TAMPA — The last time a Big Three like this hit Florida, LeBron James was taking his “talents to South Beach” and firing up a glitzy pep rally by promising “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…” titles.
Actually, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances look like a pretty formidable frontcourt and, of course, project to something way more imposing on the mound.
They may not bring two or three or four titles, but they are reason No. 1 to believe the Yankees have a shot at a parade in 2016.
And at a time when the Mets are in the midst of wresting New York from the Yankees and the guys in pinstripes cannot sell the familiar star power/glitz, the trio’s electric end game is what can distinguish this team. The final three innings could become must-see TV, a strikeout-athon, the Nastier Boys come to life.
But first everyone has to come to peace with having Chapman around, because he does not exactly come to New York with a pristine reputation to go along with a 103-mph fastball.
He is, in fact, only a Yankee because the Dodgers backed out of a trade and his value plummeted following revelations that he was alleged to have choked his girlfriend and fired eight gunshots in his garage. Charges were never filed. Nevertheless, Chapman said Thursday he did not dispute anything from the police report filed Oct. 30 in Davie, Fla., though that could have been a language issue even with a translator.
Regardless of formal charges, Commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to use powers gained in a new domestic abuse protocol to suspend Chapman, with a ruling expected before the end of spring. Manfred does not need charges to deliver a suspension, and the gun allegations combined with the domestic abuse allegations means that it could be for more than the 10 to 15 games so many are suspecting.
Chapman said he would appeal a suspension.
Look, in sports, I think fans talk morality, but have generally checked theirs at the door, coming up with whatever rationale necessary to root for their guy: Barry Bonds in San Francscio, Mark McGwire in St. Louis and, yep, Alex Rodriguez in New York. The only thing requested is quality play and then pretty much all else is forgiven, so if Chapman — when he does pitch — dominates as he has in the past, he will at least win the precincts in The Bronx vicinity.
But as was exemplified on reporting day, this is not a marriage that begins comfortably. Speaking in front of his locker in an air-conditioned locker room, Chapman dripped sweat from his forehead as if doing push-ups in a sauna during 10 minutes of questions, mainly about the abuse allegations and the potential suspension. Each new question on these subjects turned Chapman another shade of dour.
In his annual camp-opening, state-of-the-team news conference, Girardi at first described anticipating a “boring” camp and “a regular spring training.” But he must not have been fully prepared for the onslaught of Chapman questions as he talked about the difficulty of marriage and not having others turn their backs on him at bad moments — as if all bad moments are created equal. And — as he often does — Girardi tied himself up trying to sidestep what he is uncomfortable discussing.
For example, he said he had yet to read the police report filed on Chapman. If true, that makes no sense. He has to manage the guy. This is an incredibly prepared manager. Why would he decide not to know what was in the report? If he did read the report, then he decided to publicly lie.
Which all seems silly. The truth is evident and not embarrassing to say aloud: The job is to win, talented players help teams win and Chapman is among the most talented in the world. He was offered to the Yankees for mild or non-prospects. They did their due diligence and became at least semi-comfortable that it was worth taking a risk at that price, though they did not have clarity and there may never be full clarity on this. They will pray that there is no Ray Rice moment in which even worse information surfaces. They will hope that the suspension is limited and that Chapman behaves well and that women’s groups, in particular, do not protest and hurt business.
“We made the transaction, so that answers that question [if they were comfortable making it],” Brian Cashman said.
It might all work. Chapman might get cheered in New York, allow the Nastier Boys to flourish in full, maybe even get the Yankees some electricity in the stands and a parade at season’s end.
But let’s not kid ourselves: The only reason the Yankees got to bring Chapman’s talents to Tampa is because he is not to be trusted.