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Baltimore Orioles don’t have as many problems as some

By Domenic A. Vadala |

It’s been a tough season for the Baltimore Orioles; but that pales in comparison to what the Washington Nationals are going through with Jonathan Papelbon. We all saw the video or read the story of what happened yesterday. Papelbon started screaming at teammate Bryce Harper as he came off the field, claiming he didn’t run out a ball. Papelbon then proceeded to attack Harper when he argued back, causing a major scene in Washington’s dugout.

This obviously bears little relevance to the O’s, however it’s a league issue. Heck, I’d even call it a “sports issue” as a whole. Unequivocally, let me state that what Papelbon did was inexcusable on any level of sports. If you have an issue with something a teammate did between the lines, you speak to that person in private – not unlike how things should be handled in an office setting. But think about it; even in an office, would you want someone coming up to your cubicle and publicly calling you out (or assaulting you)?

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    • Your teammates need to be like your brothers. And while I don’t cover Washington, nor am I able to pay too much attention, from everything I can see they have a similar clubhouse to the Orioles. It seems that they have quite a few likeable players, most of whom seem to genuinely care about each other. So make no mistake about the fact that this incident doesn’t indicate that there’s trouble in that clubhouse.

    Courtesy of Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

    It’s almost worse than that; it indicates that there’s trouble with Papelbon. And one guy with that type of attitude can lead to trouble in the clubhouse. My point here is that the Orioles are fortunate not to have issues like this. On one hand some might say that it just shows how much Papelbon wants to win and won’t accept losing, literally going to battle against one of your “brothers in arms” is never acceptible.

    And that’s been the reaction to this incident for the most part. I haven’t seen one person stepping up to defend Papelbon or his actions. For the most part, he’s a guy who wore out his welcome both in Boston and in Philadelphia. In fact when he was traded to Washington, he took a shot at Philadelphia on the way out by saying that they “don’t want to win there.” That team that didn’t want to win beat up on hi pretty badly yesterday.

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    But at the end of the day, this isn’t about wins and losses. Most fans care only about that, however managers and GM’s have to look at how a player is going to affect their clubhouse when they’re brought in. That’s why teams like the Orioles scrutinze personalities so much. And that’s not to say that Washington’s GM should be held accountable for this or for bringing Papelbon in. While Papelbon’s had his issues over the years, you couldn’t see something like this coming.

    The sick thing for Washington is that Papelbon is under contract for 2016. But if I were them I’d DFA him and then literally go to court to get his contract disolved so that they don’t have to pay him. While I do respect the fact that baseball players’ contracts are gauranteed, you’d be remiss not to say that Papelbon’s actions weren’t detrimental. Again, translate that to an office settin – conducting oneself in that manner would probably get that person fired.

    I suspect that there are conduct clauses in Papelbon’s contract, and in my personal opinion putting your hands around a teammate’s neck would be cause for termination. While for the most part they have a fairly close-knit clubhouse, neither Washington nor any other team can win with an attitude like his in their midst.

    Next: Baltimore Orioles: 7 more wins could do it

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