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Jonny Gomes signed in Japan, for America
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes baseball’s favorite patriot, Nationals’ money troubles, and how to stop tanking forever and ever.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Jonny Gomes couldn’t find work stateside this offseason. That’s what happens in a world of Giants even-year championships crossed with Gomes’ odd-year titles -- Gomes isn’t a necessary piece of a World Series-winning team again until 2017. Don’t worry, though, he found a new way to love and represent America, and that’s by heading over to Japan, the Nippon Professional Baseball league, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Gomes plans to win in Japan, for America.
Gomes expects to be back -- remember, odd-year championships -- but for now, he’s taking this as a chance to expand his horizons as well of those of his three young children. You can admit you’re a little jealous you didn’t get to do the same thing when you were 6 years old or whatever. I have no problem admitting as much. Jonny, if you’re reading, I’d be happy to tag along for your 2016.
On more of a baseball note, Gomes made a point of saying it’s weird that free agents are still looking for jobs this late into the offseason, citing that these are people with families who need to make plans. He’s not wrong, and in the case of free agents who received qualifying offers and are still waiting on a contract, his point is even more astute: nothing has changed in their performance this winter -- one that earned them the qualifying offer in the first place -- so what’s the holdup?
- The Nationals are claiming that the MASN dispute with the Orioles is keeping them from bringing in the free agents they need. If only there had been some kind of authority, like an MLB commissioner, perhaps, to foresee this kind of regional mash up trouble a decade ago.
- If the Nats can't afford free agents -- or at least, are saying they cannot -- then that's probably not going to be great for them in a few years when Bryce Harper is rejecting $350 million offers because he can do significantly better.
- This is how you stop MLB teams from tanking and rebuilding. This method is guaranteed to work, for sure.
- Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts are both young and extension-worthy keys to the Red Sox, but they might be better off seeing how the new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated before committing themselves to anything.
- How can the White Sox solve a problem like Avisail Garcia?
- These are the teams built to win now, and the teams built to win later. Some of them much, much later.
- The Cardinals are viewed as an aging team, but that's not necessarily true.
- The A's often try to be too early with their trades rather than too late. How has that worked out for them over the years?
- The Royals are going to have their World Series ring ceremony on April 5. This one is going to be great, because the Royals are playing the team they defeated in the Fall Classic on that day. Sorry, Mets.
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