An Atlanta teammate once had a birthday, and when Yunel Escobar offered best wishes, that teammate told Escobar he knew exactly what present he wanted from the shortstop: Just play hard today.
That Braves players came to view consistent effort from the 27-year-old infielder as a gift is not a great reflection on Escobar, especially given the reputation of the Atlanta clubhouse. It's an easy place to exist, to thrive, and has been for many years. Bobby Cox likes players; some managers don't. And the most prominent veterans on the team, like Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson and Billy Wagner and Brian McCann, are all reasonable and relatively laid-back, tolerant of different personalities so long as the effort is there.
And too many times, the effort from Escobar was not evident, which is why the Braves decided to trade a younger shortstop with a theoretically higher ceiling for a 33-year-old shortstop.
Addition by subtraction seems to be the name of the game here; although if Escobar returns to the form he had the previous few seasons, he will absolutely be a better shortstop option than Gonzalez.
No comments:
Post a Comment