Painful admission that it may be, I must caution you not to believe everything you read on the subject of Danny Ainge, particularly if it comes in the form of an hysterical diatribe authored by a baseball-writing colleague of mine who apparently believes the Boston Celtics are too beloved a local concern to receive proper journalistic scrutiny.
To hear Peter Gammons tell it, the Celtics are amoral to the nth degree, Ainge is the sneering embodiment of what Mr. Gammons refers to as the "Me and Renegotiation Generations" and the Toronto Blue Jays are the virtuous guardians of public morality. Anyone reading Gammons' fulmination this newspaper chose to print on Aug. 29 would be moved to dispatch a suitcase full of handkerchiefs northward, the better to absorb the crocodile tears shed by the Blue Jays, who - again according to Mr. Gammons - are merely fighting to preserve the sanctity of the contract and are, we must inevitably conclude, not remotely interested in any sort of financial remuneration. (I quote the diamond scribe as follows ". . . Blue Jays are right and I, for one, am damn glad they're willing to pursue this thing for the principle.")
Well, principle can't hit the deuce, or, for that matter, throw in an open 18-footer, and the Blue Jays aren't fighting for principle. Would you like to know the either-or from Toronto's standpoint? It's very simple. Either the Blue Jays believe that Danny Ainge is worth fighting for as a baseball player, or they wish to extract every cent possible from the Celtics in order to release him from what is apparently a valid contract. Principle, schminciple. Does anyone honestly believe Toronto would care to keep employing an unhappy third baseman whose mind was 500 miles and one sport away merely to preserve the principle of the contract?
Here is the situation as I see it. Up to, and including, his last college basketball game, Danny Ainge had every intention of playing baseball, or, as Mr. Gammons would put it, maintaining his commitment to the Blue Jays. But by June 9, the situation had changed significantly. Ainge was no longer a low first-round draft pick in basketball. His spectacular senior season at Brigham Young (24 points a game, plus an heroic postseason) had made him a top five selection. Being college educated, Ainge was capable of reading in the public prints about the astronomical salary figures being awarded such mediocrities as James Edwards. Being drafted by Boston meant not only that he could join a championship basketball team, but one which soon will have a need for a guard. Last, and certainly by no means least, Ainge was struggling at the plate, a struggle that still exists. At this writing, Ainge was hitting .188 with no home runs and 14 runs batted in this season, and .218 with two homers and 37 RBIs lifetime (660 at-bats covering parts of three seasons).
Officially, his batting problems do not enter into the discussion. His agent, Eugene, Ore., attorney Bob Quinney, says he asked Ainge if he would feel the way he does now about investigating a basketball career were he hitting .310, and Ainge answered in the affirmative. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, publicly maintain that Ainge can hit major-league pitching. "We think he can be an outstanding player," insists Toronto vice president Pat Gillick. "He has good bat speed; he just needs more experience. There is no reason why he can't hit in the majors."
Moreover, Ainge has never admitted that he can't hit. "Danny still hasn't been to spring training," Quinney points out, "and he doesn't like to admit that he might not be a hitter."
Make of all this what you will, but I cannot believe Ainge would be as interested in basketball as he now is were he not wallowing in the .100s at the plate. And remember that the highest Ainge has hit anywhere in his career was .248 in Syracuse back in 1979.
The point is that since Ainge signed his latest baseball contract, things have changed. What seemed so clear last winter, or even last March, is very unclear now. All Ainge is asking to do at the moment is see what his basketball situation is. For their part, the Celtics had the foresight to draft Ainge and they are doing what is best for their franchise by pursuing a potentially valuable player. Ainge, according to Quinney, has volunteered to refund the $300,000 in bonus money he has already collected from Toronto if need be. The Celtics never have implied they would fail to satisfy the Blue Jays financially. So what's the big deal? Does removing a .188 hitter from a last-place ball club constitute a criminal act? It rather sounds to me as if the citizens of Toronto should be applauding Boston's action as the best thing to happen to their city since construction of the CN Tower.
This is not a matter of ethics, and the issue is not the alleged sacrosanct nature of the Celtics' relationship with the local media. If Ainge is to be believed, it was Toronto that acted in a dubious ethical manner by inserting, at the 11th hour, a very restrictive clause in his contract, taking full advantage of Ainge's lack of proper legal counsel at the time. Ethics? What is ethical about preventing Ainge from changing careers if the Blue Jays are properly compensated financially, especially when no one can seriously argue that the franchise has been dealt a serious setback? This isn't a matter of Good Guys and Bad Guys. It's a matter of business and common sense.
To Mr. Gammons, I propose the following scenario: There exists on an NBA roster as a 12th man a mediocre 6-foot-6 power forward, a very marginal player, who also happens to be the next Rich Gossage. Were the Red Sox lax in pursuing such a prospect, I need only guess who would be the first person castigating them for their front-office ineptitude.
Officially, Ainge hasn't committed himself to basketball over baseball; he has said only that now he isn't sure what he wants to do. Who knows? He may not even be worth the fuss. Instead of being the next Jerry West, he could turn out to be the next Rex Morgan. But if he and the Celtics are willing to accommodate Toronto financially, why shouldn't the young man have the opportunity to play basketball? The decision should rightfully be his alone. However, if it would please Toronto to invoke the Ainge contract to the extent of having him sit home in Eugene rather than play either sport, then I would submit that the Blue Jays have a curious set of, er, principles.
