Now let's resume our discussion of Ben Zobrist

[dgwphotography]

I think that this is a bullet dodged.

[Frayed Knot]

Zvon wrote: Any truth to this business that the Mets offered him 4/$60 and he still went to the Cubs for 4/$56?

Kinda don't care at this point.
You'd have to think that Joe Maddon was a major factor in BZ's decision.

[Ceetar]

Disappointed. Zobrist is really good.

Wonder if this means Murphy comes back.

[Frayed Knot]

Wonder if this means Murphy comes back.

I think it certainly means he's still an option - and a more likely one than he was a day ago.


And speaking of a day ago, it appears that the Cubs had a verbal agreement w/Zobrist As Of Monday Night!! and were just waiting for medical info etc. before making an announcement. In the interim they were able to keep a lid on things (remember that the rumors didn't even mention them) while the NYM contingent were running around as if they were rounding the clubhouse turn and heading down the back stretch with a several length lead. And it's not like I'm treating this as a bait-and-switch thing, that the Mets knew all along they were never ZB's top choice but pretended to be anyway. There's simply no upside in that and despite the sizable contingent of Mets fans who seem to take pride in claiming they were lied to, I'm not going to count myself among them.

But here is the lesson in the whole ultimately unsuccessful affair d'Zobriste that the NYM front office should heed: SHUT THE FUCK UP!!
The upper levels of this team's mgmt has a history of talking too much before the fact and wind up looking worse in the end than they would have had they simply missed out on a player while negotiations flew more under the radar. And while some will blame a more aggressive NYC media for this, it's not like the national media had a whiff of Cubs/Zobrist either, plus the Yanx don't seem to have their every move foretold in the papers/twitter as the subsequent Starlin Castro deal showed or last year's similar Didi Gregarious move.

Bottom Line = DMTL: Deal More, Talk Less

[Benjamin Grimm]

[Lefty Specialist]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: I'm not terribly unhappy with this development.

Same here. And re-signing Muffy is not the answer. I'd rather they see what they've got in Herrera and sign Kelly Johnson as insurance. Or go big and shuffle the deck in SS/CF/1B. They've got tradeable pieces.

And yeah, STFU.

[Benjamin Grimm]

[Ceetar]

The front office would get just as much flak for not speaking enough. And that way gives the media fewer quotes/posts so they'd be less happy with them. People are going to over-analyze every quote or non-quote so they really shouldn't put too much worry into if they're talking too much or too little.

Maybe that unsubstantiated 4/80 rumor was the agent/Zobrist leaking "Hey, this is what it would take for me to not go to the Cubs" Personally, I think the Mets should've done that if they felt Zobrist was the guy that helps the team (And I do think he's that) I get it's all a game of probabilities but if they felt Zobrist gave the highest probability of postseason return, that extra couple of % is worth the extra money.

[TransMonk]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: I'm not terribly unhappy with this development.

100% agreed.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

AhemahemTRAIDHARVEYahem

[Frayed Knot]

Ceetar wrote: The front office would get just as much flak for not speaking enough.

Not from me they wouldn't. The one deal I can think of that happened more or less quietly was Cespedes and I think that's because it happened so quickly on the heels of the aborted Flores/Gomez fiasco, a deal that half of NYC 'knew' about before the freakin' manager did.

And I'm not even talking about imposing some sort of Yanqui-style embargo where Brian Cashman denies having even heard of certain players who they've already signed and continues to do so right up until the moment the catered 'Grip-n-Grin' press conference/uniform unveiling/dog and pony show begins. But in this case (and in far too many others) NYM mgmt was apparently letting everyone know (sometimes overtly, sometimes more off the record) that they fully expected to have a deal by the end of the day to the point where Terry is being quoted as to where he'd hit in the lineup (2nd btw). And at least some of this talking was going on after Zobrist had apparently already agreed to a deal with Chicago which just makes them look more stupid in retrospect.
They just need to learn to keep it in their pants a little better. Not everything you're thinking needs to be served up via media leaks or pre-completion crowing.

[Centerfield]

FK hits the nail on the head here. This is kind of what I was alluding to in my Ricco post. After years of watching Alderson masterfully speak and say nothing, it's shocking to see how blunt they are in this short Ricco era. I mean, yesterday Terry Collins was talking about where to bat Zobrist in the order.

It's shocking that are so open about not having any Plan B. And I can't imagine why on Earth you destroy any leverage you have by speaking openly about how much you want a player. Crazy.

I was thinking last night that the Mets must have thought all along that they would be the only team willing to go 4 years for Zobrist, and never expected the Cubs, or any other team, to match their offer.

[Zvon]

Centerfield wrote: FK hits the nail on the head here. This is kind of what I was alluding to in my Ricco post. After years of watching Alderson masterfully speak and say nothing, it's shocking to see how blunt they are in this short Ricco era. I mean, yesterday Terry Collins was talking about where to bat Zobrist in the order. It's shocking that are so open about not having any Plan B. And I can't imagine why on Earth you destroy any leverage you have by speaking openly about how much you want a player. Crazy. I was thinking last night that the Mets must have thought all along that they would be the only team willing to go 4 years for Zobrist, and never expected the Cubs, or any other team, to match their offer.

Totally that^

[ashie62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Rosenthal reporting that it's four years, $56 million. So that means it's $14 million the Mets can allocate elsewhere.

Murphy is smiling!

[Zvon]

Ashie62 wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: Rosenthal reporting that it's four years, $56 million. So that means it's $14 million the Mets can allocate elsewhere. Murphy is smiling!

That's a grimace.