batmagadanleadoff

Greg Goossen and the aqua green walls of April, 1967. [fimg=1166:12jc44sh]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/16846829225_76fd8116ce_o.jpg[/fimg:12jc44sh]

So, the Mets are scornfully cheap for shopping Gee and scornfully cheap for keeping Gee. Cheap is cheap. The Mets were being prudent in keeping Gee to use when some starter went down. A starter did go down, just earlier than we expected. I don't see any argument that includes Gee and cheap in the same sentence. Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I agree that if the Mets had legitimate worries about Wheeler's health, it made perfect sense for them to hold onto Gee as an insurance policy. It also made perfect sense for the Mets to keep their concerns about Wheeler to themselves rather than publicizing them, contrary to what Bob Klapisch believes: excerpt: But once again, the Mets make it hard to trust them. No one said a word this winter about Wheeler�s chronic pain. Was it because it was time to hustle season tickets? Was it because a potential setback to one of their prized young arms would sabotage the sales pitch? Is that the reason Alderson never pulled the trigger on a trade for Dillon Gee, because he privately feared this day was coming? Shame on Alderson and his bosses, the Wilpons, for their lack of transparency. If Wheeler�s arm was enough of a concern for a PRP shot in November and an unscheduled MRI in January, it should�ve never been kept a secret. And for Alderson to say Monday, �This kind of result was not totally unexpected,� then every Mets fan has a right to ask: Why didn�t you do anything about it? http://www.northjersey.com/sports/klapisch-mets-paying-for-not-taking-care-of-wheeler-s-arm-1.1290256

Get it? Mets ace Matt Harvey: I'm ready to put 'whole staff on my shoulders' by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com Tue, 17 Mar 2015 11:44 AM ET With Zack Wheeler likely destined for Tommy John surgery, Mets ace Matt Harvey, who is also working his way back from the procedure, told reporters he's ready to put the entire pitching staff on his shoulders, according to the New York Post. "I don't look at it that way," Harvey said. "I just go about things the way that I do and the way that I know how. That's what I've always done. I kind of took over and took charge at North Carolina when I was a junior and had the whole staff on my shoulders there. So now it comes pretty natural. It's something I enjoy. I'm ready to do the same thing here." Wheeler has looked sharp in his first spring training since Tommy John surgery, keeping his fastball in the 95-97 mph range. He has allowed two runs, struck out eight and walked one in 8 2/3 innings of work this spring. "I do everything I can to win and lead by example on the field," Harvey said. "That's important to me. I never asked for it, but it's come and it's a great honor. It's something I take great pride in. We can't let this be something that ends our season." http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/update/25111059/mets-ace-matt-harvey-im-ready-to-put-whole-staff-on-my-shoulders

Ceetar wrote: if someone sues Aramark and Citi Field for watering down the taps, is MLB obligated to come in and make sure they're not scamming customers? The Oakland Raiders were sued by the cheerleaders for underpaying them, among other accusations. Did the NFL come in and investigate? Did they check the other employees? Maybe they're skimping on the line cooks in the concession stands too. I wouldn't equate those acts with accusations of civil rights violations. Still, I don't see why the leagues shouldn't investigate. If one team can intentionally water their taps without league oversight, then so can all of the other teams. Does the league want a reputation for permitting its teams to cheat their customers? Isn't in the league's interest to crack down on this behavior? Why do you believe that the business end of the sport should be beyond league oversight? What if the cash strapped Mets ran a heroin ring out of the back of their ticket sales office? Again, perhaps the league doesn't respond to negative press until their wallets are impacted. Too bad someone can't organize the fans. 'Cause if you can get them to boycott games same way that civic leaders got the riders of Birmingham Transit to boycott their buses in '55, then the leagues would act ethically responsibly.

Edgy MD wrote: So, the Mets are scornfully cheap for shopping Gee and scornfully cheap for keeping Gee. Cheap is cheap.

Ceetar wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Maybe the Mets are looking to stall their arb clocks. Should fans trust the Mets to believe that their personnel decisions regarding their budding pitchers are not mainly driven by salary concerns? Montero's been up already. Doesn't service time accrue only when the player's on the 25 man roster?

