Escobar's season has to be over, and that's just the start

No, I cannot for the life of me understand what Yunel Escobar was thinking when he put on those eye-black patches with a homophobic slur written on them the other day.

(Here’s Brendan’s excellent story that explains what’s going on).

It is senseless, vile, wrong, inflammatory; it makes no sense at so many levels I’m entirely confused.

And saddened.

And hoping that justice – heavy fine and a significant suspension – are meted out quickly by both the Blue Jays and major league baseball.

A suspension without pay for at least the remainder of this season is a start, I’d say.

 

Of course there’s no place for that kind of action in the game, any right-thinking human can understand that, and it makes you wonder about the kid’s personality and mindset and whether it’s really worth it to the ball club to even have him around.

Escobar’s a talented player, of that there can be no doubt. But he’s always been, to me, something less than the sum of his parts. He doesn’t seem to always hustle, he appears bored at times, I’m not entirely sure he can’t be moved with little impact on the team on the field.

What he did was so ridiculous it almost defies logic; I honestly can’t think what he was thinking and it will be interesting to hear what he says. And he has to speak to it and his actions, it has to be more than some scripted apology read off a piece of paper and I’m not even sure genuine contrition will be enough. There is no logical explanation but fans are owed an attempt at least.

But you know what?

Blame for this whole sorry charade has to be shared by everyone in the dugout and the clubhouse.

Someone – a manager, a coach, a teammate – needed to take him aside sometime Sunday and slap some sense into him.

Someone – John Farrell, Luis Rivera, Omar Vizquel, Jose Bautista, Brian Butterfield, Don Wakamatsu, all of ‘em and I could rattle off 35 names but there’s not enough space and that’s just a representative group and by no means am I singling them out alone -- needed to see what he was wearing and demand that he take it off.

I don’t for a second believe no one in the dugout saw it; it saddens me a bit that no one decided to confront him and, if it turns out they did and he ignored it, he’s got to go.

Two other points bother me greatly about this and I hope no one trots them out as explanations:

I don’t care what the non-literal translation is in some Spanish-speaking locales; we’re not there, we’re here and someone who saw it had to know what it means in these parts.

And when I saw or read something that perhaps someone else put the words on the patches made me laugh out loud. Who cares who did it, he wore it and he knew what it said.

This is a black mark on the entire organization – and organization I respect deeply because I know Alex Anthopoulous and Paul Beeston to be gentlemen of the first order – and they need to come down hard – very hard – on Escobar.

Today.

The acceptance of gays and lesbians in professional sports has long been a troubling issue to me but I do believe things are getting better.

They are not perfect and may never be but most leagues and teams are making strides to educate their employees and put out a message of inclusion to all fans.

This will set that back here a little bit, no doubt; how the Jays handle it will go a long way to speaking to their commitment to fans of every persuasion.

End of rant.

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Hey, Ottawans?

There’s a chance – late-day weather and Porter Airlines willing – that I’ll be among you later this evening.

I need a local spot – wings, tasty beverages, maybe a couple of TVs with ball games on them – in the area near the Arc hotel on Slater.

Don’t want to venture too far, don’t want to be out too late, might only have a couple of hours but do want to do something other than sit in my room for the night.

Whaddya got?

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Oh yeah, if it’s Tuesday, I must be delivering Super Son to school for 7-freaking-a.m. because he has some saxophone skills.

How come there’s never a PD day on a Tuesday? Riddle me that, would you?

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I wasn’t the biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination but there is no doubting Jimi Hendrix’s guitar-playing chops, is there?

More than 40 years after his death – this day in 1970 – still not too many who come close to his talent.

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Back to baseball for a bit – there is no basketball, really – how cool is going to be when the TOD hooks up with Buffalo as it’s AAA affiliate next season?

If you’re from here and haven’t been down to that pretty little park smack dab at the bottom of downtown Buffalo – sometimes known as Urban Blight Central – you’ll love it.

Open air, tiny, comfortable and, last I checked, with ticket prices greatly affordable. About 15 minutes from the Peace Bridge, it’s going to be perfect for weekend ballgame/golf getaways.

Oh, and it’ll be easier for the team, too. No more having to wonder about inflated PCL stats from Vegas, no more travel woes for demotions and call ups; it’s win-win.

Only thing better was if they refurbished Oakes Park and put the team in the true centre of the universe.

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Hey, let’s start early ‘cause I might have a flight and some airport time to get some work in.

Mail?

You know the drill, right?

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Comments

[John]

You will soon learn that everything in downtown Ottawa closes at 5pm.

