Domonic Brown declared himself ready to return to the Major Leagues, and went so far as to tell reporters that he was going to join the Phillies in St. Louis. But then Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg objected to Brown's assessment and suggested no decision was made yet. And then, finally, Brown was optioned to AAA. Today, Brown told one reporter that this all his idea.
On Tuesday afternoon prior to the IronPigs matchup against Syracuse, Brown told Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media that it was really his call:
"Once my rehab stint was up, I let those guys know that I wasn't ready," Brown explained. "Letting coaches here know that I wasn't ready. I feel good now, and that's all that matters. Still got a long year ahead of you, still got four or five months left, so a lot can be done."
Brown seems to forget the part of the story where he did not show up to his minor league assignment.
Had Brown really felt that this was the best thing for his development, he would have showed up to play at AAA Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, April 28. Brown was already scheduled to play at Lehigh Valley that night. But no, Brown used a loophole that gave demoted players 72 hours to report to their minor league assignment to sit out of the game. Someone committed to his development would have made sure that he was present and ready to go.
Cody Asche, despite being in Philadelphia last night, was present for the IronPigs game today and took his first game in left field. Brown was in right field. But the way things are going, Asche will be in the Phillies' Major League outfield sooner than Brown. That is, if Brown ever returns.
