While (sort of) enjoying a sick day this week, I happened to catch a day in the life of Matt Holiday behind-the-scenes on Comcast Bay Area. All told, it was B- entertainment value, C+ education value and surprisingly, quite telling as to the psychological limbo the one time batting champ now finds himself in while playing for Oakland.
Holliday looked uneasy when asked to discuss his new situation. His anxiety was thinly veiled behind a facade of optimsm as he conducted a sports radio interview by cell phone at his Malibu home (one can hardly expect he'd move his family to Oakland). So shaken up was the slugger that he actually thought he was fooling the listener by claiming he was happy with the move. He was glad to be playing for an entirely new team... for one year.
It must be tough, to be traded without warning in a contract year... to go from one of the best hitters parks in the majors to the #1 worst. The world must look a little different in the AL, wearing white shoes and being the highest paid player on one of the smallest payrolls in the game. It must feel like the rug has been pulled under you when you've just gambled by turning down a 4 year, $82MM extension for promise of even bigger dollars, and now those dollars are less certain.
It doesn't take a genius to offer an amateur blogger's psych profile: he feels deflated and cheated. He feels like his destiny has been taken out of his hands. He feels powerless. Naturally, his psyche projects onto his performance, and his hitting has been just that: powerless. Batting a pedestrian .240, with 12 stikeouts, Matt Holliday in green and gold is a far cry from the stud power hitter from Colorado. I guess feeling powerless can be tough.
Well you know what? Boo fuckin' Hoo. It's May 1st and Holiday has 1 home run to show for his $13 million dollar salary. That is both highly unexpected and totally unacceptable. All shake-ups aside, this is pro baseball, and he is a professional. The uniform should be irrelevant when it comes to production, especially in a contract year. If he still has his eyes on that big 7 year deal, Holliday’s next team will not accept excuses for an unprecedented drop in numbers. He needs to quit sulking and pick it up. Now.
The Mark Texieras and A-rods of the game can thank consistency for their record payouts. Well, consistency and Scott Boras. Without solid, regular numbers, player profiles can go from legendary to above-average in a heartbeat. Above-average players get 3 year deals. Legends get 8 figures. Holliday's contract extension offer from Colorado was fair and then some. He elected to let his bat do the talking and homer his way to legend status and legend dollars.... which was great until he was traded away to Oakland. Surprise!
Maybe Colorado felt snubbed. Maybe they knew they couldn't afford him as a free agent. Maybe they saw a chance to rebuild their roster in one feel swoop. Whatever the reason, the Rockies were somehow convinced to deal the face of their franchise to the A's. Holliday's opinion was not solicited.
The A's made an equally bold gamble in trading away 3 of our most promising young ballers in exchange for the slugger. Carlos Gonzales, Greg Smith and 2005 rookie of the year Huston Street made up what looked like a substantial personnel upgrade for Colorado. That trade seems to have worked out in Oakland's favor, as none of the youngsters has yet earned a starting spot.
So here he is. Point of no return. Holliday didn't ask for a trade, but he got one. He didn't ask for a monkeywrench in the gears of his well oiled, high altitude offensive machine... but nonetheless, here he is playing west coast mechanic with a bat. Attitude affects confidence, and confidence is everything in this game where performance pays. It's a compeptive game and a cut throat business, and there are no contracts awarded on goodwill (except for maybe Mike Sweeney). If Matt Holliday feels he's worth the biggest free agent contract of 2009, he's going to need to need to hit a few more homers than 1.
But hey... the season is still young, and the value of the trade for both sides has yet to be determined long term. Players go through slumps and hot spells alike. The future is anyone's guess, but one thing is clear: Matt Holliday looks unsettled, and he has a very limited amount of time to get comfy.
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