Update 11:30 am
Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt has spent the day trying to explain to fans what exactly happened. Now, in the latest tweet meant to set off yet another firestorm, Haudricourt says,
The more details I get on nixed Gomez trade, the more it sounds as if it became more financial matter than medical matter. Anyone surprised?
This to me is a fascinating turn of events and plays directly into a Wilpon lack of money issue that some fans and critics love to eat up.
Yet, if you take a second to actually think about it – how can that be the whole story?
After all, Haudricourt also reported that Brewers GM Doug Melvin told him that when report of the deal leaked out, he told Carlos Gomez about the trade and that it was set to go through if medicals checked out.
He also reported last night that Melvin CONFIRMED medicals were the reason the deal got nixed.
So, since the medicals did NOT check out – we’re now going to try and spin this into a Mets financial issue? How does a trade “go through if medicals check out” if financials are an issue? It’s not like Carlos Gomez’s contract snuck up on the Mets. I am sure at minimum, Sandy Alderson is able to access Baseball Cot’s right?
Could it be, that the medicals did NOT check out and THEN the Mets requested a financial insurance policy on Gomez or else the deal was dead, and the Brewers rejected?
Doesn’t that make more sense than just the constant banging of the drum against the Wilpon’s?
Perhaps the Mets did the logical thing and saw a red flag, and tried to protect themselves from a potentially catastrophic mistake. Now, the Brewers are stuck with Carlos Gomez and trying to probably convince others to take him since you know, he never had a hip issue…other than that one time he had a hip issue.
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Original Post
Okay so last night was easily one of the craziest nights as a Mets fan I can remember. First of all, I’m glad to be on the side of the buyer – not the seller for the first time in what… 7 years?
While I have not been a Carlos Gomez fan for various reasons, I’m not going to sit here and tell you if healthy I would have been mad about the deal. I think it was a good trade for the Mets, had it gone through.
If the Mets could do me a favor from now until the deadline and only make afternoon deals, or at least finalize deals prior to let’s just say 9pm? That’d be great, thanks. Could the Mets fan base have slept any worse last night?
I know it looked “so Mets” to keep Flores in and Alderson “blames” social media for leaking the deal – I blame people’s rush to judgment without the facts as really the problem. I don’t think the leak of the deal was the issue at all.
Last night yes – the deal was reported done pending physicals as always. Yes Sherman didn’t say that – but everybody else did. Anybody who follows MLB trades knows physicals are always the last step, and when you have a player with Tommy John Surgery on his resume – you should know it’s not done yet until the teams say so.
They were correct to report the deal. In an era of the sport where you check mlbtraderumors.com every five minutes, we the fans have an appetite for wanting to know when a trade is close, and when a trade is done.
Trade rumors are like the National Enquirer of sports. They rarely lead to anything – but “we” always need to feel like we know what’s going on before it happens. That’s where I blame social media. How many “rumors” have stirred up a discussion that eventually had no true end result?
Remember the rumor that had the Mets getting Tyler Clippard, or Juan Uribe & Kelly Johnson?
The most informed reaction is the one you have after you have the facts. Not before.
When Flores was still out there, the social media firestorm was insane.
People calling Collins a cold and evil person – people saying the Mets are idiots…almost everybody was BLASTING the Mets, including reporters and beat writers who often get trade details.
You had Carlos Gomez with KRod and others taking an airplane selfie because he was told he was dealt by his manager. I don’t blame the media for reporting the deal, they did what “we” ask of them.
However, two things lead to last night’s chaos.
#1 Everybody’s insatiable desire to crush the Mets for anything and everything they do. And the fact remains – they were right guys. There was no trade, and no reason to pull Flores. Instead of viewing something that doesn’t make sense to you – perhaps wait until you get the facts before rushing to judgment next time?
