Sometimes you wonder if Rob Manfred really loves baseball.
It was a notion that bubbled to the surface once again Monday night when watching the commissioner take his turn on ESPN's special "The Return of Sports" that featured the bosses from all of the professional sports. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he enjoys the game. But does he love it? Because I have a hard time believing that the face of this thing that is crumbling before our eyes wouldn't look and sound different than what I heard just after 9 p.m.
"This is about a lot more than money." (Is it?)
"The clubs are interested in one thing. The clubs are interested in finding a way to get back on the field." (Are they?)
"It’s just a disaster for our game. It shouldn’t be happening." (True.)
"I’m not confident." (Huh?)
I've heard the excuses such as how five days is an eternity when it comes to negotiations, or how things flipped when the MLBPA took its stance a few days later. None of it matters. There is no leader of anything who should offer such definitive optimism at such a delicate time without knowing there was going to be zero room for slip-ups. Zero. But that's exactly what Manfred did, looking like a man who was more concerned with nailing the message of the billionaires he evidently is beholden to.
Again, did it really look like a person who loved the game he was helping stick a dagger into?
Not helping Manfred was the cavalcade of fellow commissioners and players he was juxtaposed against throughout the two-hour special.
"It's a difficult time for everybody," he said. "We will conversations to work through all issues. It might not for everyone ... Listen, it's not an ideal situation. There is more of a sense we have an obligation to try this. This is what we do."
Manfred had one last chance during the two-hour show to look semi-decent. Roger Goodell still had his slot. But, alas, no such luck for the baseball commissioner. The guy who has been the epitome of a one-sided commish, always digging in with the owners of his teams, actually offered the appearance of someone who showed some empathy toward his players and his game.
These are tough jobs in tough times. That is completely understood. But there are some basic tenants of leadership that are not being followed by baseball's most important person at baseball's most important time.
Ernest Hemingway once said about leadership, "When people talk, listen completely." Manfred clearly has his ears open to the wrong people because after Monday night the screams from those who count the most -- baseball fans -- are deafening.