Jarren Duran should’ve been sent down to Triple-A when he lost a fly ball in the lights against the Blue Jays last month, and then defended his inexplicable decision to not chase after the ball, which resulted in an inside-the-park grand slam. In a previous era, that sad and defiant performance would’ve earned the overwhelmed outfielder a ticket on the first bus back to Worcester.
But these are the new Red Sox, where building for some sort of undefined future seems to take precedent over winning right now. So Duran stayed in Boston, and he’s kept embarrassing himself with woeful play and inappropriate trash-talk.
The latest chapter in Duran’s horrible month came Sunday, when he made a series of misplays in center field, and then starting jawing at Royals fans. The trouble started when he lost a leadoff fly ball, allowing it to drop in for a Nate Eaton triple.
In the next at-bat, Duran short-armed a blast near the wall from Kyle Isbel. Duran recovered with a diving grab, but the good feelings were fleeting. After the catch, he proceeded to argue with fans sitting in the outfield.
Duran, who says fans were throwing bottle caps at him, expressed humility after the game. “I was just talking to (Alex Verdugo) and he just came over and gave me a pat on the back and said, ‘Hey man, don’t worry about it. We all have those days,” Duran told reporters. “It means a lot, you think you’re alone when you’re out there and stuff like that happens. Then you realize other guys have done it, like Tommy Pham told me, ‘I had three sun balls in Cincinnati.’ They were just telling me it happens, even though you think you’re the only one it’s ever happened to.”
Those quotes make it easier to sympathize with the overmatched 25-year-old outfielder, who entered the season as a census top 100 prospect — despite his struggles at the big league level last year. But Duran has a lot of cleaning up to do. His comments following his brutal lack of hustle against the Jays in the Red Sox’ horrendous 28-5 loss were downright laughable.
“[Alex Verdugo] was right there already,” he said of his ridiculous decision to not run after a ball that he missed. “Obviously I should have taken a step or two. But he was already going to beat me to the ball so I just didn’t want to get in his way. What if I sprinted and collided with him or something like that? But next time I know to take one or two steps. But he was already going to beat me to the ball.”
Those quotes make Duran sound like he’s performing a caricature of a spoiled baseball player. After a win against the Astros last week, in which Duran hit a home run and knocked in three, he added to his character.
The kid really pulled out the “nobody believes in us!” card.
“The outside noise, we don’t care. Doubt us,” said Duran. “That’s all we need to know, is that you guys were doubting us. Everyone is doubting us. Don’t be cheering for us when you’ve been doubting us the whole time.”
The Red Sox have lost four of six since then, by the way. At least Duran, who’s unvaccinated, now doesn’t have to worry about missing crucial games in Toronto at the end of the season.
At least that's a positive. Good grief.