Your best bet is to hang a right out of the hotel, take another right on Elgin street and walk down to MacLaren's (corner of Elgin and MacLaren). If that's too far you may find another suitable watering hole on Elgin before you get to MacLaren, but I can't remember what's there off the top of my head.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
I generally agree with you on most things, but I have to say I was taken aback a little when I read your rant. Now, don't get me wrong, if things are as they are portrayed in Brendan's article, I totally agree with you.
But, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Don't you think that, in fairness, you should have waited at least until Yunel's had a chance to explain himself? And, no, I don't want a 'canned' apology, or some far-fetched 'explanation.' But, until you know the full story, isn't it a little unfair for you to be the judge and jury?
Again, I have little doubt that what you wrote will prove to be true, but don't you think it would have been right to at least give him a chance?
On another note, are you going to Ottawa to fix the government?

Blogger's note: Maybe, but some things are just inexcusable. Fix the government? Not sure that can be done, can it?

[John]

Very sad to have read about Yunel's eye make-up. My one hope in all this is that someone did say something to the kid and he did take it off and that's why it took a couple of days and a lucky seat holder to see it in an obscure photo. Even wearing it for a short period of time is inexcuseable, and having a dugout full of "men" unwilling to say anything speaks to their character as well. My hope is that it was noticed, they were taken off, and his "flu-like" symtoms becomes a season long suspension

And why haven't the Jays joined the MLB awareness/support program? Could there possible be any reason for any team to not?.

[Peter]

I think Alex A. and John Farrell need to speak with Brian Burke about doing a "You Can Play" video.

[Jerry]

it's a lot easier to take a strong stand and suspend a player for the rest of the season when the team is out of the pennant race.

Blogger's note: Makes no difference whatsoever

[LeeZ]

Doug, you mentioned the other players and coaches who (presumably) didn't call Yunel out. That's a great point; hadn't even thought of that. That's almost worse than Yunel's original crime. I think he's just a young kid who grew up in a homophobic country (Cuba) who is immature and did something stupid. I'm more offended by his anemic offensive skills, to be quite frank with you. That's not for one moment to condone homophobia. But if I were a betting man, I'd bet that he thought he was being funny and that his peeps would get a huge kick out of it. I actually think Burke of the Leaves is right: eductate this kid, help him see the errors of his ways. That should be the prime emphasis. Yeah, absolutely, suspend his ass, no question. But see if you can't turn this kid around. As for the Ottawa watering hole, this place doesn't have tv's, but it does have crispy pig ears and boiled peanuts, and how can you possibly go wrong with that? Five-minute walk from your hotel. Called Union Local 613. An extremely cool place. http://union613.ca/

[Peter]

To Tim H. The guy had "You are a faggot" written on his face. The "presumption of innocence" that you talk about is something that the club will be dealing with. To the average person, we don't need to presume anything, we can read.

If we see someone shoot a gun at someone, and another person standing right in front of them goes down with a bullet wound, we let the courts presume innocence but we can still pass judgement in the public sphere based on what we saw with our own eyes.

Punishment isn't decided by the public, in this case. The team will do their due diligence, but the smoking gun caught on camera is more than enough for someone like Doug to write what he has written.

[Paul]

So excited for the Jays AAA in Buffalo next year. Based on this season, we can choose between toronto and buffalo to see two teams of exactly the same quality.

[Heath]

Read the multiple definitions/intrepretations of the term/words.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_profanity#Maric.C3.B3n
Agree that we need to reserve judgement until things are heard but with this being on such a fine line, he should go down regardless just for being such a goof.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

And across the street from McLaren's on Elgin is the Sir John A Pub. Pretty good selection of brews.
@LeeZ, I've been hearing about Union 613 lately... will definitely need to check it out.
Cheers. And happy travels, Doug.

[David in Oakville]

I agree that this whole episode is sad and confusing. It boggles the mind, in a dugout full of other Spanish speakers and a Spanish speaking coach, how the guy could play nine innings with that written on his face.

Before more is said and judgement is passed, we need to hear from Yunel, John Farrell and Alex.

Not sure where you can go from here, except somewhere else. But who is going to want a guy with real character issues and an on again/off again production record.

[Youngjames]

Escobar leaves an ignorant message on his face - you comment saying that it is inexcusable - then one of your readers writes in response using the same word you just shunned....so you post his comment!!??. How dumb is that! If the word in question was the "N-word" and one of you 25 readers wrote it in a comment -would you post that!??? This blog (and response) is certainly being twittered out to so many people today by me. I want everyone to know that you condone the language by letting your readers who say the word be posted on your site! Deal with that! Wait till the "big-wgs" at the Star get a view of you allowing your 25 readers to say the exact same words on your blog!

Blogger's note: I'm actually seeing the re-tweets, all complimentary. Makes me feel good. Thanks for being a regular reader.

