Yes, it was the first day of the Winter Meetings yesterday. This year, it is in the Gaylord Opryland, which, like the TARDIS, is bigger on the inside than it is the outside.
And that means a lot of Baseball Twitter got lost, found interesting things, or became one with nature:
I have no idea where I am… #WinterMeetings pic.twitter.com/9XJGWmiRVO
— Chris Rodriguez (@chrisrod13) December 6, 2015
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Vastly underestimated degree of difficulty in finding my room at Opryland. No sherpa. Ate scraps off room service trays for strength. — Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) December 7, 2015
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This place is massive. I expect to get lost at least 7 times. #WinterMeetings pic.twitter.com/aUM71e5XZu
— David Lauterbach (@LauterbachDavid) December 6, 2015
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The Opryland: Where you can commune with nature while pondering your Rule 5 Draft strategy. https://t.co/LNP8MIj0gt — Benjamin Hill (@bensbiz) December 7, 2015
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why is this place so big i need google maps inside the convention center
— Lindsey Adler (@Lahlahlindsey) December 7, 2015
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Inside the Opryland Biosphere at baseball’s winter meetings. pic.twitter.com/i4fGrr2RmJ — Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) December 7, 2015
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However, eventually stuff started happening. For example, as I mentioned yesterday, the Veteran’s Committee failed to elect anybody. Chad Finn was quite disappointed they ignored one of the best old-timer candidates:
Disappointed that the Veterans Committee neglected to elect Bartolo Colon to the Hall of Fame today.
— Chad Finn (@GlobeChadFinn) December 7, 2015
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The Veterans Committee remains top notch at doing absolutely nothing. https://t.co/aUi5R1OjOC — Jon Tayler (@JATayler) December 7, 2015
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LOL, they’re not inducting anyone. This entire press conference was worthless.
— Joe Lucia (@Joe_TOC) December 7, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe biggest story of the day, though, was the strange (and sad) case of the Aroldis Chapman trade. It started innocently enough, with Ken Rosenthal (as is tradition) breaking the story:
BREAKING: #Dodgers agree to acquire Chapman from #Reds for two prospects. Deal is pending review of medical records, sources say. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
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But slowly, issues came up, like the fact that the Dodgers would have a logjam in back of the bullpen, which was part of what led to the many problems in Washington last season. Man, we were so naive:
Well, there’s no way this could backf—<Drew Storen punches way into room> https://t.co/7CEQV0Madt
— Jon Tayler (@JATayler) December 7, 2015
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Sources saying no deal done yet for #reds and #dodgers on Chapman. I’m hearing multiple teams could be involved. — Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
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Okay, so… more teams involved? Okay, so it’s just more complicated, right?
I’m hearing the Dodgers leaked the Chapman trade early, hoping to affect another deal in the works. Reds pissed, took a step back.
— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) December 7, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOkay, so the Dodgers leaked the deal, kind of shady, but…
Alleged domestic incident at Aroldis Chapman’s home could scuttle a trade to the Dodgers, sources tell Yahoo Sports: https://t.co/ayeEePLeOX — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 8, 2015
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And, after that…. well… I think Jen Mac Ramos speaks for all sane people here:
I feel like the focus really shouldn’t be on Chapman’s trade value, but actually, I dunno, about a human life that was threatened by him.
— Jen Mac Ramos (@jenmacramos) December 8, 2015
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Yes. The trade is not what is important here anymore. It is, at the very most, a very distant secondary topic. And even that is stretching it. And anyone who says otherwise should probably reconsider their priorities. Yes, Aroldis Chapman has one of the best fastballs of all time. But that is not what is important. What is important is what happened in October and the safety of those around Chapman. Hopefully, a robust investigation by MLB will go into this incident and an appropriate punishment will be passed down, unlike the half-assed measures done by the NFL, where true action has only been done when pictures have come out.
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Come back tomorrow for more of the best Tweets from and about the Winter Meetings. Hopefully they will be more light-hearted.
The Baseball Continuum 