10/5/17

Peter Hyatt - Mets Quietly Shopping Yoenis Cespdes



The New York Mets are said to be quietly reaching out to some American League Teams to allow them to part ways with Yoenis Cespedes in 2018.  

Brass recognizes that they must eat a substantial portion of his contract, but it is part of the overhaul of rebuilding a divided and demoralized clubhouse. 


The DH position suits Cespedes' talent and personality best and without having to play the outfield, the risk to leg injury decreases.  Should the AL team's manager not require players to run out fly balls, it would be a match made in heaven for indifferent self ordained El Potentate, who likes to phone it in every so often. 

Cespedes' sway with Terry Collins infuriated some of his teammates this year and the Mets are determined to restore law, order and team unity to the broken clubhouse. 

The concessions Cespedes made before signing the big contract were abandoned under the weak leadership of Collins and his acute desire to be liked by high paid vets.  

The floating of the potential DH home run hitter  appears to be the result of some high intensity no-holds-barred internal debates in which the Mets front office has finally admitted what was obvious to the rest of the base ball world:

The clubhouse divide had taken its toll on the field more than the injuries did.  

This  means the swallowing of pride by Sandy Alderson; not something he relishes, while ignoring the "I told you so" smirks of those who were strongly opposed to the $110 million dollar commitment, knowing how difficult Cespedes is to deal with.  

The Mets are determined to clean out the problem areas, including Cespedes and diva like Matt Harvey, while Noah Syndergaard's 101 mph fast ball on the last game of the season makes him untouchable in spite of his problematic personality.  

Cespedes was untouchable by Terry Collins and it had its impact upon others, including Jay Bruce who wanted desperately to make it to the post season.  

As one Met put it, "unless your name is Matt Harvey or Yoenis Cespdes..." you were of no one of consequence. This must be changed and some repair work is in order.  

The Cleaning House and Repair Work needing to be accomplished may...just "may", mean an overture to Jay Bruce about returning. 

Had Terry Collins been resigned for 2018, Bruce's agent would not likely have even returned the call. 

With the promise of a return to sanity, team unity and competitiveness, Jay Bruce may just reconsider.  

His leadership, along with Curtis Granderson, and his tutelage of Michael Conforto meant more to the Mets than what saber metrics can quantify.  


16 comments:

Reese Kaplan said...

So let me see if it have this straight. The guy who built this house of cards AND who signed Cespedes to a monster contract is now willing to pay down his mistake and is being rewarded with a two year contract extension? Only in Queens...

Reese Kaplan said...

And by the way, if what Peter conjectures is true -- that Teflon Terry was not the beloved manager many made him out to be, don't color me surprised.

Hobie said...

FYI

http://nypost.com/2017/10/05/bruce-echoes-wrights-comments-regarding-sour-collins-ending/

Tom Brennan said...

Who will be here in Queens next April? Captivating.

We know who is in the Bronx this October, though. The Bombers. Ruth and Gehrig would pay to see Judge and Sanchez if they were here. So would Mantle and Maris. Yankee fans laugh at us once again.

Anthony Carnacchio said...

Where is this even coming from? Why are you the only one reporting it?

Viper said...

Reese, think of it this way.
1. Sandy writes a book where he burns Collins and says he wants to fire him.
2. Collins does a terrible job as manager and gets rewarded by getting a job in the front office as Sandy's assistant.
3. Sandy is getting a 2 year extension for a very bad job putting this team and the minors leagues together.

Now, after Sandy and Terry got rewarded instead of getting fired, the man who said that he wanted to fire Terry, will now count to Terry to help him rebuilt.

This happens only in the "Bizarro World" where the Mets owners live. The stupidity of the owners, GM, and ex-mamager have no bounds and we have no hope of seeing a great team that can compete year after year while these clowns are in charge.

Tom Brennan said...

Ultimately we care about wins and losses...any confidence we will win 90 next year? I have little confidence. More changes are needed.

Robb said...

I dont believe this for a second. Dont post bullshit as fact. It demeans the work of the other writers. Site your sources even if they are unnamed.
Opinion pieces are one thing, but making shit up and purporting it to be news is just wrong.

Mack Ade said...

