Machado) in public is something I don't want to participate in."
That makes the Yankees GM a rare bird.
For inside the Valley of the Stupid, and other media precincts, Machado has been put on trial before the court of public opinion. And the verdict, at least in the minds of assorted Gasbags, and other opinion makers, is guilty.
These commentators are against the Yankees signing one of the most coveted, perhaps THE most coveted, free agent on the market. They basically are ignoring his many attributes to focus on what they perceive as his lack of hustle, "bad" attitude (which they claim could wreck the team's chemistry) and the mega bucks contract the Bombers would have to give him.
After disparaging Machado, who apparently ticked off the Free World (at least citizens who always hustle down the first-base line) when he told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal he isn't "Johnny Hustle," backing his claim with a few bad playoff moments that were video-highlighted over and over and over again, ESPN-98.7's Dave Rothenberg asked: "Is that what you (the Yankees) are going to get into bed with?"
Wondering if putting on the pinstripes, and cashing the Yankees huge paycheck, might change Machado, 98.7's master bloviator, Richard W. DiPietro Jr. asked rhetorically if the big paydays have "changed Cespedes" or "OBJ?"
"There are better ways for the Yankees to spend their money than on Machado," DiPietro said.
Under "normal" circumstances, various media outlets will drive a player, coach or manager out of town. Machado's case is unusual; a media blockade has formed to keep him out of the Bronx. This is a rare preemptive strike. It has even come with "threats" of what might happen if the Yankees sign Machado and he displays a lack of hustle.
"I'm not going to let him off easy if he comes here," WFAN's Norman (In The Mornin') Esiason said on the air.
Wow, Machado must have been shaking in his boots when he heard what NJE had to say.
While there is no such thing as "fair" when it comes to free agents (or free food), Machado, who needs no Pity Parties, is being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. The rare qualities of his overall performance are being downplayed, overlooked in some cases, and replaced by plenty of whining and moaning about lack of hustle and a bad attitude. He is being cast, mistakenly perhaps, as the bad guy.
It's as if the Yankees have never dealt with this type of superstar, right? One of them, Alex Rodriguez, still works for the organization in an advisory capacity.
If Machado does come to the Bronx, the media will have the kind of target, the lightning rod, that the current team does not possess. Has the media become too used to that relative calm? Or does it simply not have the stomach to deal with Machado on a daily basis?