Nymr83 wrote: So let's discuss this. What "laws" do you think Jeff should be able to breach or violate at will without being held accountable by MLB? Criminal laws? Civil laws and/or statutes? What if Jeff violates someone's constitutional right that isn't specifically protected by statute? Some other category of "laws"? All of them. The relevant authorities in the jurisdiction in question should deal with enforcing the law. MLB should punish only if/when there is a crimial conviction. Temporary suspensions when charges are pending may or not be appropriate depending on the seriousness of the charges (ie rape, murder). MLB certainly shouldn't be playing constitutional lawyer to determine what "rights" a former employee of the Mets might have and also dtermine whether they have been "violated", we have courts for that. And whaddya mean by "things that have nothing to do with the game on the field"? thats pretty self-explanatory to anyone who is not being willfully obtuse. You can tell from my prior posts that I don't agree with you. There's an enormous range of conduct, reprehensible and despicable, that isn't necessarily criminal. Your policy would permit the owners, not just Jeff Wilpon, but all of the owners, to systemically engage in racial and gender discrimation, among other things, during the day to day operations of their teams, without interference from MLB, even though the owners and their teams, collectively, are MLB. In Castergine's case, the parties settled before trial. I've no doubt, even though I've no proof and it's just my hunch, that although the settlement amount likely represented an enormous sum of money to someone like Castergine, Jeff Wilpon, and all of the other owners are so fabulously wealthy, that they can afford to foot a settlement of that kind as easily as anybody on this forum can afford to treat themselves to lunch at Burger King. If Castergine's accusations were truthful, Wilpon got off scott free. But MLB is a ruthless business, and they'll ignore incidents like this one until they believe that their pocketbooks are at risk -- just like those manufacturers who won't make necessary repairs to dangerous products until they sense that expenses incurred from legal fees and jury verdicts will exceed the costs of repairs.

Ceetar wrote: Wheeler's injury could plausibly cause the Mets other domino effect problems, besides his lost innings. This setback likely requires the Mets to carry Gee's salary, something that many suspect was not in the Mets plans. If the Mets were planning on dumping Gee's salary, they might no longer be able to do so. If the Mets are as financially strapped as their harshest critics and biggest skeptics believe they are, carrying Gee's salary might impinge on their "supposed" plans to increase the payroll depending on their W-L record later on in the season. Again, this all depends on how broke the Mets are, and how much wiggle room they truly have with respect to their payroll, or as Sandy likes to say: how much "payroll flexibility" they truly have. except they have Syndergaard, Montero, Matz, etc. If they desperately needed to dump Gee he'd be gone already. Maybe the Mets are looking to stall their arb clocks. Should fans trust the Mets to believe that their personnel decisions regarding their budding pitchers are not mainly driven by salary concerns?

Nymr83 wrote: If Jeff broke laws I hope the authorities come after him. If not, I have very little use for MLB imposing discipline for things that have nothing to do with the game on the field. So let's discuss this. What "laws" do you think Jeff should be able to breach or violate at will without being held accountable by MLB? Criminal laws? Civil laws and/or statutes? What if Jeff violates someone's constitutional right that isn't specifically protected by statute? Some other category of "laws"? And whaddya mean by "things that have nothing to do with the game on the field"? Does that include the day to day business operations of the team? I mean, do you think there would even be a game on the field if MLB couldn't sell a single ticket? Or charge a parking fee? Because I don't see how you can separate the business end from the playing of the sport itself, especially since the sport is essentially a business and the owners are mainly in it for the money. I doubt that the owners spend eight or nine figures in annual team payroll out of the goodness of their hearts. Do you think MLB and the other owners would look the other way if Jeff Wilpon sold David Wright and Matt Harvey jerseys in his own separate deal to keep the money from the sale of those jerseys for himself?

Wheeler's injury could plausibly cause the Mets other domino effect problems, besides his lost innings. This setback likely requires the Mets to carry Gee's salary, something that many suspect was not in the Mets plans. If the Mets were planning on dumping Gee's salary, they might no longer be able to do so. If the Mets are as financially strapped as their harshest critics and biggest skeptics believe they are, carrying Gee's salary might impinge on their "supposed" plans to increase the payroll depending on their W-L record later on in the season. Again, this all depends on how broke the Mets are, and how much wiggle room they truly have with respect to their payroll, or as Sandy likes to say: how much "payroll flexibility" they truly have.

d'Kong76 wrote: I don't need to hear commishspeak on this matter. The two parties settled and it's over and done with. It's over? That's some slippery slope you're slipperying up. What other trouble should Jeff Wilpon be allowed to buy his way out of to avoid league punishment? What other bad acts should MLB ignore and keep its nose out of so long as the parties eventually settle? Racial discrimination? Separate water fountains for the "colored" Mets employees? Maybe we'll let Jeff lynch a homosexual so long as he pays off the estate handsomely. Meanwhile, we're supposed to worship at the Jackie Robinson Rotunda that was installed with desperate haste even though about half of the Mets fans could care less about the rotunda and probably wish it wasn't even there in the first place --- and then pretend that the Mets symbolize all of the ideals that Jackie Robinson was supposed to have stood for.

Nymr83 wrote: don't get you started on an agreement that is mutually beneficial to two consenting parties? ok, sure. See my last post. It's not just between Jeff and Leigh.

It's not that simple. Wilpon shouldn't be permitted to use the NDA to shield himself from the consequences of harming or having harmed others who are not parties to that confidentiality agreement. If MLB decides to investigate the Castergine matter because it frowns upon its owners who commit civil rights violations during the day to day running of their teams, or if a new Jeff sexual discrimination/harassment accuser emerges and wants discovery into the Castergine matter to demonstrate a pattern and history of abuse of the same type, Jeff shouldn't be able to shield himself from those inquiries because he bought Leigh's silence.

