Bread and Circuses?

JP Arencibia's attacks on Dirk Hayhurst and Gregg Zaun surprised me. They seemed out of line with the jovial, glass-half-full kind of personality that Arencibia has nurtured through social media, media appearances and charitable works within the city. Then a thought struck me: what if JP was just being a good, solid company man?

After all, isn't that what he has been all along? He wears Toronto on his sleeve like a native. He proudly waves the flag of Canada even though he is of Cuban heritage and was raised in the United States. JP's blood runs Blue Jay Blue and we didn't have to beg him to feel that way.

So why put on the mean face and make personal comments about Dirk Hayhurst and Gregg Zaun? One Rogers employee taking shots at two other Rogers employees during an interview on Rogers Sportsnet. Let's not forget that he tweets about his intentions in advance (even though Twitter is not currently owned by Rogers). Was this really JP's idea? Or was it just a way to get the headlines focussed on something other than the seasonal woes?

Was it a masterpiece of distraction? No, but it did serve to generate new conversations with a different focus. Did the interview reflect badly on JP? You bet, but maybe the company thought it was worthwhile for him to take one on the chin for the team, knowing that he could bobblehead his way back into everyone's hearts on Sunday. After all, how mad can you stay at a guy with an inherently good nature who does selfless charitable work with underprivileged children and cancer survivors? A sell-out crowd at the Rogers Centre seemed to answer that with resounding cheers of "not long".

It's no secret that the blanket of World Series expectations that kept this city warm during the cold winter months has long since worn threadbare. When the bandwagon rolled out of the gate in April, on four flat tires, there was still a willingness for optimism. Give them some adjustment time! They are champions on paper, they just have to learn to play together! When the walking wounded return we will finally be at the top of our game!  Then Munenori Kawasaki emerged and taught us how to bow. His stringent work ethic, keen enthusiasm, and contagious sense of baseball fun galvanized the city into chants of Ka-wa-sa-ki and frenzied purchases of jerseys emblazoned with the number 66. Maybe we weren't winning, but we all felt a little more like winners as we discovered what it meant to be Japaneeeeeese!

Kawasaki was a glorious distraction. If he hadn't existed, the front office would have sold their souls to invent him. Then came that pesky eleven game stretch of victories and all of a sudden the World Series optimism was back. Jose Reyes - answer to all of the team's problems even though he hadn't been the answer in the first place - was about to return. Should Muni stay or should he go? Should he have gone and should he have come back? Even these debates helped defer attention as the winning streak turned into a stretch of nightmarish losses, despite Jose Reyes' presence in the lineup.

The excuses have become weak. The team has had time to adjust and to learn to play together. Reyes is back and, furthermore, the wounded Yankees seem capable of blowing away the competition with a team stacked with Blue Jay castoffs. With the All Star break looming, where is the accountability for a sub .500 record?

Cue the distraction. A fight around the family dinner table. Some name calling, some silly accusations. "No one on my team likes anyone on your team."  An effort at appeasement, a rebuff, a second round. No one gets sent to their room. Please pass the dinner rolls.

I would like to give JP the benefit of the doubt on this issue because it seems so far removed from his established character. With Steve Delabar's highly touted campaign for the final All-Star roster spot gaining momentum, the country will be distracted by endless on-line voting through Thursday. If the team can break even by the All-Star break then maybe, with a fresh start, the fans can get back to being distracted by good baseball rather than being distracted by the circus. And maybe the solid company man can get back to doing the job he is supposed to be doing, better.