Dmitri Young — He said, they said, I said
posted in 2007 season, players |Dmitri Young is a guy we all want to root for. A loyal Tiger during the down years, a funny guy, a nice guy for the most part, and I even remember he did something on Oprah in 2004 for a fan.
He reveal yesterday he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. (Hat tip Jason Beck). DY blamed it for his problems with his weight and vision, as well as his mood swings. It nearly killed him, he said. He just wanted a second chance n the MLB and the downtrodden Washington Nationals were happy to do that for him, a nice “buy low” strategy by Jim Bowden.
But he had to get a parting shot at the Tigers.
DY: “I must say [the Tigers] were probably saving their own tail because they thought that the whole court thing there was going to be a distraction for a team that was winning,” Young said. “I thought it was [wrong] on their part, especially the time that I spent with the Tigers and represented them in a positive manner. I would have figured they would support me in the same manner but they didn’t.
I was taken aback by these comments. This team went out of its way to give him a second chance that season, despite the fact he caused his own problems. In the article, he admits a judge ordered him not to leave the Detroit area for 30 days. And he represented them in a positive manner? Does he want a reward for doing what is expected of him? And then there’s that thing with choking a woman, to which plead no contest . Ballplayers aren’t angels, but we should hold them to some standard of decency above that. Being a perennially losing team is not fun, but it does not equate what he did.
Anyway, that’s my opinion. Jim Leyland responded today, too, per Jason Beck update.
Leyland: “(Y)ou can hold me totally responsible for the dismissal of Dmitri Young. Don’t put it on the organization. Don’t put it on anybody else. I did not feel that Dmitri’s performance on the field was an asset to this organization, and it broke my heart. We wanted a left-handed hitter all year. Dmitri Young was a guy that I was counting on. The part that upsets me is this guy missed a lot of the season taking care of a problem that he created, not that the Tigers created.
“I really like him. But if you want to know the truth, it appears that Dmitri feels the organization disappointed him. And I’m sorry he feels that way, but I feel like Dmitri disappointed us. It’s a non-issue. He’s got a new lease on life and he’s on another club now and I wish him the best.”
Update: Apparently he also called it a cheap shot and the comments were not quite that sanitized, per John Lowe
.
I never expected I’d be posting about DY in 2007. Meathook — and I know you aren’t really reading — stay happy, stay healthy, and have a productive year. You’ll have a lot of people rooting for you this year. But remember you’re always better off when you don’t blame others for your circumstances.
