Joe Torre, Fucking Shitbag

[Centerfield]

You know how I feel about the city agency hats. But Torre's quotes warrant their own thread.

"Certainly it's not a lack of respect."

Yes it is. What else could it be? You're saying honoring these heroes is not as important as...as....what was it that was so important again?

"We just felt all the major leagues are honoring the same way with the American flag on the uniform and the cap. This is a unanimity thing."

Because unanimity is so important to MLB. That's why all MLB teams are limited to one official home jersey, and one official away jersey. That's why all MLB uniforms have the team name at home, and the city on the road. That's why there are no alternate jerseys, throwback uniforms, special "Los Mets" jerseys meant for use during a promotion. That's why all ballpark sizes are standardized and the DH is uniform throughout all of baseball. This unanimity is why when the terrorists truck on 9/11, they chose to hit all MLB cities in the same exact way.

"They certainly understood and respected."

No Joe, they did not understand. They did not respect. MLB did not understand that this meant more than baseball itself.

"I certainly understood what they wanted to do in regards to wearing the hats. I used my history with the fact that we were in the World Series 10 years ago."

What the fuck does the World Series have to do with this? It's not about being in the World Series. It's about having been in New York. It was about helping the injured, visiting the victims' families, it was about coping and paying tribute to people who could really be called heroes. It was about trying to help in any way you could and being incredibly frustrated, to the point of tears, that you couldn't do more. It has nothing to do with the World Fucking Series. Fuck you Joe Torre. Fuck you to fucking hell.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Guest

[MFS62]

What he said.

Later

[metirish]

You're a proper wanker Joe fucking Torre, a real bollox, fucking twat.

[seawolf17]

See, this is why lawyers exist. I'm thinking like Irish here, but wish I could write like CF.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

Joe - I need someone to stand up and defend a ridiculous policy that I am sure you will agree is just plain stupid. What is your going rate?

[batmagadanleadoff]

If it was the MFY's who had the history of wearing responder caps in tribute to 9/11, MLB would've ruled differently. Torre would've ruled differently. The MFY's are larger than the rules. The MFY's don't have to put NOB's on their road unis. The MFY's host an All-Star game in an even numbered NL year. Derek Jeter would've been permitted to wear a responder cap. Or three. Or a different one every inning. Derek Jeter located Osama bin Laden. Derek Jeter saved the world on 9/11.

[G-Fafif]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: If it was the MFY's who had the history of wearing responder caps in tribute to 9/11, MLB would've ruled differently. Torre would've ruled differently. The MFY's are larger than the rules. The MFY's don't have to put NOB's on their road unis. The MFY's host an All-Star game in an even numbered NL year. Derek Jeter would've been permitted to wear a responder cap. Or three. Or a different one every inning. Derek Jeter located Osama bin Laden. Derek Jeter saved the world on 9/11.

He's got an edge, baby!

[seawolf17]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: If it was the MFY's who had the history of wearing responder caps in tribute to 9/11, MLB would've ruled differently. Torre would've ruled differently. The MFY's are larger than the rules. The MFY's don't have to put NOB's on their road unis. The MFY's host an All-Star game in an even numbered NL year. Derek Jeter would've been permitted to wear a responder cap. Or three. Or a different one every inning. Derek Jeter located Osama bin Laden. Derek Jeter saved the world on 9/11.

Absolutely.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

And F Fred Wilpon for not volunteering to foot the bill.

[bmfc1]

MLB was probably scrambling yesterday so they didn't seem as moronic as they do so some genius must have thought that a former Met would save the day. Idiots.

[Centerfield]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: And F Fred Wilpon for not volunteering to foot the bill.

Yup.

[Frayed Knot]

"They certainly understood and respected." -- But we decided to threaten huge fines if they didn't follow along just in case.

[Guest Edgy DC]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: If it was the MFY's who had the history of wearing responder caps in tribute to 9/11, MLB would've ruled differently. Torre would've ruled differently. The MFY's are larger than the rules. The MFY's don't have to put NOB's on their road unis. The MFY's host an All-Star game in an even numbered NL year. Derek Jeter would've been permitted to wear a responder cap. Or three. Or a different one every inning. Derek Jeter located Osama bin Laden. Derek Jeter saved the world on 9/11.

The Mets are larger than the rules, too. As is anybody larger than a rule founded on such a small idea.

This version of the Mets just didn't have the chutzpah to realize it. There's the failure.

It doesn't matter what Torre said, to me. He revealed himself to be the enemy but we knew that already. It's that the Mets, in the face of competition, backed the down. They lost yesterday's game the minute they took the field.

[seawolf17]

I saw a tweet this morning about MLB possibly being in breach of contract with New Era if the Mets wore the caps.

