We are one week from the start of the season and most managers are preparing to put their team on the field and making fine tuning. Well not Orioles manager Buck Showalter who is taking the time to talk trash. He decided to take what little time he has left to talk about Yankees captain Derek Jeter and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein.
Showalter took over the Orioles mid-season and ended up having a winning second half after such a poor start prior to his tenure. He was interviewed following a spring training lose to the Yankees. This is when he let it all out there.
When he got on the topic of Jeter he was a little upset about something Jeter does. If you have watched his at bats Jeter does that little thing where he leans over the plate and makes the ball look closer to a ball when really it’s in the paint. He tries to get a ball out of pitches that he really doesn’t want to swing at.
“The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout,” Showalter said. “Our guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Derek Jeter.’ Well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets – and yes, he [ticks] me off.”
Talking about Jeter’s strike zone is justified though many players to this. Jeter is the king of doing this even going as far to acting like he got hit by pitch last season when it hit the knob of the bat. Showalter has justice to be upset but he doesn’t stop there next he moves on to wonder boy Theo Epstein.
“I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll,” he said. “You got Carl Crawford ’cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their butt. It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?’ ”
Wow, Showalter really went there? When it comes to the Red Sox, yes we do have a lot of money but talking about Epstein like he isn’t smart is uncalled for. When it comes to buying players the Red Sox are not the team that is guilty of that. The Red Sox are the king of developing talent and using that home grown talent. During the Epstein era the Sox have developed players such as Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and even has players in the minors ready to go. Epstein has developed the strongest minor league system that is all a result of his drafting ability. If he was not smart would he be able to draft such a strong system.
Now when it comes to Carl Crawford being on the Red Sox it is more of a reward for what they believe he will do in the future. Now yes he did go to the highest bidder but why would so many players be bidding for his services if he wasn’t an amazing player. If the Orioles system had a smarter system of drafting and developing winning players they might have the money to get free agents off the market.
Theo Epstein is a Yale graduate with a law degree and passed the Califorina bar exam on his first try if he was a stupid guy do you think he could do this? I think not. Epstein is a GM who is a believer in sabermetrics which is one of the hardest ways to evaluate a player in baseball and he was able to win not only one but two rings for Boston. Epstein is an extremely smart general manager and Buck Showalter is just jealous he isn’t his GM.
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