Timofei Bakitski: Will VODAK Scandal Cost Closer His Career?

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Timofei Bakitski: Will VODAK Scandal Cost Closer His Career?

Post by jiminyhopkins » Sun Aug 12, 2018 5:42 am

Phoenix, AZ--

Back before the season started, the BBA was heavy with anticipation not only for the new season, but also for the world famous and award winning BBA Media Guide. There, in the midst of all the team previews and data driven dissertations, an investigative report from the intrepid news team at the Phoenix Sun Times Post Dispatch caught everyone off guard. Everyone, including the article's subject, Phoenix reliever Timofei Bakitski and his new brand of ultra premium distilled beverage, VODAK.

The Talons' closer may never be the same.

Though the brand had a successful launch, the article exposed the true provenance of this formerly hip and trendy beverage. With the article's revelations that VODAK was nothing more than a soulless marketing ploy by a ruthless agribusiness corporation, sales of the brand fell off a cliff and never really recovered. The article also asked a critical question: Was Bakitski involved in the plot from the beginning, or just a hapless victim who was taken advantage of by a team of corporate marketing types?

Bakitski is a simple guy. Raised in Russia, with English as a (distant) second language, he has had to work hard his entire career to adapt to a baseball culture that is dominated by American, Western European, and Latin ballplayers. His initial scouting reports even questioned his intelligence due to his poor grasp of English and his quiet demeanor. And though that label has stuck through the years, Bakitski had carved out a career as one of the better young closers in the game, earning two JL Fireman of the Year Awards in his first four full seasons, and probably should have won a third.

After the scandal broke earlier this season, however, things have not gone so well for the 28 year old righty. April was a success, seeing the Talons closer rack up 9 saves and a 3.09 ERA as the club quickly climbed to the top of the JLS standings. But as sales of his namesake beverage brand tanked and questions began to swirl around him, Bakitski began to struggle. In fact, his ERA since June 1st has been closer to 6 than 5, and he has suffered a number of high profile blown saves to bring his season record to 1-7 with a 4.99 ERA in 58 innings.

Could it simply be an aberration in an otherwise fine career? Or is he letting the stress of the scandal get to him? Whispers around the Talons clubhouse seem to indicate that Bakitski has become withdrawn and aloof, and there have even been rumors that occasionally, his whereabouts were unknown for a short time, particularly after a tough blown save. It's been kept tightly under wraps by the Talons' coaching staff and front office, but the have been leaks that indicate the closer has been fined more than once this season for showing up to the clubhouse hungover and unavailable to pitch.

Talons reliever Adrian Garcia is probably the closest thing Bakitski has to a friend on the team lately, having been his setup man for the past three seasons. "Timmy's a good guy, man. People just don't understand," Garcia said in an interview for this article. "I think that people don't stop to think how hard it's been for the guy. He just wanted to help his family back home. This whole liquor thing, it was the corporation's idea. I think he just got caught up in something he didn't quite understand."

"They [ADM] told him that everything would be taken care of. That he'd be the celebrity spokesman behind a brand that would be seen as a premium product," Garcia continued. "Then this article comes out and the whole thing is a scam, to get rid of this ethanol that the company couldn't sell as fuel. He really took it hard, man. I mean, you can see the velo is still there, the ability is still there. But sometimes it's hard for Timmy to focus out there. The staff has really tried to take care of him, but sometimes Timmy is his own worst enemy," Garcia said.

At the end of the day, its the stats that matter. We as fans know that. But sometimes one has to look at the man behind the numbers. Timofei may never be the pitcher he once was. In fact, there's a chance that his growing alcoholism will eventually end his career. It can be hard to have a sympathetic eye for someone who is costing the team games. And as we all know, it's the coaching staff's decision as to whether the Talons are best served having Bakitski as the closer.

The team has stood by him so far, at least publicly. Maybe now it's time for the Talons to stand not just behind the player, but behind the man as well. Phoenix management should do all it can to help what could be a case of growing depression and substance abuse. Not only for the sake of the team, but for the sake of a quiet kid from Burayevo, Russia.

Talons staff were unavailable for comment on this story
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Re: Timofei Bakitski: Will VODAK Scandal Cost Closer His Career?

Post by scottsdale_joe » Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:53 am

Brilliant.
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Re: Timofei Bakitski: Will VODAK Scandal Cost Closer His Career?

Post by RonCo » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:37 am

This entire story line is great stuff.
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