Ceetar wrote: I'm still unsure why you think it's MLBs job to stick it's nose into the Mets office workplace and it's lawsuits. Never mind that Leigh can't actually talk to MLB about it. Because MLB should not tolerate the kind of demeaning misogynistic behavior Castergine accused Jeff Wilpon of committing -- not on MLB's watch. (See, Sterling, Donald and the NBA). Do you really need to ask? And don't get me started on those confidentiality agreements.

Wow. Still no comment from the Commish. What a surprise. It's as if nothing ever happened here.

Lefty Specialist wrote: One wonders if he hung on to Gee because he knew this was going to happen. An off-season MRI clears him to pitch and then suddenly he's got a torn ACL....makes you wonder if they saw something and were willing to let him pitch through it. That's what I'd suspect; that Wheeler's condition had worsened to the point that it made sense to hold onto the surplus pitching (Gee) as insurance specifically for Wheeler.

MLB should've investigated this matter as soon as it came to light. The lawsuit was civil, not criminal. Therefore, there was little reason for MLB to stand by while the legal process played out. Not that MLB ever stood by, anyways. MLB walked away from the whole thing. From Day One.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This story is begging for some prolonging. Then prolong it, Counselor. I'm powerless to do so. All I know is that whatever Jeff did, he did it as the owner of a baseball team, during the day to day running of his baseball team, and to an employee of his baseball team. But this current sycophant of a commissioner who replaced the old sycophant will probably now let Jeff hide behind this secret agreement, as if the NDA between Jeff and Leigh absolves MLB from conducting its own internal investigation. And besides, we all know that even if MLB ever did decide to investigate the matter, their findings would likely amount to a total whitewashing of the whole thing. The commissioner would've probably appointed Saul Katz to lead the investigation. If only Adam Silver were running MLB.... Because what if it turns out that Leigh Castergine's version of events is the right one? What if her accusations were truthful and accurate? How will the public ever know now? Does MLB close its books on the matter because the parties settled? And if so, doesn't that essentially say that an owner can buy his way out of any consequences for his bad acts?

Was afraid of that, after his last outing. Are they worried? Apparently, Wheeler has had elbow issues throughout his entire pro career. And the symptoms appear to be worsening. But in the Bizarro World of the Mets, this revelation means that there's nothing to worry about. Although Zack Wheeler has been scratched from Saturday's Grapefruit League start against the Washington Nationals with elbow tendinitis and a blister underneath his right index fingernail, the right-hander expressed no alarm. Wheeler noted that he managed pain in the elbow throughout last season and during much of his professional career, in part through the use of anti-inflammatory medication. Wheeler indicated he has never received a cortisone shot in the elbow, however, contradicting what Sandy Alderson on Friday believed to be the case. "It's just a little sore. I'm just going day to day," Wheeler said. "It's something that I've had before and have had to deal with. It maybe sort of picked up last year, but I've had it my whole career. I've just been able to deal with it and stuff. Like I said, I'm just going day to day with it." http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/98630/wheeler-downplays-elbow-issue

d'Kong76 wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: This story is begging for some prolonging. Then prolong it, Counselor. I'm powerless to do so. All I know is that whatever Jeff did, he did it as the owner of a baseball team, during the day to day running of his baseball team, and to an employee of his baseball team. But this current sycophant of a commissioner who replaced the old sycophant will probably now let Jeff hide behind this secret agreement, as if the NDA between Jeff and Leigh absolves MLB from conducting its own internal investigation. And besides, we all know that even if MLB ever did decide to investigate the matter, their findings would likely amount to a total whitewashing of the whole thing. The commissioner would've probably appointed Saul Katz to lead the investigation. If only Adam Silver were running MLB....

Nothing to be gained? By anybody?

This story is begging for some prolonging. What are you talking about, anyway?

Can't wait for the inevitable and condescending take from the Commissioner's office, where this settlement is equated with a. complete vindication from a jury.

Edgy MD wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: In a shocker, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed . Most predictable thing of things. And those terms will almost just as certainly include a gag order. That's not a gag order. That's an agreement. I wonder what it's like to be so rich that you can do just about anything you wanna do and buy your way out of any trouble you make.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Sandy responds to himself: As for reportedly wanting to pursue Cano beyond a dinner to meet agent/rapper Jay-Z, Alderson said: �Robinson Cano was an entertaining diversion for us, but I don�t think we ever expected it was going to go anywhere. Jeff [Wilpon] and I had conversations about it. We decided to take a preliminary look at it, but I don�t think anybody had any expectations we were going to sign Robinson Cano. I certainly didn�t. And, from a strategic standpoint, it wouldn�t have been the right approach for us.� http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/98542/alderson-downplays-mets-financial-issues What does that mean: "from a strategic response"? Does that mean "it wouldn't of been strategic to chase Cano with such a small budget"? Or "I wouldnt'a pursued Cano no matter how big my budget was"? Or something else?