Memories of Jacob deGrom

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: I think that, when the Mets state why they opted not to go as as high as another team, they tend to be accused of insulting the player with an ex post facto rationalization.

I've been trying to answer this post but admittedly, don't understand it. How could the Mets insult deGrom after the fact by stating that they were unwilling to match Texas? And did the Mets even give a reason yet for not signing deGrom? Reporting is so sketchy, especially for a player of deGrom's caliber and given the extraordinary nature of the contract he ultimately signed



AFAIK, the Mets and deGrom met. The Mets made an offer. And then the Mets never heard from deGrom's camp again after that -- not until deGrom and the Rangers had finalized a contract.

[Edgy MD]

They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but he was as fragile as a Christmas ornament and there was just so high we were going to go."



They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but with his weird thing for dolphins and My Little Pony tattoos, there was just so high we were going to go."



They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but with all those incidents involving his wife and alcohol, there was just so high we were going to go."



Much of the reporting after the Dickey trade and the Phillies signing of Wheeler led to accusations that the team was torpedoing both those guys on the way out the door. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't, but I understand avoiding saying much of anything at all, because there are only so many diplomatic ways of saying that somebody else thought he was worth more than we did.



In fact, I understand very much the tendency to avoid saying much of anything at all.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Yeah, but how could the Mets insult deGrom after the fact? Well they could, but who'd care? It wouldn't affect contract negotiations because they're over and done with: deGrom already signed.



I thought you were getting at some kind of insult that persuaded deGrom, at least in part, to sign with the Rangers.

[Edgy MD]

No, I wasn't.



As for who would care, in the cases I cited above, fans cared. Some, anyhow.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: As for who would care, in the cases I cited above, fans cared. Some, anyhow.

Yes. I was responding under the prism of offending deGrom to the point that he was dissuaded from signing with the Mets, which I now know was not the point of your original post.

Edgy MD wrote: Much of the reporting after the Dickey trade and the Phillies signing of Wheeler led to accusations that the team was torpedoing both those guys on the way out the door. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't, but I understand avoiding saying much of anything at all, because there are only so many diplomatic ways of saying that somebody else thought he was worth more than we did. In fact, I understand very much the tendency to avoid saying much of anything at all.

I would like to believe that eventually, some reporter is gonna get to ask the Mets pointed and well phrased questions about the deGrom negotiations and have the interview well thought ahead of time out to the point that he or she could follow up with intelligent questions depending on the answers given. Then what?



TBD.

[G-Fafif]

Jake says thanks. Ran as a full-page ad in the Post.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I kinda knew I wasn't interested when I saw it was the Post.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I'm sure deGrom feels bad, in part, about his decision to leave New York. Still, I have no desire to read his farewell because in my heart, I'm convinced that he didnt want to play here anymore and would've re-signed with the Mets only if no other team was willing to offer him a deal that was in the Mets ballpark. I think deGrom wouldve signed with Texas even if they didnt top the Mets, so long as they were close.

[A Boy Named Seo]

If I had the need and means to buy a full-page ad in a New York paper to deliver a personal message, I think the Post would be pretty low on my list, for at least two reasons. And being a famous dude, I'd probably reach more people by just posting it on my own social media to begin with.



Maybe this should be a poll, but if you had a important personal message to deliver to the masses of NY, how would you do it?

[Benjamin Grimm]

A billboard in Times Square?

[A Boy Named Seo]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: A billboard in Times Square?

It might be little tough to read a long statement that way, but still cooler than the Post. And JdG at his core seems about as New York as Bubba Gump's Shrimp anyway, so that kinda works.

[metsmarathon]

oh no, a professional sports player didn't personally and immediately apologize to me for accepting many more buckets of money than my team was willing to pay him, and than i may have thought prudent, and may even not have actually enjoyed being a part of the team as much as i imagine myself to surely have were i given the opportunity. what a terrible person he must be. i resent him for ever letting me root for him. he can now go straight to hell. or texas. same difference.

[whippoorwill]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: If I had the need and means to buy a full-page ad in a New York paper to deliver a personal message, I think the Post would be pretty low on my list, for at least two reasons. And being a famous dude, I'd probably reach more people by just posting it on my own social media to begin with. Maybe this should be a poll, but if you had a important personal message to deliver to the masses of NY, how would you do it?

Tell you guys

[Fman99]

Get the entire note tattooed on Mike Tyson's face.

[A Boy Named Seo]

=metsmarathon post_id=115378 time=1671727759 user_id=83]
oh no, a professional sports player didn't personally and immediately apologize to me for accepting many more buckets of money than my team was willing to pay him, and than i may have thought prudent, and may even not have actually enjoyed being a part of the team as much as i imagine myself to surely have were i given the opportunity. what a terrible person he must be. i resent him for ever letting me root for him. he can now go straight to hell. or texas. same difference.

[stevejrogers]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: If I had the need and means to buy a full-page ad in a New York paper to deliver a personal message, I think the Post would be pretty low on my list, for at least two reasons. And being a famous dude, I'd probably reach more people by just posting it on my own social media to begin with. Maybe this should be a poll, but if you had a important personal message to deliver to the masses of NY, how would you do it?

deGrom doesn't have any presence on the major social media platforms though.



The statement itself reads so Jeets-esque cliched that you'd think it was written by Crash Davis.

[stevejrogers]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: A billboard in Times Square?

