Mets fans should be pumped that the Mets have retained Yoenis Cespedes, a player so valued he quickly became expendable to three previous teams? – Phil Mushnick, New York Post, January 25, 2016
Well, in a word (fuck) yes. Putting aside (!) Cespedes’ prodigious output for the Mets during the 2015 season’s final 55 games — an offensive tear so dramatic, some actually raised the notion of the outfielder’s MVP candidacy — there’s something deeply disconcerting about the innuendo here. If Cespedes is truly the uncoachable clubhouse cancer Mushnick and others in the media (none of whom, by pure coincidence, seem to be of Cuban descent) seem to suggest, why would the Mets dream of having him back, let alone at $25 million + for next season? Why would the Nationals, already praying Jonathan Papelbon is hit by a bus, offer a guaranteed 5 year deal to a player of such poor character?
Could it be that Cespedes’ teammates, managers, employers and people who’ve paid to watch him every day have a more informed opinion about what he really brings to the table, pro and con?
Mushnick would have you believe that on 3 separate occasions, other teams couldn’t wait to rid themselves of Cespedes. Never mind that that A’s flipped him for the highly coveted Jon Lester (or that their offensive production went straight into the toilet once Cespedes left town).
It would be a real shame if this was part of a creepy pattern, wouldn’t it?