I've known Rene Gayo for many years. He's a friend to both me and my family.
The news late Wednesday night that the Pirates were releasing him, this following a Major League Baseball investigation into taking money from a Mexican League team as part of the sale of a player, was devastating. On so many levels. Because if it's proven that he did take a kickback, that's wrong. That's against the rules of his employer and the governing body of the sport. He'd deserve any penalty that's forthcoming, assuming anything could be more severe than losing his job of 13 years.
That said, I'm going to share some scattershot background and thoughts here, based on this relationship and based on having twice toured Latin America -- first the Dominican Republic, then the west coast of Mexico -- with Gayo on the job.
Deep breath here:
• Signing Latin American players at age 16 in countries that have virtually no rules or enforcement -- or even reliable birth certificates -- is the wild, wild west of professional sports. And it's one perpetuated by MLB's peculiarly stubborn stance against simply having an international draft, as every other major North American professional sport does. (The current baseball draft applies only to the United States, Canada and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.)
The system itself is one riddled with all kinds of behavior that goes much deeper than kickbacks, often involving government entities. The Braves currently are in the process of being heavily penalized, including the possible loss of prospects, for their own violations in the international market. That's part of Rob Manfred's stated crackdown on international issues like this, and the Atlanta case -- now joined by Pittsburgh -- will be just the tip of the iceberg. Or a warning sign. Or both.
But if Manfred were serious about cleaning this up, he'd worry less about the hundreds of millions team owners have spent building academies in the Dominican and more about a truly global draft. Yes, even including Japan.
• Gayo once told me of a country in central America in which there was a village up on a hill, where one individual could stamp for you any birth certificate you wanted. You just needed to pay him and the village's resident so-and-so in the government, and you were good to go.
Every country is different, every culture is different, and so most of these scenarios were different. And it took someone as experienced, knowledgeable and, yeah, able to work the system in order to "beat the Yankees," per one of Gayo's pet phrases. People were paid to do all kinds of stuff, and I witnessed much of it myself in general there. A simple ride to the ballpark. A cold-written check as a signing bonus. Cash to go buy some shoes. It happened all around.
As you're watching it, it defies belief this is anyone's road to a major-league stadium. And if I hadn't met an 18-year-old Starling Marte down there and heard all his stories, I'd hardly believe it myself. I still look at Marte like that kid down there, which is why I might give him more of a benefit of the doubt than most.
It's an insane system, one ripe for corruption, and it's hard for anyone here -- myself included, even after what I saw -- to grasp it.
• The Pirates know all of this. They always have and still do. There's a reason Neal Huntington didn't outright fire Gayo but instead put out a soft statement about how they were going to let his contract expire. And that's because they've known forever what that job entails, and they've known an awful lot about some of the beneath-the-table stuff, even if it might not have been this specific instance.
Which isn't to single out the Pirates. All teams know this. That's why they were freaking out when the Braves got busted and why this new case will send similar chills far beyond 115 Federal.
Show me a team that handled this cleanly, and I'll show you a team bone-dry in its Latin American prospect pipeline.
• Gayo was unfairly and inaccurately portrayed in the movie 'Pelotero' for how he pursued Miguel Sanó. I know that's still a hot-button topic all these years later, but the movie's producers didn't reach out to Gayo or to me, even though I was literally the only person at the time in constant communication with both parties. Also, since the movie, Rob Plummer, Sano's agent at the time, has confirmed -- in writing -- that the stuff in the movie was all wrong.
I wrote out all of what happened at the time right here.
Bottom line: As Plummer has affirmed many, many times, he'd have taken $3 million from the Pirates in a heartbeat had they offered it. The Pirates wouldn't go higher than $2.6 million because, as they all told me at the time, they thought they were the only bidder and didn't want to "outbid ourselves." It wasn't until the Twins put pen to paper that Plummer finally proved he wasn't bluffing about other offers.
Sanó's preference all through the process was to sign with the Pirates, even though his mother was wary of Gayo.
• Gayo operates with flash and dash. He doesn't care who knows he's in charge of a situation. And that's because players will follow an authority figure in that part of the world. Some are from broken homes. Most are impoverished. So when they see Gayo, he's reassuring to them.
When I covered Gayo's signing of pitching prospect Luis Heredia in Mazatlan, even though the contract couldn't formally be signed until MLB's still-pending July 2 period, he knew he had his target. How he knew for sure, I'll never know. But he knew. And though he was advised from back in Pittsburgh to keep a low profile, he drove me and my wife around in this car you see below, and he even encouraged her to briefly jump out of the car to snap this pic:
That's how Gayo did business. He wanted to scare the other scouts. He wanted to let them know who was boss. And later that night, when we went to watch Heredia pitch, scouts from a dozen other MLB teams were there -- yes, including the Yankees -- and they all came to Gayo to express their admiration for how he'd landed Heredia.
Before the kid was signed!
The Pirates knew all of that, too. All of it.
To repeat, I'm not coming close to suggesting the Pirates did or didn't know about this case MLB was investigating. I've got no earthly clue about that. But I know they knew how he did business. And they didn't exactly complain about all the talent he'd brought into the system that spared them further embarrassment regarding their abysmal drafting.
• If MLB punishes the Braves institutionally, they'd damned well better do the same for the Pirates. Or at least dig deep into who in Pittsburgh knew what and when.
• The plus for the Pirates is that they couldn't have any prospects docked since they don't have any. (Sorry, too easy.)