I get very conflicted when peter writes about cespedes. I have another close associate with strong sources inside the mets complex and 'it' claims that peter is 100% inaccurate

Anonymous said...

Hi Peter, I'm thinking of starting a website where I just post shit I make up and present it as fact. Any tips? Thanks.

E. Saltzman said...

this article is an obstruction of the truth. Shame on you, sir.

TP said...

It is very hard to digest or respond to an article like this. There may be some grain of truth, but in the absence of anything supporting it, I'll have to dismiss it.

That said, the Mets should most certainly make Cespedes available, but his bat would need to be replaced. Why wouldn't a potential trade partner just sign an available bat? I expect Yo to return but they would be best to plan as they do with David Wright - don't count on any production from them.

Robb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tom Brennan said...

Let me say this...Cespedes hit .400 this spring training, slugged over .700. Then hit 6 homers his first 38 regular season at bats. Wow. Then got hurt.

That hitting was pre-injury "thunder"...elite hitting...so what will he do if he stays healthy next year? I'd like to find out much more than seeing Lagares hit .240.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Anonymous said...
Hi Peter, I'm thinking of starting a website where I just post shit I make up and present it as fact. Any tips? Thanks.
October 5, 2017 at 3:16 PM


Yes, I have one for you.

Be angry and rage that someone writes about an anonymous tip while posting anonymously.

Does that work for you?

.Peter Hyatt

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Blogger Reese Kaplan said...
So let me see if it have this straight. The guy who built this house of cards AND who signed Cespedes to a monster contract is now willing to pay down his mistake and is being rewarded with a two year contract extension? Only in Queens...

October 5, 2017 at 12:33 PM Delete


Reese, it depends on how its spun . Is it a sign of failure? Or, is it a sign of strength?

Think of what brass had to deal with this season. It was rough.

Cespedes did his own ego driven hypertrophy lifting and came out of the gate red hot.

Then: His overbuilt legs easily gave out.

Then: he went back to giving the leadership trouble. He would rehab where and when he wanted. This was a real "uh oh, here we go" moment for them all.

He then refused to return claiming to be not ready. He reused the innings mandate. He refused the outfield mandate.

Then brass had to struggle to get Cespedes back on the field. Alderson was forced to go public with the MRI result. This was not easy and it was a gamble.

When he came back, he dictated to Collins "the lineup" which got under the skin of others.

Cespedes then hit HRs and no one could say a word.

then he didn't and then he injured his leg again. He would then claim that he was sparing his legs in the outfield.

Then he would dive for a ball.

He drove them nuts.

As long as he was hitting HRs, players had to keep their mouths shut, but that did not last. Cespedes could stroll to the dug out on a pop up instead of running it out and Collins would yell "good job."

it spread to other players and that is when MSM finally gave the old quote (it was reported as if recent; it was not). "Unless your name is Yoenis Cespedes or Matt Harvey..." in relation to how both could get away with anything they wanted (and did)

There are those who feel that Alderson signed him in good faith but he is just too much of a head case in spite of the huge contract and reception from Mets fans. Alderson knew the signing was a risk but felt that Cespedes would finally be less troublesome because he "found a home" in NY with the fans and team mates.

They could not foresee the ridiculous weight lifting.
They were forced to defend the strength coach
MSM finally printed the articles about the divided clubhouse. It is not out there and something has to be done.

To save face, they would have to find a decent deal and a decent cost savings, true, but they would have to reinvest the money into a free agent (or good trade) to save face.

'This is one heck of a challenge for any team, but especially in New York.

No one knows if they will find an American League suitor but don't be surprised if the Post, Daily News or Newsday suddenly has an article about the seeking of a suitor with headlines such as Mets looking to go in new direction.

I don't think Oakland will show interest but that's just my guess. I don't believe they have the same happy memories of his stay there that Cespedes has.

I also believe Cespedes is a smart man, in spite of his lack of self awareness in how he comes off.

He did not make the public statement about wanting to return to Oakland just because he feels its okay to freely speak to a journalist. He is a very careful man. He knew exactly what he was doing, exactly what he was saying and exactly what he wanted to accomplish.

We can say that they knew what they were signing with Cespedes. They had not forgotten the World Series, the golfing, the Spring 2016 nonsense. It was a gamble.



Peter