The New York Mets lost to the Yankees Saturday afternoon, 7-6, in what was probably the brightest spot of the day for the organization. Earlier in the morning, Mets’ skipper Mickey Callaway made some…intriguing comments regarding his star outfielder, Yoenis Cespedes.
The 32-year-old Cuban native publicly stated after Friday night’s win in the Bronx, his first game back after a nearly ten-week absence due to an array of leg issues, that his chronic heel issue (calcification in both heels, actually) has been plaguing him since he was a teenager and the only way it would be rectified would be via surgery.
The estimated recovery period for that type of surgery is anywhere from eight to ten months. When asked if he would be able to continue playing this season by Anthony DiComo (MLB.com), Cespedes could not confirm or deny, simply replying, “I don’t know”.
Sure, that was deflating news. It was practically as bad news as one can get while rooting for a team that 14.5 games out of first place in the NL East, battling for sole custody of the basement with the trying-to-lose Miami Marlins.
On Saturday morning, Callaway appeared unaware of Cespedes’ comments made the previous night. When asked by DiComo of the news, Callaway seemingly had no clue that his star player was under such affliction, claiming that he was under the impression Cespedes was “good to go” before inserting him into the lineup as the Mets’ designated hitter.
During yesterday’s SNY broadcast, thanks to a nice grab by Roger Cormier of Good Fundies, Steve Gelbs said that the Mets don’t know if Cespedes needs surgery and that, ultimately, that would be the individual player’s decision.
We’re not jumping all the way down this rabbit hole, but we all remember how the Carlos Beltran knee surgery situation played out (in case you don’t). Needless to say, the fanbase was incredulous and with good reason.
How could the team let Callaway head into his pregame press conference without being properly updated on not only the physical well-being of one of his players but his potentially season-ending comments that were made the night before?
How could there be such a wide valley of disconnect between player and organization? Assistant general manager John Ricco made comments to Newsday‘s Laura Albanese on July 6 stating that the team was aware that the cause of Cespedes’ leg issues was at his heels.
If the front office clearly knew about the issues with Yo’s heels, and have been closely monitoring him throughout his entire rehab, with Mike Barwis with him on a daily basis no less, how in the wide world of sports was he allowed to return to the lineup?
More importantly, why didn’t Mickey Callaway have a solid answer for the media? He directed questions to the team’s medical staff, which infamously and conveniently, is not permitted to speak to the media during the season.
At least we could count on the someone from the front office addressing the now-hyperventilating fanbase after the game, right? Nope.
We got three quotes, one from each tine of the Mets’ pitchfork of general managers, cookie-cut for each area of their “expertise” after arguably the best closer in the franchise’s history was traded away for a couple of question marks and some international spending money (like Euros? I hope the exchange rate doesn’t kill them).
Look, we’ve all seen our fair share of dark times rooting for this team, but yesterday ranks among one of the hardest this writer has personally had to experience. I wasn’t born for the Tom Seaver trade, but I remember the early-90’s very well.
As I’ve stated before, we made the choice to root for this team; if you don’t like it, jump off the train. It should be easy considering that it’s moving nearly as slow as molasses off of a spoon at this point.
But if you’re like the guy behind the counter at 7-11 on Greene on Lindenhurst, NY, this latest episode won’t shake you or your blue-and-orange-blooded fandom.
I walked into Sevs to get an iced coffee this week, over the All-Star break. He rings up my beverage, gives me my change, and I notice his Mets hat with the 2015 World Series patch on the side.
I say, “Nice hat. You’re a brave soul for wearing that for eight hours while dealing with the public,” half-jokingly but in a way that he knows that I’m right there with him.
A wry smile broke on his face, an aura of pride and confidence washed over him, and he pointed to the patch on the side of his cap as he replied, “The dream is always alive. I’ll never stop rooting for this team.”
Amen, brother. Let’s Go Mets.
