As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, in the case of this beauty taken on Sunday when Pablo Sandoval reported for duty in Fort Myers, you could say the picture is worth a thousand calories, or maybe POUNDS!!
Following a successful career in San Francisco, the Kung Fu Panda agreed to terms with the Boston Red Sox on a five year $90 million contract. He came to Beantown last year with fellow big money free agent flop, Hanley Ramirez. Don’t get me started on Han Ram and his “commitment” to learning the art of playing first base. He was so eager to get going that he forgot to bring his glove with him!! But I digress, this blog is saved for the blob that showed up for spring training in the condition he did. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a “professional” athlete; one that will be paid handsomely for his “efforts”. Even more galling to me, however, were his answers to the questions about his weight and his need to improve upon his disastrous 2015 campaign:
“I don’t weigh myself, I don’t weigh myself at all. I just do my work and try to do everything I can. I don’t weigh myself all off-season. I just tried to get better and be an athlete.”
“No, I don’t got nothing to prove, I just prepare myself to perform well, for my teammates to perform well, to try to get to the World Series. That’s what I’m doing. I put some goals in my mind, and I’m working hard to get it done on the field.”
Really Pablo? As a fan of the Boston Red Sox, I’m red faced! I must admit that I might feel differently if last year the Panda hit .310, with 20 homers, and 90 RBI’s. His act would be a little easier to “stomach” if that were the case. But, it is not. If you look at his “body” of work in the major offensive categories over the last five years, his numbers are the only thing about him that are shrinking. Across the board last year – .245 BA, 10 HR’s, 43 RBI’s, .292 OBP, .366 SLG, .658 OPS, his results were all career lows. This is all the more reason why his cavalier attitude about this is unacceptable to me. Somehow, though, his manager, John Farrell, team President, Dave Dombrowski, and team owner, John Henry, were quick to rush to his defense. They pointed out that in the past, Sandoval has never looked like Jack LaLanne on the diamond. They said the organization never gave him an exact reporting weight, and Henry himself was rather pleased with portly Pablo’s 17% body fat. Ladies and gentlemen, the inmates are truly running the asylum!
To me, this is preposterous! If I were owner of the Sawx, I would have sent him home until he was better prepared to acquit himself at third base and the plate, no not that kind of plate. The Red Sox have many questions to answer this spring like: will David Ortiz be able to mash for one more year, who is their fifth starter, will the real Rusney Castillo please stand up, etc.. The last thing they needed was Sandoval’s self-inflicted pandemonium.
And that is My 2 Sense for this week.
Photos: www.bostonherald.com
