Memories of Jacob deGrom

[Fman99]

I give #48 away to the next guy who requests it. You want to salt that number away, you come talk to me when he's no longer an active MLB player. Right now he can eat a hot wet bag of Texas farts.

Same here, exactly. Also, maybe someone can tell deGrom that the Mets signed Senga and Verlander because the Mets dont wanna win the WS.

I looked it up. The Rangers haven't won even 80 games since 2016. So they suck and have sucked and will continue to suck.

They never tell the truth, though, do they? It's always the same old bullshit line. I'm trying to remember one time where a guy said, "Yeah, I signed there, they offered me the most money. I mean, duh." Is anyone going to dispute that?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Of the famous foursome they gave away Matz' 32 the quickest as it went directly to Loup over that off-season. Syndergaard's 34 was less than half a season (Tommy Hunter). Harvey was just more than a calendar year (Hector Santiago).
They gave Reyes 7 directly to coach Bob Geren. It wasn't until Marcus Stroman said 7 was sacred did they mothball 7

[Bob Alpacadaca]

I think it goes to mothballs with 8 and 5 and will eventually be retired. I think those will be at some point, too.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I can only guess that in the dialogue between the Mets and DeGrom, the Mets were proposing a contract length that was much less than the 5 year deal offered by the Rangers. ...

Yes, but we know this. That the Mets offered three years doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't have come around to offering more years. There are too many major questions about the deGrom contract negotiations that --surprisingly-- remain unanswered. Like why weren't the Mets given a chance to match the Texas offer? And did the Mets ever make it crystal clear that they wouldn't match the Texas offer? Among others.....

[Edgy MD]

I think that, when the Mets state why they opted not to go as as high as another team, they tend to be accused of insulting the player with an ex post facto rationalization.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Did the Mets state why they didnt go as high as Texas? I dont recall. The way I see it, the Mets made an opening offer, that's it. Did the Mets also say that their opening offer was also their final offer?

What I do recall being reported is the Mets asking the deGrom camp to be kept in the loop and informed of whatever deGrom was doing. I wish we had more info. AFAIK, the Mets made an offer and then deGrom signed with Texas. That's it.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I mean, I just can't believe that the NY press hasn't flushed out all of these details by now. We're talking about one of the greatest .Mets ever and an extremely popular player with the fans. Granted, his popularity surely took a big hit this week.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I was just thinking of appearances. Like how long after your spouse dies are you allowed to be seen out on a date? Kinda question

lololol

When Jake bolted, Steve's tweet on it seemed understanding but curt underneath. Like "He has a right to pick another team and we have a right to fuck off and get a replacement immediately." If he just retired, I bet they'd keep the number on ice then hang it on the wall one day soon. But him just leaving for another team, I wouldn't be surprised to see it hit the back of a jersey again. Senga would be a bold choice, but probably a left-hand reliever. They wear 48 well.

Did the Mets state why they didnt go as high as Texas? I dont recall. The way I see it, the Mets made an opening offer, that's it. Did the Mets also say that their opening offer was also their final offer?

What I do recall being reported is the Mets asking the deGrom camp to be kept in the loop and informed of whatever deGrom was doing. I wish we had more info. AFAIK, the Mets made an offer and then deGrom signed with Texas. That's it.

That's as much as I recall seeing, too. It does seem he was content to be closer to home, make a boat-load of money on more rich-guy friendly taxes, and that was that.

[kcmets]

I mean, I just can't believe that the NY press hasn't flushed out all of these details by now. We're talking about one of the greatest .Mets ever and an extremely popular player with the fans. Granted, his popularity surely took a big hit this week.

I thought about this over the weekend. The only thing I came up
with is the Mets offices are in a glued and wrapped tight clam shell
under the new guy. Wilpons would have been leaking six stories about
how they did all they could (when they probably didn't) and other stuff.

Totally unrelated example, the Willie number retirement. No one knew,
or if they did were sworn to secrecy - and everyone in the press box, the
tv/radio booth, fans in attendance and viewers at home were surprised.

[Edgy MD]

The nature of numbers and their availability suggest that it shouldn't be a great feat to keep one out of circulation for an all-time team member who is continuing on with another club, if you smell a retirement in the future.

The Mets equipment manager at the time of Seaver's departure (Herb Norman?) publicly stated that no other player would wear 41 while he had any say about it.

Seaver ain't deGrom and deGrom ain't Seaver, but keeping a number on hold while a player continues elsewhere is easily workable.

If I'm equipment manager, I pull a Herb Norman with everybody, and keep #35 on ice until Joe Smith retires and #2 in reserve until Justin Turner retires. It'd perhaps require a bunch of numbers to be squirreled away for a period, but any former Met who returned would have his number waiting for him.

