THOR SPEAKS HIS MIND? A PROBLEM?
IF SO, WHOSE?
So Noah Syndergaard speaks to the media and tells them:
1) The Mets should stop the fuss and extend Jake already.
2) The Mets should not be doing a workout day in lovely, frigid Syracuse just before opening day and instead give everyone more of a chance to settle in at home and relax a bit between Florida and the season opener.
Is he wrong?
Or should he clam up?
I personally think he is not wrong on either count.
As the whole baseball world of big market teams is extending its strategic, key players, the Mets remain (so far) unwilling to go big bucks on an extension. It sure feels like the moniker of "Cheap Mets Owners" is still hung in the team window, until proven otherwise.
Logic tells me that extending a 30-31 year old pitcher is risky business, but the converse side of the argument is that when the Mets' stars see others getting extended to huge contracts, and in the case of deGrom, Jake is looking lethal right now on the mound, a deal to extend him has to get done.
Of course, Jake has to be somewhat reasonable in his demands, too. Two sides being reasonable and a deal should happen.
But if the Mets stiff Jake right here, it sends a very bad message to Thor, Conforto, and others.
Thor should be extended too - and so should Conforto.
The Mets now have Brodie, who until recently was on the other side of these deals as super agent. He knows player psyche.
Get it done - or I feel it will hurt team morale and it will hurt this team in 2019.
Syracuse trip?
Sure, the AAA team is a new franchise location for the Mets - marketing is important - but I totally side with Thor on this one.
It is IMO idiotic to drag your heavily travelled players up to snowy Syracuse if not absolutely necessary. Idiotic move, in my opinion.
Thor asked the media, "Am I wrong?" Answer? NO.
The shame is the Mets' decisions or lack of same prompted him to speak to the media in the first place.
To quote an essential pitcher, "Am I wrong?"
Final note: When I saw Thor warming up at the St Lucie game on March 13, he was not smiling. Sure, he was focused on business - but my guess this sort of stuff is on his mind. And that he is not happy, until the Mets do what their peer teams are doing for their players.
9 comments:
I am not a fan of players unloading "verbal diarrhea" in a public setting.
Thor's job it to pitch, right? I get it that he has an opinion (we all do), but that doesn't mean you dump it out for every one to see.
Plus, last time I checked, there were still two days to get a deal done, so it's not like the Mets refused to negotiate, etc. AND, they really don't HAVE to get anything done, since Jake is under control for two more years, right? It is the wise thing to do (extension), but it isn't required (yet).
If we were being as hyper critical as Thor, with Thor, maybe he should try and stay healthy for a full season before he launches rocks from his glass house.
(I may be a bit cranky today, but his comments hit a nerve)
He also could be the voice that killed any d'Grom extension.
I am old school.
Shut up and pitch Syndermouth.
(I have more to say on this in my weekly post this week).
Guys, if Thor, Jake and Conforto were on the Yanks, Dodgers, or Red Sox, they'd be extended...and they know it.
A little barking let's folks know publicly that the Mets need to move up from Economy to First Class.
The cheap "Ruben Tejada Suffices Because We're Cheap" days need to be buried for good.
Im not a big fan of players criticizing management, but he wasnt talking about his contract. I also agreed with him and find it frustrating they havent extended DeGrom. Could have done it last year for 1/2 the price.
As for the syracuse trip, thye should have sent the team there today instead of Sarasota. It does seem incredibly stupid to cram it in there. i get the marketing of it, but still stupid.
He wasn't wrong in his opinion, but IMO je became wrong by going to the media. I think I read weeks ago that he has succeeded Harvey as the Mets' union rep , and if he is, he should voice the opinions via the union.
As far as Jake is concerned, I've read that negotiations are going on He, not the team, set the deadline, which is fast approaching. If not for that, he could concentrate on his pitching while his agent could take a week or several to hammer out a deal.
And if no deal is reached, and he still refuses to talk during the off-season, negotiations could resume in November. He's still under contract thru 2020.
Bill, good points.
Robb, I agree largely. United front is great. But Thor seems to feel like he is his own man and won't cower.
Thomas I agree with you, time for the Wilpons to open the wallet again.
If deGrom is pitching for the Yankees in 2021 there will,and better be hell to pay!! Why piss off your players and disrespect them. Yes Mack he should toe the line ,stay healthy then let the pitching do the talking. But since his Agent has left and started working for the bank,things have clamed up.
Don't believe other players around the league don't notice what the Mets are doing with deGrom and also Mesoraco
STEVE
I am strongly in favor of labor’s right to point out management’s shortcomings, and the fact that the dollar value of their compensation seems outsized to us is largely irrelevant. These guys live this every day of their lives. They know that the minute they are expendable, they will be. Thor didn’t say anything but that he wants the team to be put in the best position to win, and that jerking deGrom around was bad because he wants Jake to be a Met for years (umm, so do I). Also, don’t think that the Mets Mesaraco Mess (TM) hasn’t played a part in player frustration. “Shut up and pitch” is dehumanizing. He has as much right to his opinion, and to express it, as anyone. Does his employer have a right to get rid of him if they don’t like his public comments? Sure, but that’s a dangerous game they’d be playing, particularly since everything he said was objectively reasonable.
“Shut up and play” was wrong when folks came down on NFL players, and it’s wrong here. Let the Mets do what they feel they need to do, but if Thor is willing to take that chance, that’s 100% his right. If the Mets are smart, they’ll be a lot more concerned with addressing the issues he brought up than the fact that he said them out loud.
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