Many people thought that the Yoenis Cespedes would sign with the Marlins. He’s Cuban! It’s Miami! It fits so perfectly! And then it didn’t happen, of course.
In light of all of the Ozzie Guillen stuff, it seems pretty smart, no? Because who would want any part of that minefield? Not Cespedes, that’s for sure. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:“Miami’s very political, and he feels more at ease, more relaxed here,” said Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, the longtime announcer who’s working on the A’s Spanish broadcasts this year. “When I met (Céspedes), I said, ‘I will not ask you anything political.’ He said, ‘Even if you did, I won’t talk about it.’
“From that indication, he doesn’t want to get involved. He just wants to play ball. He could be idolized in Miami, but the pressure would be humongous ... The Marlins never had a big Cuban superstar (hitter). He could be a hero on that team, but if he lays an egg, the pressure could be bigger than in Oakland.”
Pressure to perform, sure. But what happens the first time he does a putatively fluff interview for the Sunday insert and says something like “I met Castro at a state dinner once. He could really dance well” and he doesn’t back that up with a condemnation of his policies?
He doesn’t need that kind of trouble.
