Manny Machado? No Thanks!

Now that our season is over every time there is baseball talk with one of my friends, a reader or co-workers it always turns into a discussion about Manny Machado. I am itching to talk about anything else at this point. Give me any other baseball topic at all without throwing him in it and I will be thrilled. I guess I won’t be able to avoid it until he signs during the offseason, so I might as well just dive into it.

So I guess I will just come right out and say it…..I DON’T WANT MANNY MACHADO!
I don’t want Manny Machado at third base…..
I don’t want Manny Machado at Shortstop…..
I don’t want Manny Machado in a lineup with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton
I don’t want Manny Machado to replace Didi Gregorius
I don’t want Manny Machado AT ALL.

There, I’d say that is clear enough. So now I think I have established I don’t want him….but some may ask “WHY?” with a crazy face while reading this. That’s fair enough.

Some people really love the idea of Machado in pinstripes. I understand the desire for fans to see the Yankees reload with more big names. It’s been in our blood forever. I just think the additions the Yankees need are guys that are going to pitch for us. Unless Machado has become an ace pitcher and hasn’t told the baseball world, I’m out.

Pitching is a priority (Patrick Corbin anyone?!), and even if it wasn’t Machado would not be my top pick. Machado has been criticized this postseason as he has stepped into the playoff spotlight, and rightfully so. In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Dodgers star carelessly jogged to first after he hit a ball into the infield, and what could have been at the least a close play ended up an easy out. He knows people are calling him out for this and the fact of the matter is….he doesn’t really care because he KEEPS DOING IT!

In his own words: “Should I have run on that pitch? Yeah, but I didn’t and I gotta pay the consequences for it. It does look bad. It looks terrible. I look back at the video and I’m like,
 ‘Woah, what was I doing?’ You know, just the emotions of the game … I’m the type of player that has stayed in the zone, I’m playing and I’m just in the zone.”

WRONG! You aren’t in the zone. Let’s get that straight now. When you are in a game and you CARE you are running your butt off on ANY play, especially the close ones. If he cared he would be doing anything and everything he could especially if he wants to make it to the World Series! Doesn’t he want to be a champion? He’s in the playoffs for crying out loud! He went from one of the worst teams in baseball to a team that is trying to redeem themselves after losing the World Series last year. Surely his teammates care. I know for a fact Cody Bellinger cares! So does Clayton Kershaw and I guarantee you Justin Turner does too. I’m angry FOR his teammates and Dodger fans everywhere.

It gets better though: “Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and … you know, whatever can happen. That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”

We all remember Robinson Cano. How many times did we criticize Cano for not running hard? TONS of times. This is just deja vu. Let’s be real, “hustling” is not a just personality trait but also a character trait. In Machado’s case it is a MAJOR character flaw. That right there is just pure toxic. This is a guy that a team should want in their clubhouse? I’d say HELL NO. This is a guy that just doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to be a good teammate, a leader, or even just a mentor to the little kid watching him in the stands that dreams of being a baseball player. That’s not a role model…..it’s a loser with a bad attitude who only cares about himself.

So let me get this straight….after all of this the Yankees should be one of many teams waiting to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at Manny simply because ‘he is who he is?’ Gimme a break. So far, early estimates guess that Machado will get a free-agent contract in the area of $300 million. Any team that is willing to pay that amount of money should get a complete player who plays with passion. Machado doesn’t have heart, hustle, and he doesn’t care. He shouldn’t be rewarded by the Yankees for his poor choices.

I will tell you what should be rewarded though….THIS right here. If you haven’t read Luke Voit‘s story at The Players Tribute it is a MUST READ. Voit is a guy that has the right attitude. Everything in that story put a smile on my face. This is the guy I want to have in a Yankee uniform. He said it best YOU GOTTA STEP IT UP NOW KID…THIS IS NEW YORK! Voit may not have the same bat that Machado does but with work he could be even better then what we saw this season. The thing that can’t change is Machado’s lack of desire to hustle. He told the world that in his own words because he doesn’t want to. His attitude won’t change because he simply doesn’t want it to.

I’m going to be blunt, Yes Machado you should suffer the consequences as you said earlier. Part of that should be not getting a fat paycheck from us and not wearing a Yankee uniform which is supposedly on your wish list. Hustling isn’t your cup of tea and quite frankly you aren’t mine. We have higher standards here and your “personality” just won’t cut it.

The Yankees could do a lot better….and I hope they do.

–Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @Nyprincessj