To hear Peter Gammons tell it, the Celtics are amoral to the nth degree, Ainge is the sneering embodiment of what Mr. Gammons refers to as the "Me and Renegotiation Generations" and the Toronto Blue Jays are the virtuous guardians of public morality. Anyone reading Gammons' fulmination this newspaper chose to print on Aug. 29 would be moved to dispatch a suitcase full of handkerchiefs northward, the better to absorb the crocodile tears shed by the Blue Jays, who - again according to Mr. Gammons - are merely fighting to preserve the sanctity of the contract and are, we must inevitably conclude, not remotely interested in any sort of financial remuneration. (I quote the diamond scribe as follows ". . . Blue Jays are right and I, for one, am damn glad they're willing to pursue this thing for the principle.")
Well, principle can't hit the deuce, or, for that matter, throw in an open 18-footer, and the Blue Jays aren't fighting for principle. Would you like to know the either-or from Toronto's standpoint? It's very simple. Either the Blue Jays believe that Danny Ainge is worth fighting for as a baseball player, or they wish to extract every cent possible from the Celtics in order to release him from what is apparently a valid contract. Principle, schminciple. Does anyone honestly believe Toronto would care to keep employing an unhappy third baseman whose mind was 500 miles and one sport away merely to preserve the principle of the contract?
Here is the situation as I see it. Up to, and including, his last college basketball game, Danny Ainge had every intention of playing baseball, or, as Mr. Gammons would put it, maintaining his commitment to the Blue Jays. But by June 9, the situation had changed significantly. Ainge was no longer a low first-round draft pick in basketball. His spectacular senior season at Brigham Young (24 points a game, plus an heroic postseason) had made him a top five selection. Being college educated, Ainge was capable of reading in the public prints about the astronomical salary figures being awarded such mediocrities as James Edwards. Being drafted by Boston meant not only that he could join a championship basketball team, but one which soon will have a need for a guard. Last, and certainly by no means least, Ainge was struggling at the plate, a struggle that still exists. At this writing, Ainge was hitting .188 with no home runs and 14 runs batted in this season, and .218 with two homers and 37 RBIs lifetime (660 at-bats covering parts of three seasons).
Officially, his batting problems do not enter into the discussion. His agent, Eugene, Ore., attorney Bob Quinney, says he asked Ainge if he would feel the way he does now about investigating a basketball career were he hitting .310, and Ainge answered in the affirmative. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, publicly maintain that Ainge can hit major-league pitching. "We think he can be an outstanding player," insists Toronto vice president Pat Gillick. "He has good bat speed; he just needs more experience. There is no reason why he can't hit in the majors."
Moreover, Ainge has never admitted that he can't hit. "Danny still hasn't been to spring training," Quinney points out, "and he doesn't like to admit that he might not be a hitter."
Make of all this what you will, but I cannot believe Ainge would be as interested in basketball as he now is were he not wallowing in the .100s at the plate. And remember that the highest Ainge has hit anywhere in his career was .248 in Syracuse back in 1979.
The point is that since Ainge signed his latest baseball contract, things have changed. What seemed so clear last winter, or even last March, is very unclear now. All Ainge is asking to do at the moment is see what his basketball situation is. For their part, the Celtics had the foresight to draft Ainge and they are doing what is best for their franchise by pursuing a potentially valuable player. Ainge, according to Quinney, has volunteered to refund the $300,000 in bonus money he has already collected from Toronto if need be. The Celtics never have implied they would fail to satisfy the Blue Jays financially. So what's the big deal? Does removing a .188 hitter from a last-place ball club constitute a criminal act? It rather sounds to me as if the citizens of Toronto should be applauding Boston's action as the best thing to happen to their city since construction of the CN Tower.
This is not a matter of ethics, and the issue is not the alleged sacrosanct nature of the Celtics' relationship with the local media. If Ainge is to be believed, it was Toronto that acted in a dubious ethical manner by inserting, at the 11th hour, a very restrictive clause in his contract, taking full advantage of Ainge's lack of proper legal counsel at the time. Ethics? What is ethical about preventing Ainge from changing careers if the Blue Jays are properly compensated financially, especially when no one can seriously argue that the franchise has been dealt a serious setback? This isn't a matter of Good Guys and Bad Guys. It's a matter of business and common sense.
To Mr. Gammons, I propose the following scenario: There exists on an NBA roster as a 12th man a mediocre 6-foot-6 power forward, a very marginal player, who also happens to be the next Rich Gossage. Were the Red Sox lax in pursuing such a prospect, I need only guess who would be the first person castigating them for their front-office ineptitude.
Officially, Ainge hasn't committed himself to basketball over baseball; he has said only that now he isn't sure what he wants to do. Who knows? He may not even be worth the fuss. Instead of being the next Jerry West, he could turn out to be the next Rex Morgan. But if he and the Celtics are willing to accommodate Toronto financially, why shouldn't the young man have the opportunity to play basketball? The decision should rightfully be his alone. However, if it would please Toronto to invoke the Ainge contract to the extent of having him sit home in Eugene rather than play either sport, then I would submit that the Blue Jays have a curious set of, er, principles.
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