[u:3dgj4h7z]IF[/u:3dgj4h7z] that's the case, then I guess that makes sense, but it's not like this was a surprise anniversary. "Hey, New Era? Bud here. Can you guys slap together some First Responder caps for the 9/11 game in New York next month? Just like the old ones. Thanks. We'll toss you a few thousand bucks." Done.

(Of course, they'd find a way to screw that up too.)

[Elster88]

Not sure where CF's quotes come from. Rubin posted an article about half an hour before the first post in this thread, so that's probably it. http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/6958670/new-york-mets-wear-nypd-fdny-hats-9-11-game.

Thole was not aware of his predecessors' actions until Sunday afternoon. When he learned about the '01 Mets standing up to MLB, he discussed with deputy player rep Tim Byrdak whether to also violate the league stipulation. Current players had mixed opinions. And Thole said Mets brass instructed them not to violate the MLB policy.

"Evidently it's going to come down on the club," Thole said before the Mets lost to the Cubs 10-6 in 11 innings. "I guess they cracked down on it pretty hard. So it's just something we can't do. As a group, we think it's right, and it's the least we can do. We're going to wear them for a ceremony we're having, and then we're going to have to switch hats for the game."

Does anyone know what crackdown he is referring to?

Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, in a statement posted on his Twitter page, said he and his teammates had planned to wear the hats anyway, until their plans were foiled. "For all those upset that we didn't wear the hats, I understand your anger. However, they physically took them from us after the ceremony," read the entry on Dickey's page. "We had conspired to wear them but we got found out and MLB got involved."

Edited September 12, 2011 by Guest

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, that could have been anticipated and negotiated. But even if it wasn't, if New Era wants to sue the Mets and MLB for breach of contract, and place themselves on the wrong side of history, as a member of the Mets or MLB's management, I would have told them to proceed as they saw fit.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey, in a statement posted on his Twitter page, said he and his teammates had planned to wear the hats anyway, until their plans were foiled. "For all those upset that we didn't wear the hats, I understand your anger. However, they physically took them from us after the ceremony," read the entry on Dickey's page. "We had conspired to wear them but we got found out and MLB got involved."

Oh, fuck! Prior restraint? Really? Now I really do blame Torre and the Mets need to go to war with him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

They?

[G-Fafif]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: They?

Bud Selig's hired goons. They lend a personal touch to corporate thuggery.

[Willets Point]

Joe Douchhe.

[HahnSolo]

But wasn't Wright wearing one in the dugout? I thought I read that in the IGT. Then Dickey's tweet would be inaccurate?

[Guest Edgy DC]

HahnSolo wrote: But wasn't Wright wearing one in the dugout? I thought I read that in the IGT. Then Dickey's tweet would be inaccurate?

I imagine Dudley Doo was given a waiver because he's the swellest guy in the world, and if they agreed to terms that stipulated that he wouldn't take the field in the lid, they knew they could trust him, specially since he was on his own.

Makes me want to drink the liquid of feces.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Really, who the F is "they"?

I think maybe the ballplayers are in on this. It's not that MLB would take money if they wore the caps, but they probably paid them $$ not to.

[G-Fafif]

Priorities at work, according to Buster Olney tweet:

Said one team exec: "What happens if there's an earthquake, and many killed? And then a Katrina-like hurricane in an MLB city?"

Unspeakable tragedy, I suppose. And then maybe some idiot team will want to wear some kind of non-regulation cap.

[TransMonk]

HahnSolo wrote: But wasn't Wright wearing one in the dugout? I thought I read that in the IGT. Then Dickey's tweet would be inaccurate?

One of Dickey's Twitter followers posed this same question and Dickey responded that the cap was taken away from Wright in the 4th inning.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think maybe the ballplayers are in on this. It's not that MLB would take money if they wore the caps, but they probably paid them $$ not to.

Whoa!

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

My guess is that there was a contract with New Era, and the company might put aside some of its usual business of producing fashion caps aimed at gang members to sue MLB if the Mets wore the caps.

Torre can't say that, of course, so his spin sounds like he was making it up as he went along. You sign a contract, you have to live by it - unless New Era backs off. That's where I'd send the hate.

And yes, the MFYs do act as if they are above the rules. Does adidas still make their ugly, ugly uniforms?

[metirish]

Surely players shouldn't care about a contract between New ERA and MLB?, are the players bound to that contract as employees?, it can get confusing I think.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm sure MGiM is right (and I'm wrong), everyone is covering for a brand name with a contract, an ego, and a team of douche-bag lawyers.

[G-Fafif]

A couple of "The Mets wish to thank New Era for setting aside contractual obligations so our players, coaches and managers could wear the caps of the New York City service agencies we honor on this very special night" announcements, followed by some tasteful reminder that you can buy New Era caps some other time would have been a nice back-scratching way to gracefully satisfy any parties that were so craven as to demand satisfaction.

Edited September 12, 2011 by Guest

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah, but we all know something as sensible as that is well beyond the Mets' abilities. They are stupid, clueless, cowards.