Monday, January 12, 2009

Poor Michael Young

A story that has piqued the Fan's interest concerns Michael Young, the All Star shortstop of the Texas Rangers. Apparently Young is unhappy that he was told he would need to move to third base to make room for prospect Elvis Andrus and has requested the team to explore trade possibilities. Young's biggest gripe is that he wasn't asked to move, he was told he had to move.

Consider that Mr. Young is going to make $16 million for the next five years. Consider that, despite his elevated status as a ball player on a major league franchise, he is still an employee. Consider that most of the new sophisticated fielding measures list Young as a less than stellar shortstop (despite the fielding percentage and the Gold Glove). Consider that a manager and a general manager of a baseball team are paid to make the decisions that are in the best interest of the team's prospects.

Consider all those things and little sympathy can be engendered for Michael Young. The Fan would clean out the Texas Rangers septic system for $16 million. The Fan would be so giddy at making $16 million that he would do just about anything Mr. Washington or Mr. Daniels told him to do.

Tell any one of the 8% that are unemployed in the Arlington area that someone getting paid that kind of money has hurt feelings because he has to play third base and see what kind of reaction the person collecting unemployment or has his house repossessed will have.

It is stories like this that make the little hairs bristle inside the Fan's nose. Please excuse the coming language, but Mr. Young should swallow something quickly and get his nose down on some kind of reality level and quickly retract his asinine whining. And after he does that, he should get his high paid ars over to third and play his heart out.

1 comment:

Billy the Kid said...

I have to agree that with that kind of money you should be happy to do anything, but I have some arguements about this post too. I have never read anything really negative of Michael Young, and he has done a lot for the Rangers organization over the past few years. I have read that he is a good clubhouse presence. I know his fielding can be spotty, but he isn't any worse than Andrus, who is coming off a 30+ error minor league season at SS. Let me put it this way using our beloved Yankees as an example. They brought A-Rod over from texas with a huge contract, and then had him move to third because the ballclub realized how much Jeter meant to the club as a player and a captain. You know where I am going with this. Why couldn't texas have kept a seasoned, proven player who means a lot to the club at SS, and move the rook to third? I believe young deserves that respect from texas.