Cora v. Pelfrey

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

For whatever reason, Martino in the Snooze didn't identify the player Cora directed his anger at, though I could imagine Martino was one of the co-laughers. Interesting that always perceptive Gwreck ID'ed Pelfrey goofing off before the game too.

The Mets See Their Darkest Hour In the month of July, the month that only has ten days left in it, the Mets are 5-11. On July 1, they were ten games over .500, a game and a half out of first place, and above everyone in the race for the wild card. They are now four games over .500, six and a half games out of first, and three and a half games out of the wild card. The Mets are having a collapse a couple of months early, and, for the first time, the fraying seams are starting to show. The Mets lost a drab 3-2 game to Arizona, their second loss in a row to a last-place team and their ninth loss in their last twelve games. It has gotten bad enough that apparently you are not allowed to express anything other than anguish and pain in the locker room after a loss, or Alex Cora will have your soul for dinner. The veteran utilityman, miffed by the laughter inside the Mets' clubhouse after the loss, fired venom in the direction of Mike Pelfrey and reporters who were joking at the pitcher's locker. Cora spouted an expletive in Spanish and raised his voice in the direction of Pelfrey and reporters as he de parted the clubhouse at Chase Field. "A little respect, please!" Cora snapped. "They stuck it up our [butts]." Alex Cora has long kept a major-league career alive through Locker Room Presence, so if anyone were going to pitch a proverbial fit about the probing tendencies of opponents, it would have to be him. But it seems more that the Mets' aches are self-inflicted � self-inserted, to use Cora's uncomfortable metaphor. The bats have completely vanished on the road trip � Jason Bay is batting .261 and has six homers; four years, $66 million, folks � and it's beginning to look like the Mets are doing Carlos Beltran and his clearly still-balky knee a disservice by keeping him in center field. Oh, and we repeat: Oliver Perez is coming back tonight. Do you really think this team, as currently constituted, is a Jake Westbrook or Ted Lilly away from the postseason? Unless either of those guys can hit, we can't imagine anyone who would say yes, save for maybe Omar Minaya. If the Mets end up trading Josh Thole for a mid-tier pitcher, it'll be Kazmir-Zambrano all over again.

[Frayed Knot]

If the Mets end up trading Josh Thole for a mid-tier pitcher, it'll be Kazmir-Zambrano all over again.

No it won't

[Guest Edgy DC]

I appreciate him working two solid metaphors in there, but that's a weak closing paragraph for several reasons.

[TransMonk]

Dipshit McGee wrote: The Mets are having a collapse a couple of months early...

Please lobotomize me now.

[MFS62]

Locker Room Presence

He capitalized that?
I thought things like that only had to be capitalized when writing about Derek Jeter.

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

MFS62 wrote: Locker Room Presence He capitalized that? I thought things like that only had to be capitalized when writing about Derek Jeter. Later

I believe Martino was going for irony there.

I also believe Martino may find out about insertion-related injuries at some point this year if he doesn't tone down the snark. (The DN's sports editorial leadership is decimated? Can't tell a bit.)

[metirish]

Pelfrey had his head shaved by strength and conditioning coach Rick Slate Tuesday, maybe that's what they were guffawing about.I'm more concerned to hear Manuel talk about a lack of effort in his post-game than I am about guys laughing.

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: MFS62 wrote: Locker Room Presence He capitalized that? I thought things like that only had to be capitalized when writing about Derek Jeter. Later I believe Martino was going for irony there. I also believe Martino may find out about insertion-related injuries at some point this year if he doesn't tone down the snark. (The DN's sports editorial leadership is decimated? Can't tell a bit.)

When are the Mets gonna go and fuck themselves already with this Alex Cora? So much ado about a player who hasn't been league average I don't think ever. Or hardly ever. This is the type of player I can't fucking stand. The guy that's praised ten times a day for leadership and Locker Room Presence because if the press ever stopped to see what the hell he was doing on the field, they'd see that Cora makes Miguel Cairo look good. I'm going with irony too.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Oh I should say that quoted account above is Will Leich's forced drama in NY Mag, quoting David Waldstein's Times peice (I actually thought it was the Bats blog initially).

Martino's report in my hard copy of the Snooze today didn't identify who Cora was yelling at.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Oh I should say that quoted account above is Will Leich's forced drama in NY Mag, quoting David Waldstein's Times peice (I actually thought it was the Bats blog initially). Martino's report in my hard copy of the Snooze today didn't identify who Cora was yelling at.

Ha. Yeah, that makes a little more sense-- it sounds REALLY smartassy for the News. Leitch has plenty of experience dodging orifice-violation from angry professional athletes, so he should be fine.

[ashie62]

metirish wrote: Pelfrey had his head shaved by strength and conditioning coach Rick Slate Tuesday, maybe that's what they were guffawing about.I'm more concerned to hear Manuel talk about a lack of effort in his post-game than I am about guys laughing.

Yeah, the post-game press conference was unsettling. If there is a lack of effort it seems to come from the tippy top of management down to the field.

2006 feels like a long, long, long time ago.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: When are the Mets gonna go and fuck themselves already with this Alex Cora? So much ado about a player who hasn't been league average I don't think ever. Or hardly ever. This is the type of player I can't fucking stand. The guy that's praised ten times a day for leadership and Locker Room Presence because if the press ever stopped to see what the hell he was doing on the field, they'd see that Cora makes Miguel Cairo look good. I'm going with irony too.

