Taking One for the Team

An interesting occurrence happened during a recent NY Mets game, something that could only happen in the bizarre world of MetsLand.

Manager Terry Collins removed star player David Wright from a game, fearing the third baseman would get hit in retaliation for some soon-to-be-demoted Mets pitcher plunking the Milwaukee Brewers’ star player, PED-abusing scum Ryan Braun (how is this guy still the MVP?). Collins reasoned the Brewers were unlikely to hit his replacement, bench player Jordany (“I’m the Man Right Now.”) Valdespin

Wright objected to the move, arguing he was more than willing to take one for the team. Commentators applauded Wright’s toughness and Collins’ honesty. But several also questioned why the manager would protect a star (Wright) while letting a lesser talent (Valdespin) take one for the team, thereby letting the entire ball club know who he thinks is important and who he thinks is not.

I agree with both assessments. Of course, any manager wants to protect his star player, and I can’t fault Collins for holding back Wright after witnessing so many Mets players get hurt in the most bizarre ways in recent years. There was a real chance Wright could have gotten hit in the head (concussion) or hand (broken bones). Collins is the boss, so Wright has to obey his orders.

But we don’t know if the Brewers would have retaliated against any Mets player. And what if Valdespin got hurt? So it’s OK to lose a bench player?

The discussion about “taking one for the team” got me thinking about my layoff. When others and I were laid off so that others more favored by management could keep their jobs, we, in essence, took one for the team.

Face it, there is favoritism and a pecking order in any office, just like there are stars and bench players on a sports team. It was pretty obvious by who was let go and who stayed that my former managers were cherry picking their lapdogs and drinking buddies for continued employment, while dumping otherwise good workers to save themselves.

Now, to be fair, in previous rounds of layoffs my job was spared. So there were times when others took one for the team so I could continue to have a job. I did feel bad for those let-go workers and expressed that to them. Maybe it was just my time to take one for the team.

Yet never once has anybody whose job was spared while I was laid off expressed any gratitude to me or the others for what we were forced to undergo (a long stretch of unemployment) so they could continue to have a paycheck. Not once, not by anyone of them. The few times I did bring it up with my former colleagues my feelings were dismissed, like they didn’t care or didn’t want to hear about it. Well, don’t call me up when it happens to you.

None of us were given a choice of whether or not we wanted to take one for the team. No, we were just told to pack up our desks and leave, while later being informed that we were laid off to save the company. At least David Wright got to plea his case and Collins, to his credit, let him have his say.

The incident further provided an interesting window into management’s thinking, how it values some people over others. On a sports team, it’s easy to see who the stars are, and who are not. In an office rife with petty politics and behind-the-scenes maneuverings, those designations are blurred and difficult to see clearly.

So while we may think we are doing a good and vital job for the company, our managers only see us as an expense that must be cut during times of poor revenues so they can save themselves as well as their sycophants and lapdogs.

To them, we are just another Jordany Valdespin.