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Marcell Ozuna was scheduled to be in the lineup Wednesday afternoon. He was scratched right before the game started. No one knew why. Injury? Illness? Family emergency? Worry, confusion, and fear were abound.
O’Neill now starting, Marcell Ozuna out today. Waiting to hear reason why
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) May 23, 2018
Marcell Ozuna’s scratched. No reason given yet. https://t.co/eEpDeVjxRs
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) May 23, 2018
The Cardinals' cleanup hitter was a late scratch from today's game and there has still been no explanation given for Marcell Ozuna's absence
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) May 23, 2018
Turns out, he forgot to set his alarm clock (or something) because he overslept.
Cardinals confirm Ozuna overslept, missed report time. #stlcards
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 23, 2018
The first reaction is relief. Whew, he is not hurt and everyone is alright. That could have been really bad.
The second reaction depends on the person. Some people were amused and to be fair it is a bit amusing. Just stay with me here. Imagine Ozuna in some flannel pajamas waking to the sound of his phone buzzing on the nightstand. He opens his eyes to the bright sunlight of midday spilling into his room. He answers the phone, sprinting frantically around his home changing clothes, an apple clenched between his teeth. No, I am five minutes away, he lies grabbing his keys off the table in the front hallway as he runs out the door. It is sort of funny.
Wait, Marcell Ozuna overslept? Oh that's excellent.
— Brenden Schaeffer (@bschaeffer12) May 23, 2018
The other reaction is disappointment. Marcell Ozuna is an adult with responsibilities. Oversleeping is immature and irresponsible. That is also a fair reaction. Ozuna is not faultless here, and there should be consequences for failing to meet the bare minimum of one’s obligations.
Marcell Ozuna was late. Glad he’s not hurt but that’s not a good look. Everyone screws up, I get that, but being on time is pretty basic stuff.
— Kevin Wheeler (@KevinWheeler94) May 23, 2018
If you are anything like me - there is no reason to assume you are, but for the purposes of this next point let’s pretend - you have had the recurring nightmare about oversleeping and being late for something really important. It happens to me before big tests, job interviews, pancake breakfasts - the big stuff. Oversleeping and being late for a job as a professional baseball player would be this nightmare come true, which is why I have a certain level of empathy for Marcell. Is it cool? Not at all. Was it harmless? Not necessarily as baseball is a team sport and every teammate is important. Is it cause for concern? Probably not. A simple mistake was what it was - something that has probably happened to 90% of people at some point in their lives. We can laugh, we can be disappointed, we can both laugh and be disappointed, but at the end of the day, a human made human mistake. This is a perfect example of a mistake we learn from and hopefully move on.
And Ozuna owned his mistake. Said he apologized to Team, said he made a mistake, and said he understand the penalty of not playing. Was forthright in comments to Media about what happened. #stlcards https://t.co/ugpYtIwgU1
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 23, 2018
How many alarms clocks does Ozuna set for the next day game? No less than three, right?
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KNOW THINE ENEMY...
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