Good thing he doesn't have, say, a multimillion-dollar vesting player option for next year he's three weeks away from reaching. Then we'd really be in a pickle!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I got no problem with anyone reminding the Mets they're playing like shit lately.

[Guest Edgy DC]

If the only guy praising him is being ironic, I don't think we have to get ourselves so damn angry about him being praised ten times a day.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I have no problem with Cora calling people out like that. None.

Would I be happier if it were David Wright? Yes. But it sounds like someone needed to step up, and Cora had the stones to do it. I can respect a guy like that, who will say it to his teammates in a crowded room instead of the guy who says it as an unnamed source to Jon Heyman or hangs an unsigned "Know your place, rook" sign in a kid's locker.

[MFS62]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: MFS62 wrote: Locker Room Presence He capitalized that? I thought things like that only had to be capitalized when writing about Derek Jeter. Later I believe Martino was going for irony there.

I was going for invective.
Later

[batmagadanleadoff]

I've got a problem with the idea that a player ought to behave like he's at a funeral after a loss. I don't believe that Pelfrey cares less about winning just because he was joking with a reporter after the loss. Here's my idea: Why doesn't Alex Cora shut the fuck up until he can get his batting average over .280 for one whole week?

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I've got a problem with the idea that a player ought to behave like he's at a funeral after a loss. I don't believe that Pelfrey cares less about winning just because he was joking with a reporter after the loss. Here's my idea: Why doesn't Alex Cora shut the fuck up until he can get his batting average over .280 for one whole week?

I have a feeling that it wasn't directed at Pelfrey so much as the reporters. Coming in all jovial and making jokes or whatever.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something.

Oh I wasn't being literal. There's 25 players in the locker room and the idea that they should all behave like Cora would is, to me, self-centered and narcissistic. I also question Cora's motive for his reaction and wonder if perhaps, it was all contrived and calculated just to get favorable ink for his, ya know, Want To Win More Than The Other Mets personality that is supposed to be the essence of Alex Cora. Because he's not gonna remind us of Chase Utley.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something. Oh I wasn't being literal. There's 25 players in the locker room and the idea that they should all behave like Cora would is, to me, self-centered and narcissistic. I also question Cora's motive for his reaction and wonder if perhaps, it was all contrived and calculated just to get favorable ink for his, ya know, Want To Win More Than The Other Mets personality that is supposed to be the essence of Alex Cora. Because he's not gonna remind us of Chase Utley.

Now, I don't know about all that.

[batmagadanleadoff]

So how come no one's defending Pelf? We're supposed to believe that Pelf cares less about winning because he was joking with reporters?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I haven't heard anyone impugning Pelfrey here, either.

Some people, when faced with a broken-down bus on a desert highway, start raving and throwing luggage across the road. Some people take out a deck of cards and start playing. Some check on how everyone else is doing. Ultimately, what does it matter how the guys react, if none of them's a mechanic?

I like a likable team that gets along-- it's a nice image. It's a nice thought, the picture of '69 as a ragtag bunch of younguns who dug each other and the strange trip they were on; it's a nice thought, the idea of '86 as a bunch of rollicking dudes and well-meaning straight-lacers who were all on the same page. I don't know how real those pictures are, but-- hey-- they're nice to gaze on. But, really? REALLY really? Except as far as it impedes performance-- and those instances are few and far between in a game like baseball-- I could give a shit about whether Cora yells at Pelfrey or Francoeur goes out to sci-fi movies with Frankie or Carter makes out with Feliciano when nobody's looking.

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something. Oh I wasn't being literal. There's 25 players in the locker room and the idea that they should all behave like Cora would is, to me, self-centered and narcissistic. I also question Cora's motive for his reaction and wonder if perhaps, it was all contrived and calculated just to get favorable ink for his, ya know, Want To Win More Than The Other Mets personality that is supposed to be the essence of Alex Cora. Because he's not gonna remind us of Chase Utley.

Considering that you went from 'he should STFU until he gets his BA up' to 'he's a selfish phony because he's not exactly the next Chase Utley', the part in the middle about not being literal about him needing to check the stat sheet in order to speak up doesn't quite jive with all that.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something.

I agree with you. But Cora hitting .280 correlates stronger with the Mets winning than whether or not Pelfrey's joking with a reporter. Therefore, if Cora wants to win, maybe he should hold up his end of the deal by figuring out how to hit .280 instead of worrying whether Pelfrey prefers sausage or pepperoni on his pizza.

[ashie62]

Cora Cora Cora! is this generations version of Marcia Marcia Marcia!

The players and writers all sound like a bunch of whiny bitches.

[Guest Edgy DC]

All of them?

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: All of them?

bloggers too? that's sorta writing. I can definitely pull off whiny bitch.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'm more "whingey" bitch-- like whiny bitch with an added soupcon* of pretentiousness.

*See?

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: I don't think Cora - or anyone for that matter - needs to check the stat sheets before deciding whether or not he's allowed to say something. I agree with you. But Cora hitting .280 correlates stronger with the Mets winning than whether or not Pelfrey's joking with a reporter. Therefore, if Cora wants to win, maybe he should hold up his end of the deal by figuring out how to hit .280 instead of worrying whether Pelfrey prefers sausage or pepperoni on his pizza.

Right, because the acts of what to say in a locker room and hitting better are like choices one merely has to decide to make in order to carry them out.