Yoenis Cespedes, decked in neon and 7 lbs of jewelry, lectured Yasil Puig on humility.
The Pot called the Kettle black.
The Pot, self decorated and punctuating his own game with his casual underhanded ball flip to the infield, is the same one who's own home run trots make the "Tator Trot" record books, as he poses, halts, and slowly absorbs the camera lens. This is the same guy who poses at home plate only to find the ball did not leave the park and suddenly has to turn on the gas to make it to second, further increasing the risk of injury.
That's one for the books.
There is a bigger issue, however, than the battle of the egos going on in Metsie land; one of which few fans know about, and even fewer might believe.
Who was with the Pot as he lectured the Kettle?None other than the face painted Jose Reyes, the .189 shortstop of whom Colorado is paying him millions to not play for them.
Why does this matter?
Months ago, it reached my ears that among the unspoken demands of Cespedes' return includes Cespedes being kept "happy" about the line up.
For those of you coming to the party late:
Internal debate over signing Cespedes was intense. His jackass show of Spring 2016 and his arrogant independence had already impacted younger players, including Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey; both of whom believed the hype of Thor and the Dark Knight.
Cespedes' lack of hustle, his flamboyance and even his refusal to speak to Mets management all irked Sandy and company. Cespedes speaks fluent English but only communicated through his "people" and keeps a translator at the ready.
In spite of his talent, Oakland, Detroit and Boston all bailed on him, in a hurry, as his head case baggage wore heavier than his powerful bat, for good reason. Team morale and the younger players were considered. Golf? This was not even on the radar. It is not an issue of golfing, it is an issue of defiance. This was not a lesson missed by Syndergaard and his MRI. As Puig is hated by his fellow players for his narcissism, the reactions from Boston coaches said the same of the egotistic Cespedes. They could not get rid of him fast enough.
Cepedes reportedly made behavioral concessions before the big contract so Mets management was shocked and angered when he did his "own thing" this past off season and bulked up his body in ego driven heavy leg work outs which left him imbalanced athletically. The secrecy and the size he gained and the numbers he leg pressed worried fans.
He refused to follow directives on rehab and upon his return, announced that he would, for all intent and purposes, make out the line up. He would tell them when he is off.
Consider this:
Why would the Mets pay minimum wage to a .189 shortstop while a 21 year old in AAA is more than ready to contribute offensively and defensively?
Why would we keep around two bottom of the league defensive players utterly costing us games, on the left side of the infield in Cabrerra and Reyes?
Answer: Cespedes.
It is rumored that Cespedes says he wants his "buddies" there and he "won't be happy" without them.
This is why, even more than the ridiculous "base on balls" saber metric, that Alderson has resisted the media and fans screaming for Amed Rosario's promotion.
Cespedes will play when he says he will play, and he will slide when he wants to slide and workout when, where and how he wants to.
Alderson is consistently backing down.
It took a lot for Alderson to publicly state that no tangible injury was found on Cespedes. It had reached a point of frustration within the Mets organization: Why won't he play?
The very public statement did not move Cespedes, the most difficult employee on a team of difficult employees.
At 110 millón dollars, Céspedes is the anti-Wright of the Mets.
It may be now why we see the 2 of 3 worst defenders in the league, at SS and 3B.
They must keep the brooding 31 (or 32?) year old Cespedes content, otherwise he won't be "El Hombre."
Sandy Alderson has eaten much crow since this signing and all agree that the money should have gone to Jay Bruce, but Alderson can only take so much before he has had enough.
What keeps Alderson from taking action, including allowing Terry Collins to bench Cespedes the next time he refuses to play team baseball?
As soon as Cespedes slumps, if he does not claim injury, we may see some changes, not only in the club house, but on the diamond itself.
4 comments:
Intriguing thought process.
Reyes still being in the line up is baffling, as whatever they could get for him at or before the trade deadline is not worth it.
My take was when they spoke to Puig, they were saying, "bro, don't show US up. We are like you as showboaters, but we don't show each other up."
Cespedes will write much of his tale the rest of the way this year - which road will he take?
My 'talkin baseball' question this coming Friday returns to the subject of Cespedes.
Truer words were never spoken.
Great just one more thing to worry about and if they knew all of this why did they sign him twice and what are they going to do about it? Probably nothing cause they won't eat the contract and that's why other teams didn't rush to sign him either so were they competing against themselves for his services? Also why was Grandy playing over Conforto yesterday? I'm guessing to showcase him but really guys and we have over 3 months left to go with TC at the helm which is just wonderful.
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