Someone Please Tell Felipe That It's Not A Real Job

A nice story from the New York Times about the relationship between Alous Felipe and Moises. The opening hook has me scratching my head, though:

But Felipe Alou, the proud, disciplined father, ultimately decided not to come and watch Moises Alou, his son, scald hits for a team that is wrestling for a division title. Alou is a special assistant with the San Francisco Giants, and he said he felt uncomfortable being in attendance as a Giant who has an obvious interest in one of the Mets.

“It’s kind of awkward when you’re working for another team, even if it’s your son,” Felipe said.

Felipe Alou was basically kicked upstairs by the Giants after last season, when he was fired as manager and rehired for the special assistant's role. A role, it should be noted, that was more or less promised to him as a retirement incentive back when he was hired to manage the Giants in 2002, as opposed to one that was filled by someone prior to Alou assuming it. A role, it should be noted, which doesn't require him to leave his home in Boynton Beach, Florida.

In other words, though it's a position for a man who has been important to the Giants for decades, it's a figurehead position. One in which, one presumes, Felipe can do as much or as little as he'd like, and if the choice is between doing absolutely nothing and constantly calling Brian Sabean with advice, Sabean would likely prefer the former.

Given all of that, I suspect that Felipe's reluctance to go watch his son play the Marlins has way more to do with not wanting to be seen attending a baseball game in Miami -- which is an almost universal feeling in south Florida -- than it does with worrying about being disloyal.