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 in regards to 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 once I did my ears perked proper up. Deep inside a Tampa Bay Instances article in regards to 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 signifies that We Tried season is formally underway. For the uninitiated, We Tried is what groups generally inform their beat reporters after a free agent they coveted indicators with one other workforce. The beat reporters dutifully report this retrospective curiosity to their readers. It’s a weird ritual, but it surely’s additionally lots of enjoyable (except you have been a fan of the Mets throughout the Wilpon Period, wherein case I apologize for not together with a set off warning on the high of this text).
Just one workforce will get to signal every free agent, however each workforce is free to announce publicly that they needed that free agent and to take action in no matter language they select. The Phillies have been reportedly in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Purple 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 desirous 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 provide of $35, limitless soda from the merchandising machine, and two of these actually large pumpkins you see on the state honest.
“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 bit realized.” MLB entrance places of work agree with him. Organizations usually go to absurd lengths with a view to preserve their best-laid plans secret, however as soon as these plans gang agley, they’re very happy to guarantee that the general public awards partial credit score for them. The transfer carries no actual danger. These experiences nearly by no means point out the identify of the chief 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 reliable causes for saying to the world that they have been in on a free agent. To start with, it would merely be the reality, and telling the reality is mostly a superb factor. It could possibly be a sign to your followers or your present gamers that you just’re actually going for it and that good instances are coming. It could possibly be a sign to different free brokers that you just’re open for enterprise. Sadly, groups even have loads of shadier causes. A workforce 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 a view to preserve greasing the skids of a transactional relationship. Typically groups need to make a participant look dangerous, or to not-so-subtly intimate that the workforce that signed them overpaid.
There’s no restrict to the variety of methods to announce that you just tried. You may say that you just had curiosity in a participant, that you just met with them, that you just had talks, that you just have been in on them, that you just have been concerned, that you just have been near a deal, that you just couldn’t comply with phrases. Because the Rays did with d’Aarnaud, you possibly can even present a cause behind the participant’s resolution that conveniently absolves you of duty. 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 notably bizarre side of this observe. How typically do you hear uber-competitive entrance workplace varieties announce to the general public at massive that they tried and failed at something? They’ll solely accomplish that when it may additionally imply making them look good (or making another person look dangerous).
Over at Jon Becker’s indispensable Free Agent Matrices, you could find a color-coded spreadsheet that breaks down each workforce’s curiosity stage 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. Bear in mind the film Dave, when Dave calls his pal 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 consider that Becker might 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 actual fact. Identical to Becker, I’ve created a spreadsheet to maintain tabs on all the things. It’s easy now, however we’ll trick it out as soon as issues get going. Perhaps we’ll color-code issues too. Mauve might imply “We have been concerned.” Chartreuse might imply “We have been , however we weren’t about to pay as a lot as these jabronis did.” Fuchsia might 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 on your assist. For those who see a We Tried, let me know on social media. For those who don’t have social media, ship me an e-mail at WeTriedTracker@gmail.com. Sure, that’s an actual e-mail handle and I can 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 essentially the most We Trieds. We’ll doc the totally different ways in which groups categorical the sentiment. Collectively, we are able to make this offseason 10% extra enjoyable and at the very least 20% extra silly.