[Bo4]

No matter how you look at it, someone in the Blue Jay dugout is guilty of prejudice. Either the player or someone fluent is Spanish that wrote it, or read it and ignored or laughed at it, should be suspended without pay. I was honestly initially thinking one game, but the rest of the season makes a better statement by the club.

[David]

I am concerned that you are demanding a particular suspension without knowing how Major League Baseball has dealt with similar issues in the past. It's all a matter of context. His suspension, if there is one, has to fit into the parameters of established precedent in MLB if not other sports. A lengthy suspension might cost him a larger percentage of his salary than the $100,000 was for Kobe Bryant. MLS gave Houston's Colin Clark a three game suspension. Roger McDowell, an Atlanta coach, was suspended for two weeks for multiple anti-gay and threatening comments to fans. I'm certainly expecting Escobar to be suspended, but there is established "jurisprudence", and the fine or suspension should fall within those parameters.

[LeeZ]

@Youngjames: Um...er...oh my. I...oh my. You've left me speechless, which, as readers of this blog will attest to, is indeed a rare feat. I...oh my.

[Cluck Kent]

Regardless of the context or interpretation, it was inexcusable if for no other reason than it was totally unnecessary.

And Youngjames, before you embarrass yourself too much, it's important that you understand that saying something with an intent to hurt is very different than simply quoting the words.

[Lorie]

Many years ago at a rummage sale I picked up a t-shirt for one of my kids. She was pretty young - I think about 9 or 10 at the time. On its front was a large Oriental symbol. When I got home and showed it to her, instead of being thrilled, she refused to wear it until she knew for certain the symbol didn't mean something hurtful or rude. We never did find out what that symbol meant. And the shirt was never worn. And having read Cathal's piece suggesting other translations for the word under Encarnacion's left eye, I'm thinking that even if Yunel meant to say "wuss" - but aware (and how could he not be) there was a possibility it could also be interpreted to mean something as hateful as "faggot", he should've never taken the chance. Something my 10-year old kid had already figured out.
And Ottawa pubs? (An aside: I've stayed at the Arc - and while the Starbucks in the lobby is a real plus - the rooms are beautiful but very compact. Sort of "David Crombie-ish". (...recalling a time when a Toronto mayor could be described as tiny and perfect...) You may want to explore an upgrade to luxury status.) The Lieutenant's Pump is one we frequent when up there....it's actually at the far end of Elgin from where you'll be staying, but the trip along Elgin's always a blast and this pub's open until 2am, so happy wandering! Cheers!

[Mike M]

I second the Union 613 recommendation. Especially if you're a fan of bourbon.

[Rob.V]

I'm not sure I have the right words this morning however if each and every one of you were to look back on your life I am 100% certain you would say you have done one or two stupid things in your life.
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Look, I don't watch the Jays, nor have I ever even heard this clowns name before however it sounds like a young kid making a really bad decision... geez, where have I seen that before??
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The kid (hopefully) will learn that this was in very poor taste and that he's only hurting himself by these silly actions.
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Either way, he's simply painted himself out to be a jack ass
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It's like someone using the C- word for a woman or the N word. These are simply words... they only harm the person who chooses to use them... no one else need take offense.

[Rob.V]

On a separate note: I will also say that I am somewhat bothered that I cannot type the C- word or the N word in full.... to simply make my point!
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We allow words to be MORE than what they are by acknowledging them.
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... and censorship just makes us small minded.

[Tim H.]

To Peter:

Read this: http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/article/1258218--was-yunel-escobar-s-face-painted-with-a-homophobic-slur-not-so-fast

[Bo4]

So far, pro sport precedent indicates a suspension without pay of 2 games to 2 weeks of games, OR $50K to $100K if you're an NBA player (that's sad).

[Peter]

To Tim H:

I understand your point. But there are a number of Spanish speaking people on that team. They can't claim ignorance. If you use an english slang in the comments section here, that can be interpreted in a very bad way, or a sort of bad way, someone will pick it up, even if Doug misses it. You can't write things like that if they could be interpreted in such a way.

The team will decide how to punish Escobar based on if they accept his explanation or not. But we are in position to judge him on our own, and Doug is certainly in position to write what he has written. So I still disagree when you say that Doug should have waited to hear from Escobar before he wrote what he wrote.

Players in Escobar's position have a responsibility to be aware of the messages that they give when they are in uniform (especially when they are in uniform!)

[Steve]

@Tim H: Yeah, and when English speakers say "faggot" they generally mean a bundle of sticks right?

[Kempsanity]

Hey Doug, D'Arcy McGee's is only a short walk away from Arc on Slater, not amazing but good and has some TV's and a cold Stella.