Well, Alfonzo did take out ads on the top of taxi cabs when he signed with the Giants.



https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Alfonzo-Thanks-Mets-Fans-on-Way-to-S-F-7092254.php https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Alfonzo-Thanks-Mets-Fans-on-Way-to-S-F-7092254.php

[A Boy Named Seo]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: A billboard in Times Square? Well, Alfonzo did take out ads on the top of taxi cabs when he signed with the Giants. https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Alfonzo-Thanks-Mets-Fans-on-Way-to-S-F-7092254.php https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Alfonzo-Thanks-Mets-Fans-on-Way-to-S-F-7092254.php

Now that's cool. Jake shoulda just got some bus advertisements that said 🐐 ❤️ 🫵 🗽



Screw the Post.

[Gwreck]

=metsmarathon post_id=115378 time=1671727759 user_id=83]for accepting many more buckets of money than my team was willing to pay him, and than i may have thought prudent

[metirish]

Probably nothing

[kcmets]

Funny! I was going to start a "deGrom Watch 2023 - 20??" thread yesterday.

Then see this bumped and was like, 'aw fuck, he's hurtin' already and I missed

the boat on having an epic thread that'll last for the next five years.'



Probably nothing

[metirish]

You should start that thread, it won't be empty



Probably nothing

[batmagadanleadoff]

Wonder what this is all about:



Buck Showalter Addresses Quote About Jacob deGrom Leaving New York Mets

Manager Buck Showalter addressed his quote from last month about the departure of Jacob deGrom.

Maybe there isn't more to the story. On Tuesday, Mets manager Buck Showalter downplayed his comment from last month about Jacob deGrom leaving for the Texas Rangers. "Somebody was saying that Jake's got some deep thing…that got blown out," Showalter told reporters. "I said Jake said we'll talk sometime, just want to bring closure. Next thing I know, there was some secret story. That's not the case. That's not what he said, but somebody ran with that thing." In a conversation with NJ.com's Bob Klapisch in January, Showalter said deGrom told him "someday I'd like to sit down with you and explain what really happened" in regards to his free agency and ultimate departure from the Mets. DeGrom allegedly told Showalter that he thought he was going to stay with the Mets. In the end, the two-time Cy Young Award winner signed a massive five-year, $185 million deal with a conditional sixth-year option with the Rangers. Shortly thereafter, SNY's Andy Martino reported that deGrom never gave the Mets a chance to match his final offer. On Tuesday, Showalter indicated that there was no deeper story behind deGrom's departure. "He's in a good place. I'm happy for him and his family," Showalter said of deGrom. After deGrom left, the Mets went out and landed three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander on a two-year, $86 million contract. New York also spent close to $500 million in free agency to bring their payroll up to $370 million, the most in MLB history.

https://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/buck-showalter-addresses-quote-about-jacob-degrom-leaving-new-york-metshttps://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/buck-showalter-addresses-quote-about-jacob-degrom-leaving-new-york-mets



Here's the part that I want more reporting on:

Shortly thereafter, SNY's Andy Martino reported that deGrom never gave the Mets a chance to match his final offer.

[kcmets]

Nah, the mojo has spoken and this is the thread for now...



Probably nothing lol

[Benjamin Grimm]

It always starts as "probably nothing".



I have a feeling that although we're sorry he left, in the long run we won't be sorry he left. See Strawberry, Darryl.

[Edgy MD]

Not with Frankie Montas, though. He went straight from zero to shoulder surgery.

[Fman99]

I think Rangers fans are about to get a sneak peek at the next five years of their life. And if it's some other team's fan base's problem and not ours, that's A-O-Fuckin-K by me.

[G-Fafif]

Sanitized memories from Jacob deGrom, mined by Jon Heyman.

New Ranger Jacob deGrom looked exactly like his usual brilliant self while throwing close to 30 closely watched pitches Sunday, while allaying any thought he might be behind schedule. Then afterward, he threw sharp curveballs at what he suggested were widely held untruths about him in an exclusive interview with The Post, principally and pointedly making clear that he didn't dislike New York or even his old Mets contract, and that he could have even seen himself returning to Queens. “It was never like, I'm outta here,” deGrom said following a bullpen session that featured blazing fastballs, a few sliders, and incomparable control and consistency. “You look at places you can see yourself playing. All I had known was New York, and part of me thought I'd be back,” he said. DeGrom called his first days as a Ranger “a smooth transition,” and his bullpen session following a few missed days due to a left side issue has him back on track to start the season with Texas, as its new ace. DeGrom did provide many highlights and heroics in eight seasons in New York, winning two Cy Youngs. But with injuries and time off frustrating the team and especially him, and a belief he was annoyed about his slightly under-market contract (not true, he insisted) many around the team figured the marriage was surely coming to an end. “That kind of got out. [but] I really enjoyed my time in New York,” deGrom said. “I have friends that will be lifelong friends in New York. We still keep in touch with a lot of people. That was all I knew for 13 years including eight seasons in the big leagues. The fans and everyone were always great to me. It was never like 100 percent I'm leaving here.”

https://nypost.com/2023/02/26/rangers-jacob-degrom-sets-record-straight-on-leaving-mets/https://nypost.com/2023/02/26/rangers-jacob-degrom-sets-record-straight-on-leaving-mets/

[batmagadanleadoff]

So then why didn't he give the Mets a chance to match the Rangers' offer? Is it because deGrom was satisfied with the Rangers' offer and was worried that the Mets would come back with an offer he couldn't refuse? That interview doesn't answer anything.

[Edgy MD]

No it doesn't. It doesn't ask deGrom to confirm the report or even note that there has been such a report.