Welcome to Asshole Of The Week, where every Friday your trusty Foul Balls editor picks out the one person from the previous seven days who makes him think, "Man, what an asshole." It could be anybody from an athlete, an owner, someone in the media, or just anybody who happens to catch my ire.
Well, after a one week Memorial Day induced hiatus, Asshole Of The Week makes its glorious return to Foul Balls this afternoon. I don't know how the week off treated you, but I'll fully admit that not ripping on somebody for two weeks has left me feeling incomplete.
That's why it was probably so easy for me to pick this week's AOTW, which, as you've figured out by now, is White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Now, it's become apparent since I decided to reward Orlando this week that he and Ozzie have kissed and made up, and while that's nice, it doesn't absolve Orlando of his asshole status.
When the news broke out this week that Cabrera had twice called the press box during games to complain about errors that were charged to him, it pissed me off. Though, to be fair, I've had some negative feelings towards Cabrera since the day he joined the White Sox, so those feelings probably had a lot to do with my reaction.
I made it clear on the day the Sox traded Jon Garland to the Angels for Cabrera that I wasn't a big fan of the move. Garland had been the most consistent pitcher the White Sox had the last few seasons, and the prospect of having to go through an entire season relying on John Danks and Gavin Floyd (Floyd especially) scared me quite a bit.
Now, both Floyd and Danks have proven to be more than capable so far, but their success hasn't changed my feelings towards Cabrera. I still don't quite understand why you'd trade a good pitcher whom you still have under contract for a few more seasons for an aging shortstop who's entering his walk year.
Sure, at the start it was possible that Cabrera would re-sign here, but why would the Sox want to sign an aging shortstop to a long-term deal? Of course, we were then told about the leadership qualities that Cabrera brings to the clubhouse, and how he's a very good guy to have on your team.
Then Cabrera went and showed us all what a great team guy he was by worrying about his numbers, and how a few errors given to him might effect how much money he can make when he signs somewhere else next season.
Nevermind the fact that the team the team player plays for is in first place, and is in the midst of playing it's best baseball of the season, the team player is just worried about himself.
Make no mistake about it, whether he and Ozzie have made up or not, there's no way Cabrera is coming back here next season. He made that clear when he said this.
"If it happens again, I will call again. I don't have to do it with other teams because they always had my back. They don't want to do it here, I can take care of my own business. If you have a problem with what I did, come to me and say something. Don't go to the media to send a message, because he didn't send any message."
Well, obviously Ozzie did send a message, because not too long after saying publicly he was worried about how the public would view Orlando's action and that he should talk to his teammates or his manager about it, Orlando did just that.
What bothers me is that he said the White Sox don't have his back, when it's pretty clear that they do. They traded away Jon Garland to get him, and then Ozzie and Kenny Williams have done nothing but support him in the media since this story broke.
It seems like they have his back to me.
The other thing that Cabrera has done since this story broke to piss me off, is he's no longer talking to the Sun-Times because their White Sox beat reporter, Joe Cowley, was the one who broke the story. Of course, that's if Orlando talks to the media at all, because by most accounts, he's generally long gone from the clubhouse before the media ever get in.
So if Cabrera thinks he did nothing wrong, then why won't he talk to the Sun-Times when they were just writing about something he did that he thinks is right? Why avoid the press at all costs?
If it's all a big misunderstanding, then talking to the media is the only way Cabrera has to clear it up.
Even though he probably only plans on being here for a few more months, that doesn't mean he should show White Sox fans and the press a lack of respect by pretending we don't exist.
So for being a baby about some errors charged to him, for worrying more about his paycheck than the team he's playing for, and for not taking the time or making an effort to try and clear things up, Orlando Cabrera is my Asshole Of The Week.
Though if he raises his OBP and batting average by 30 points or so over the next few weeks, I'll quickly get over it.
In my last post about Jose Contreras' trip to the disabled list, I marveled at the fact White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was able to string together 75 consecutive words without swearing. I'm pretty sure that's a career high for the Sox skipper. Though it also worries me because that's not the Ozzie Guillen we've all come to know and love.
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