We all knew Collins would speak after the game, we all knew there’d be plenty of chances for him to explain the situation. Instead – many fans and critics jumped to throw Terry Collins and the Mets directly under the bus. What was fascinating to me was the amount of insults being thrown Collins’ way as if somehow overnight he became an evil person, which was comical to me since just yesterday there was a story right here showcasing what a genuinely nice man Collins is.
#2 And this is where I blame the media. If you had an internet connection – you knew the Mets were getting BLASTED for having Flores out there. If you watched the game, you knew how sad of a scene it was.
Where was everybody who is so quick to “break” news at that point?
There isn’t ONE source that could have been found to say the deal is off mid-game and that’s why Flores is not pulled?
Everybody has sources to fill an entire trade rumor report – but nobody has a single source to ask the most important question of the night?
Why can’t the Mets broadcast team relay a message to the fans that there is a holdup in the deal and that’s why Flores is out there? Why can’t any of the Mets beat writers, Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman – anybody go to ONE source and ask “Why is Flores still playing?”
One report could have calmed everything down. But instead, everybody was too busy knocking the Mets, because that’s the cool thing to do right?
You can’t ask Sandy Alderson to release a statement on a trade that he didn’t even report had happened – especially when things probably got pretty ugly behind the scenes. If “sources” broke the story of the trade, then “sources” could have easily leaked a holdup in the deal.
So let’s get to why the deal broke down really quick.
The Brewers say Wheeler, the Mets say Gomez.
Maybe it’s the Mets fan in me – but I don’t believe the Brewers at all. First of all, Zack Wheeler is about 5 months removed from Tommy John Surgery, what are you finding out from a cut open elbow that you didn’t expect to see? You’re acquiring a guy who might not pitch until the summer of 2016 – what surprised you?
I refuse to believe you’ll know anything about Wheeler until he’s on a mound. They are the ones who were trading for a guy who just had his elbow cut open. I would be SHOCKED if Wheeler’s medical came through clean…since, it isn’t clean.
Plus, why would the Brewers own Manager tell Carlos Gomez he has been traded – if Zack Wheeler’s medical was the issue? Why would word get to the Manager to tell his star player he’s been dealt, if the organization didn’t tell him to?
The Brewers have to save face here because now they want to trade Carlos Gomez. The Mets do not NEED to trade Zack Wheeler. So the Brewers and Scott Boras denying Gomez’s hip issue to me is poppycock (yes, I just wanted to say “poppycock”).
But it was really the Scott Boras quote paired with how angry Sandy Alderson seemed to be that leads me down a path of believing the Mets were right here.
“Carlos Gomez has never seen a hip doctor and has never had a hip issue in his playing career. Anyone who suggests that is inaccurate and baldly misrepresenting the truth of the player’s condition.”
Really? He’s NEVER had a hip issue? I’m confused by this quote because just about a month ago, Carlos Gomez said this
“What I have been through this year has been hard,” he said. “It started with the hammy, then the hip.”
Then the what?
How can that be? Scott Boras just said you NEVER had a hip issue. How does a guy who has never had a hip issue in his playing career – have a hip issue just over a month ago?
Carlos Gomez’s hip issue was so serious at the time that his team scheduled an MRI on it. You don’t schedule an MRI on something that isn’t an issue.
The Mets did their due diligence when it comes to Gomez’s hip, and it lead to a deal being canceled. I’m not going to sit here and blame them for last night because they were busy doing what was best for the organization at the time.
Sure, at the time his MRI was “clean” – but they saw something they didn’t like, and that’s enough for me to accept their reasoning for backing out of the deal.
I know it’s the cool thing to do to criticize the Mets, but I think they got caught in a social media fire storm and unfortunately Flores was the victim – but had the trade gone through – perhaps the entire team would have been the victim.
This doesn’t mean the Mets cannot trade for an outfielder – and I expect they will do that now because the showed the Mets fans that they recognize a need for an impact bat and are willing to do something about it.
However, if I were a betting man (and I am), I’d bet it won’t be Carlos Gomez….or Gerardo Parra.
Good thing San Diego’s in town huh?