• If you're guessing the Pirates' front office is delighted to dismiss Gayo, your guess would be golden. They've fumed for years that he does things his own way, speaks his mind even inside their groupthink retreats to Seven Springs and, maybe above all, that he was among the many executives inside management who were furious over the Hoka Hey treatment of prospects before Bob Nutting put an end to it.
Others in management who protested that are gone, through one exit or another, coincidence or not. But Gayo stayed, primarily because he and Nutting trusted and respected each other. Their relationship was tight and genuine, as professionals and friends, mostly because of Nutting's major initiatives in the Dominican that included building a new schoolhouse near the Pirates' facility for local children after Nutting saw the existing one was made from cement block with no windows. Gayo always spoke highly of Nutting, and vice versa. The pettiness at 115 Federal never got in the way of that.
• This is as good a place as any to pause. I communicated with Rene yesterday, only to check up on him. There's a time and a place to chase a story, and this is neither. But we'll catch up again soon enough.
He's a good man, one of the best I've ever known. It appears he made a hell of a mistake, and now he's paying a hell of a price. But that price won't include losing this one friendship.
FROM DALE LOLLEY
at the Rooney Sports Complex
• The Todd Haley yelling obscenities incident on the sideline last weekend in Indianapolis is nothing new. Haley has long been known as having an explosive nature on the sideline. I'm told there were assistant coaches in previous stops who refused to work with him. But it's hardly something that doesn't happen on every NFL sideline. In fact, New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel is famous for his blowups and has even had them with Tom Brady. That's why the Steelers aren't really concerned about it. Disagreements happen on the sideline in the midst of a game.
• There had been some concern that rookie linebacker T.J. Watt might be hitting a rookie wall after a couple of uneven performances. But his play in Thursday night's blowout win over the Titans helped alleviate some of that. Watt was credited with just one assist, but also had a pass breakup and blocked a field goal attempt. Watt didn't get in on the sack party the Steelers had, but they were rotating guys up front freely.
• If there is one thing Ben Roethlisberger doesn't like -- and there are many -- it's being written off. Roethlisberger continues to bring up some things some of the national media said in the wake of his five-interception game against the Jaguars last month. Roethlisberger is as competitive as any player I've ever been around. Winning is one thing. He likes that a lot. But he also likes to throw some I-told-you-so jabs out there, as well.
FROM MATT GAJTKA
in Cranberry Township
• Jim Rutherford has been known to dive into the trade market earlier than most general managers, but that might not apply this season, if only because the exhausting early-season schedule has made this year's team difficult to truly evaluate at this point. Now, that's not saying Rutherford won't jump at the chance to, say, bolster the Penguins' center depth or pick up a veteran backup goalie if the opportunity is there, but I'm told by someone familiar with Rutherford's thinking that he's slow-playing this one to be sure where his team's needs truly lie.
• Evgeni Malkin is plenty smart enough to know his recent Instagram post supporting president Vladimir Putin back home in Russia would cause a stir. He spoke on the matter Thursday in Ottawa, but speculation on his motivations abounded prior to that. One person who has some knowledge of the ins and outs of Russian sport guessed that the pro-Putin social media push by Malkin and Alex Ovechkin could be some kind of compensation for the NHL sitting out the Olympics. Typically, the Russian hockey team is held up as a proxy for the country's political and military might, and by extension the current leadership.
• Kris Letang's slow start might be getting thousands of Penguin fans nervous about his future, but I don't sense any sort of anxiety about it within the team. Mike Sullivan has hinted a couple of times that the team wasn't expecting Letang to come out this season in Norris Trophy form, although I doubt they anticipated their No. 1 defenseman struggling to this degree. If there's worry, though, they're doing a good job of hiding it.
FROM CHRIS MUELLER
at the Petersen Events Center
• Much has been made about the record-low attendance at the Petersen Events Center Monday night for Pitt's matchup against Montana. The fact that only 3,102 people showed up for the home opener was almost mind-boggling considering the nights of old when the Panthers would take on Syracuse or Villanova without a single seat left in the house. But what if I told you it was worse? I was there. The official mark might have been 3,102, but if we're being honest the actual number was probably a lot lower. I'd say closer to the 2,000-2,250 range.
• Sophomore guard Dachon Burke missed Robert Morris' two exhibition games against Niagara and St. Vincent for what Andy Toole told me was more for precautionary measures due to a minor lower body injury. But then, he missed the Colonials' season opener at Ohio State. That's when I started to wonder. According to a source, Burke was suspended for the OSU game due to a violation of team rules.
FROM AUDREY SNYDER
in State College
• Saquon Barkley's draft prospectus hasn't changed much despite the junior back failing to rush for more than 65 yards in any of Penn State's past three games. Scouts still mosey into the press box, fill their notepads during warmups and the first half and exit. Now, what will this mean come bowl season? That's where it gets interesting. It's not a stretch to think Barkley will skip the bowl game. In fact, there's rumblings that his camp is encouraging him not to play.
• One has to think the magnitude of the game could impact this Barkley decision. A New Year's Six game versus, say, the Outback Bowl is a big drop off. But, there's still a risk associated with playing in any game and Barkley's response last week when asked point blank if he'd play in a bowl game where he mentioned different players and different scenarios, to me, that means the door for a bowl game is still open. But, think about this from Penn State's perspective. One has to think James Franklin and staff, once they get to this point, will push for him to play in a bowl game because bowl reps will want to know if he's in or out before they select Penn State for their game. Barkley helps put butts in seats for a bowl game and that, at least to bowl reps, would be a key component to know ahead of the game.