[whippoorwill]

I mean, I just can't believe that the NY press hasn't flushed out all of these details by now. We're talking about one of the greatest .Mets ever and an extremely popular player with the fans. Granted, his popularity surely took a big hit this week.

I’m sure there have been players just as popular, but in the distant past

[whippoorwill]

Seaver...just as popular, Wright... just as popular, Piazza...just as popular, Hernandez... just as popular. I'm sure there's more.

And that's not even counting my personal favorites, lol

[batmagadanleadoff]

I mean, I just can't believe that the NY press hasn't flushed out all of these details by now. We're talking about one of the greatest .Mets ever and an extremely popular player with the fans. Granted, his popularity surely took a big hit this week.

I’m sure there have been players just as popular ....

Me too. Who said otherwise?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Seaver...just as popular, Wright... just as popular, Piazza...just as popular, Hernandez... just as popular. I'm sure there's more.

And that's not even counting my personal favorites, lol

See above post.

[whippoorwill]

Yes I kinda misread what you meant and realized it.

But I was just reminiscing:)

[batmagadanleadoff]

I think that, when the Mets state why they opted not to go as as high as another team, they tend to be accused of insulting the player with an ex post facto rationalization.

I've been trying to answer this post but admittedly, don't understand it. How could the Mets insult deGrom after the fact by stating that they were unwilling to match Texas? And did the Mets even give a reason yet for not signing deGrom? Reporting is so sketchy, especially for a player of deGrom's caliber and given the extraordinary nature of the contract he ultimately signed

AFAIK, the Mets and deGrom met. The Mets made an offer. And then the Mets never heard from deGrom's camp again after that -- not until deGrom and the Rangers had finalized a contract.

[Edgy MD]

They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but he was as fragile as a Christmas ornament and there was just so high we were going to go."

They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but with his weird thing for dolphins and My Little Pony tattoos, there was just so high we were going to go."

They could say, "We thought he was worth a lot of money, but with all those incidents involving his wife and alcohol, there was just so high we were going to go."

Much of the reporting after the Dickey trade and the Phillies signing of Wheeler led to accusations that the team was torpedoing both those guys on the way out the door. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't, but I understand avoiding saying much of anything at all, because there are only so many diplomatic ways of saying that somebody else thought he was worth more than we did.

In fact, I understand very much the tendency to avoid saying much of anything at all.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Yeah, but how could the Mets insult deGrom after the fact? Well they could, but who'd care? It wouldn't affect contract negotiations because they're over and done with: deGrom already signed.

I thought you were getting at some kind of insult that persuaded deGrom, at least in part, to sign with the Rangers.

[Edgy MD]

No, I wasn't.

As for who would care, in the cases I cited above, fans cared. Some, anyhow.

[batmagadanleadoff]

As for who would care, in the cases I cited above, fans cared. Some, anyhow.

Yes. I was responding under the prism of offending deGrom to the point that he was dissuaded from signing with the Mets, which I now know was not the point of your original post.

Much of the reporting after the Dickey trade and the Phillies signing of Wheeler led to accusations that the team was torpedoing both those guys on the way out the door. Maybe they were and maybe they weren't, but I understand avoiding saying much of anything at all, because there are only so many diplomatic ways of saying that somebody else thought he was worth more than we did.

In fact, I understand very much the tendency to avoid saying much of anything at all.

I would like to believe that eventually, some reporter is gonna get to ask the Mets pointed and well phrased questions about the deGrom negotiations and have the interview well thought ahead of time out to the point that he or she could follow up with intelligent questions depending on the answers given. Then what?

TBD.

[G-Fafif]

Jake says thanks. Ran as a full-page ad in the Post.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I kinda knew I wasn't interested when I saw it was the Post.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I'm sure deGrom feels bad, in part, about his decision to leave New York. Still, I have no desire to read his farewell because in my heart, I'm convinced that he didnt want to play here anymore and would've re-signed with the Mets only if no other team was willing to offer him a deal that was in the Mets ballpark. I think deGrom wouldve signed with Texas even if they didnt top the Mets, so long as they were close.

[A Boy Named Seo]

If I had the need and means to buy a full-page ad in a New York paper to deliver a personal message, I think the Post would be pretty low on my list, for at least two reasons. And being a famous dude, I'd probably reach more people by just posting it on my own social media to begin with.

Maybe this should be a poll, but if you had a important personal message to deliver to the masses of NY, how would you do it?

[Benjamin Grimm]

A billboard in Times Square?