Wednesday, March 4, 1998
From a simple rivalry comes an all-out battle of espionage
COLUMN: Brett Butler’s betrayal an exercise in sabotage of
Dodgers
Someone should call Tom Clancy, because the plot to his next
thriller is unfolding in Chavez Ravine.
Let me tell you, this one has it all: sleeper agents, betrayal,
false allegiances and backstabbing.
It all started with ex-Dodger Brett Butler ripping into the Thor
of the Southland, Mike Piazza, calling him moody and accusing him
of not having leadership qualities.
Butler told the Los Angeles Times, "Mike Piazza is a moody,
self-centered, ’90s player."
Sure, this isn’t the nicest thing in the world for Butler to
say, especially since no one remembers him trying to fill the
leadership void that cost the Dodgers dearly down the stretch last
year.
And no one wants to see the premier hitter in the National
League get insulted by a player who was best known for his ability
to bunt his way to first base.
But that’s not at the heart of the matter, for something far
more sinister is going on here: Brett Butler has revealed his true
identity.
While we may have thought he was a dyed-in-the-wool Dodger, in
reality, he was a spy working for the San Francisco Giants.
Now follow me on this one:
Before Butler ever put on a Dodger uniform, he spent several
productive and successful years with the Giants, beloved and
treasured by those strange few who root for the San Francisco
team.
All of a sudden, this man from Hunter’s Point suddenly dons the
sacred blue and white and says that he really is a Dodger at
heart.
Did the Dodgers unwittingly allow this enemy behind the lines,
as the Giants activated this sleeper agent and then watched with
glee as he became part of Dodger lore?
Did Butler not meld himself into our hearts with his courageous
comeback from cancer?
And were we not all completely snowed when, in his first game in
a Dodger uniform at Candlestick Park, he gave former Dodger manager
Tom Lasorda a big hug?
We all fell for it, we all knew and trusted this man, and he
used that to tear us apart.
People believed Butler then, so why wouldn’t they believe him
now? Why wouldn’t they think that Piazza failed to live up to
expectations last year?
Why would gutty, silver-haired, born-again Brett ever say such
things?
Because he’s a Giant spy, that’s why!
That’s why this overt act of hostility by the Giants is so evil.
It wasn’t enough for them to yank the National League West title
away from the Dodgers last year; they had to try and rip the
Dodgers apart from the inside now that Butler has retired.
I’m sure Mr. Clancy will back me up when I say that the Dodgers
are now officially at war with the Giants. This is no longer a
rivalry that inspires Dodger fans to actually stay beyond the
seventh-inning stretch; this is now a shooting war. Fort Piazza has
been fired upon, and it’s time for the Union to respond.
But I think that the Dodgers have already set plans in motion,
because one of their heroes is now wearing the orange and
black.
Just like Obi Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars," Orel Hershiser is our
only hope (although I could never say it in Princess Leia’s
sensuous tone).
Just you wait and see: Orel Hershiser will show that he still is
the Bulldog when he finds a way to sabotage the Giants this
year.
And do you think it’s a coincidence that corporate raider Rupert
Murdoch is buying the Los Angeles Dodgers? I think not.
A man who knows all about using underhanded tactics to get
revenge on his foes will know just how to handle Hershiser and get
a proportional response together within the next few months.
All of his expertise is going to be necessary, because the San
Francisco Giants sure put one over on the Boys in Blue, and now
it’s payback time.
Shapiro is a Daily Bruin staff writer and columnist. E-mail
responses to [email protected].