Final week, the Angels introduced that they’d signed catcher Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. I used to be on trip on the time and I didn’t hear concerning the transfer till later. In truth, I didn’t give it some thought an excessive amount of as soon as I did hear about it. Nevertheless, I heard instantly about what occurred on Sunday, and after I did my ears perked proper up. Deep inside a Tampa Bay Occasions article concerning the Rays’ housing disaster, Marc Topkin buried a gem: “The Rays had curiosity in” d’Arnaud. Why is that minor element so consequential? As a result of it implies that We Tried season is formally underway. For the uninitiated, We Tried is what groups typically inform their beat reporters after a free agent they coveted indicators with one other group. The beat reporters dutifully report this retrospective curiosity to their readers. It’s a weird ritual, nevertheless it’s additionally plenty of enjoyable (until you had been a fan of the Mets through the Wilpon Period, through which case I apologize for not together with a set off warning on the high of this text).
Just one group will get to signal every free agent, however each group is free to announce publicly that they needed that free agent and to take action in no matter language they select. The Phillies had been reportedly in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Pink Sox had curiosity in Kodai Senga. Topkin’s report included the tidbit that d’Arnaud didn’t signal with the Rays as a result of he “supposedly needed to get again to his native southern California.” Frankly, there’s no cause to restrict this to baseball groups. Anyone can do it. For instance, I can formally report that I used to be serious about Michael Wacha. Sadly, he determined to return to the Royals for a number of million {dollars} earlier than I had time to make my opening supply of $35, limitless soda from the merchandising machine, and two of these actually massive pumpkins you see on the state truthful.
“Plans are actual issues and never expertise,” wrote John Steinbeck. “A wealthy life is wealthy in plans. In the event that they don’t come off, they’re nonetheless a bit of bit realized.” MLB entrance workplaces agree with him. Organizations usually go to absurd lengths with the intention to preserve their best-laid plans secret, however as soon as these plans gang agley, they’re more than pleased to be sure that the general public awards partial credit score for them. The transfer carries no actual threat. These studies virtually by no means point out the identify of the manager who made the declare, and even when the declare is unfaithful, the free agent in query often has little cause to refute it.
Groups typically have professional causes for asserting to the world that they had been in on a free agent. To begin with, it would merely be the reality, and telling the reality is mostly factor. It may very well be a sign to your followers or your present gamers that you simply’re actually going for it and that good instances are coming. It may very well be a sign to different free brokers that you simply’re open for enterprise. Sadly, groups even have loads of shadier causes. A group may simply say it to make themselves seem extra related than they are surely. Typically it’s only a matter of feeding a reporter innocent data with the intention to preserve greasing the skids of a transactional relationship. Typically groups need to make a participant look unhealthy, or to not-so-subtly intimate that the group that signed them overpaid.
There’s no restrict to the variety of methods to announce that you simply tried. You possibly can say that you simply had curiosity in a participant, that you simply met with them, that you simply had talks, that you simply had been in on them, that you simply had been concerned, that you simply had been near a deal, that you simply couldn’t comply with phrases. Because the Rays did with d’Aarnaud, you possibly can even present a cause behind the participant’s choice that conveniently absolves you of accountability. Nevertheless you sofa issues, the message is identical: We tried. We failed. We alerted the press as a result of we needed the entire world to learn about our failure. That’s one significantly bizarre aspect of this observe. How typically do you hear uber-competitive entrance workplace varieties announce to the general public at giant that they tried and failed at something? They’ll solely achieve this when it may also imply making them look good (or making another person look unhealthy).
Over at Jon Becker’s indispensable Free Agent Matrices, yow will discover a color-coded spreadsheet that breaks down each group’s curiosity degree in each free agent utilizing 11 totally different classes. And that’s only one tab. The Matrix is – and I say this with nothing however admiration – a monument to the absurdity of the sport we love and a piece of absolute insanity. Keep in mind the film Dave, when Dave calls his good friend Murray into the White Home to eat bratwurst and discover $650 million within the federal finances? After perusing the 16 totally different tabs of the Matrices, I genuinely imagine that Becker may stability the finances and repair the deficit in a single afternoon even with out the bratwurst.
So right here’s what I suggest: We create a We Tried Tracker. We’re going to steal Becker’s concept, however our matrix is solely for groups that announce that they tried to signal a participant after the very fact. Identical to Becker, I’ve created a spreadsheet to maintain tabs on every little thing. It’s easy now, however we’ll trick it out as soon as issues get going. Possibly we’ll color-code issues too. Mauve may imply “We had been concerned.” Chartreuse may imply “We had been , however we weren’t about to pay as a lot as these jabronis did.” Fuchsia may imply “We preferred the reduce of his jib, however the seas are tough on the market and our boat is so little.”
I can’t do that alone. I’m positive I’ll miss a We Tried right here or there, so I’m formally asking to your assist. When you see a We Tried, let me know on social media. When you don’t have social media, ship me an e-mail at WeTriedTracker@gmail.com. Sure, that’s an actual e-mail handle and I will likely be monitoring it. Please be part of the ridiculous factor that we’re constructing. If and when the We Tried market actually heats up, I’ll present updates. We’ll preserve a leaderboard of the groups and gamers that execute and incite probably the most We Trieds. We’ll doc the totally different ways in which groups specific the sentiment. Collectively, we are able to make this offseason 10% extra enjoyable and not less than 20% extra silly.