Updated May 6, 2013
Updating Adam Rubin’s report this past weekend, which you can read about below, Mets GM Sandy Alderson spoke to the Daily News and said the following:
“It’s no secret Jordany has had a slightly different approach to some things, there is a certain level of tolerance that we have. I hope he doesn’t exceed that level.”
As I’ve been alluding to for months now, my conspiracy theories and pursuit of this so-called “non-story” wages on.
Alderson is hoping that Valdespin continues to mature, but clearly he is as close to “persona non grata” as you can get despite his enormous potential and upside.
“I am hoping he will continue to mature,” Alderson said. “He has, I think, made progress. Hope he continues to do so on that front.”
I just call them the way I see them.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, just someone who is very good at reading between the lines.
So let’s talk about this non-story some more, shall we?
Well actually, now it is a story… Which negates about three-quarters of the comments telling me I was barking up the wrong tree …
Insights > Willful Blindness
Wipon = Front Office = SNY = Wilpon
It’s the Circle of Life, baby…
Original Post May 4, 2013
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that Jordany Valdespin was asked to attend early batting practice at Turner Field yesterday, but opted to not participate.
Rubin said that Valdespin was told by a coach he did not have to participate in the batting practice session, so he simply didn’t show up which in turn annoyed the team and coaching staff.
“Valdespin is exciting,” Terry Collins said after last night’s game. “He plays with a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm, especially when it’s crunch time. You know you’re going to get things that you don’t expect sometimes.”
Last night, Valdespin came in as a pinch-hitter and ignited the rally that would win the game and he scored the winning run.
Of course, we don’t know how many other players didn’t show up for the “voluntary” early batting practice, but this is Valdespin and for some reason any chance they get to make him look bad always finds its way out somehow.
Maybe they should try hitting him in the face with a sledgehammer next time instead of a pie. Maybe that will fix him.
The folks at MetsBlog assess the situation as follows:
I understand the team’s frustration with Valdespin’s quirks and behavior as well – in the end, this is a workplace for the players, not a summer camp, and he has created a perception of immaturity for himself which he has to work hard to shed. If Valdespin’s superiors request he attend a batting practice session to get some extra work in, he should take the hint and just go. In the end, this isn’t a huge deal so much as it’s another reminder of who Valdespin is. Perhaps if he conformed to the culture and practices of the team consistently, he would reap the rewards of his performances and talents and be respected a little more as well.
I have a problem with that. Valdespin shouldn’t have to conform to any cultural guidelines to gain his respect. His play alone is worthy of respect. In that regard he should be getting more respect than anyone else on the team with four of the team’s wins directly attributed to him.
If the Mets coaches wanted him at early batting practice, then they should have simply told him that. Running to the press and calling him out? Typical Mets under this current regime and ownership.
How about the Mets conform to the US Constitution and afford Valdespin his rights to live his life the way he sees fit as long as he’s not breaking any laws? Voluntary means just that, voluntary.
Voluntary visits to Walter Reed Hospital, voluntarily not reporting early enough to Spring Training, not participating in a voluntary batting practice… Honestly, who created those dramas, the players or the Mets?
The sad part here is that many fans draw their conclusions from the messages and vibes that the Wilpon owned SNY cable and blog network communicate.
It led to a comment like this from one prominent blogger who wrote last week:
Happy that the Mets had won, although it a homer was by my 25th favorite Met, I rolled over, hit off and drifted off to dreams of updating this post in the morning.
What kind of message is that?
Or how about this one from Mack (I’m not a Met fan) from Mack’s Mets:
I stopped following him (Jordany Valdespin) both on Twitter and Facebook a while back because I just got sick and tired of all the pictures of himself that he kept posting. This is one sick conceited dude…The dude is just a thug and a jerk. Dump him.
Needs to conform to culture? My 25th favorite Met? A thug? A jerk? A sick, conceited dude?
Who do you think is creating these misconceptions? The player, the team or their paid messengers?
Maybe it’s a combination of all three, but is this the kind of PR a team who needs an emergency image transplant needs right now?
They call me negative because I bitch whenever the team that I love loses, and yet you see comments like this flying under, over, and through the damn radar screen and nobody says a word.
I’m pretty certain that I’ll get called out for speaking my piece on this for sure… There goes Joe D. again – getting all negative and spouting truths… The nerve of that guy…
