MLB | Cannot believe that this LaRoche fiasco has continued

We’re talking next-level silliness here.

Forget the fact that the Adam LaRoche retirement due to Chicago White Sox management, in particular executive VP Ken Williams, determining that, hey, you know what, our work place is not a full-time daycare service and will no longer be used as such created any stir at all, the pathetic reality that it continues to make headlines or continue to fuel ill feelings toward the club is beyond any conceivable rationale.
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Really, “Normal” Joe Sixpack, you got a problem with an overpaid, pampered athlete not being extended the extraordinary privilege of total access/father-son time erasing any line between professional and personal lives?

You sure, fellow multi-millionaire athletes, that it bothers you when a colleague no longer has carte blanche on something, taking a courtesy gesture from the front office to the utmost extreme with not a single consideration given to your own preferences?

Get real, all of you griping about this “atrocity” to family-first parenting.

Gotta give credit to LaRoche with presenting his side of the story on Friday, via TwitLonger.

His words, or those crafted by an agent on his behalf, are well-written, and on the surface serve the purpose of presenting the former first baseman as an overall good guy and great dad. Unfortunately, they’re also BS.

Just passive-aggressive manipulation in typed form to keep the emotionally charged and hero-worshipping in his corner.

A couple excerpts and their translations ...

• What LaRoche said: Over the last five years, with both the Nationals and the White Sox, I have been given the opportunity to have my son with me in the clubhouse. It is a privilege I have greatly valued. I have never taken it for granted, and I feel an enormous amount of gratitude toward both of those organizations.
• What he meant: I’m a major-leaguer, deserve special treatment and do not believe it ever should be rescinded under any circumstance. Those teams should be grateful to have benefitted from my services.
• What LaRoche said: Though I clearly indicated to both teams the importance of having my son with me, I also made clear that if there was ever a moment when a teammate, coach or manager was made to feel uncomfortable, then I would immediately address it. I realize that this is their office and their career, and it would not be fair to the team if anybody in the clubhouse was unhappy with the situation. Fortunately, that problem never developed.
• What he meant: I’m a major-leaguer, deserve special treatment and do not give a rat’s ass about anyone else or their comfort level.
• What LaRoche said: The White Sox organization is full of people with strong values and solid character. My decision to walk away was simply the result of a fundamental disagreement between myself and Ken Williams.
• What he meant: Ken Williams is a d-bag and, if not for him, I’d still be playing.

Yo, sometimes you gotta cut through the crap, and LaRoche is shoveling it to a serious degree, which is not surprising when you consider that his reaction to a more-than-reasonable request by the Sox has led to this convoluted crusade about family values when we’re talking about a work environment that, rightly so, can be dictated by an employer if it chooses to do so.

Not for nothing, but even LaRoche explained that his “agreement” with the Sox in regards to his son being allowed to be around so often was in 2015 … and guess what happened when they, after receiving complaints from players and staff members about the Always Around Son, sought to make things more comfy in 2016 for the majority instead of just LaRoche. He balked and bolted.

Good. The Sox, regardless of Chris Sale’s bitching, now can get to work.

​- Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]  

Yo, sometimes you gotta cut through the crap, and LaRoche is shoveling it to a serious degree, which is not surprising when you consider that his reaction to a more-than-reasonable request by the Sox has led to this convoluted crusade about family values when we’re talking about a work environment that, rightly so, can be dictated by an employer if it chooses to do so.​