Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Now for the news…
HIALEAH, FL – Where was the adult in the room? Huh? Where the hell was he? I want answers. I want the truth, and you know what? We don’t get the truth any more. In fact, it’s been a long damn time since we got anything remotely close to the truth. Where do I start? I’ll give you one guess.
-“Zach doesn’t need an MRI. He had two of them over the Winter. They came back fine. This is strictly precautionary”
-“Ah…these days guys come in with an upset stomach and they send him for an MRI…ha ha…it’ll come back clean.”
These were the irresponsible comments from Dr. Sandy Alderson and Dr. Terry Collins. Sandy is baseball’s worst General Manager; Terry Collins likely the sport’s worst field manager. They stink at their day jobs, but there they were playing Doctor this past weekend while everyone waited on the slow in-coming MRI results of Zach Wheeler‘s elbow. This is kind of like the Feds finally getting Al Capone – not for dozens of brutal murders – but for tax evasion. Hasn’t Sandy violated any HIPAA laws or OSHA regulations by speaking so recklessly about the medical condition of Wheeler’s arm?
The Mets sent Wheeler for an MRI about a week ago, and while you and I can get our results either that day or the next, (help me out here, Short Matt) it took over a week to get Wheeler’s tests back. Why? Do you know what those things cost? Rather than visiting a state of the art center where results can be received quickly, the Mets utilize an MRI facility in Overtown, where the technology employed is straight out of 1982’s War Games with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. Word is the young right-hander had to share an MRI tube with a late scratch from the 4th that day at nearby Hialeah. The issue is that the adults in charge of the Mets knew Wheeler’s elbow could blow at any moment. They knew this 18 months ago. They knew this all of last season when Collins allowed the kid to throw more than 110 pitches in a game 22 times! So Wheeler becomes the 6th Mets pitcher in the last year and a half to undergo Tommy John Surgery.
Just hours before the NCAA tournament field was announced on Sunday, word came that St. John’s shot-blocker extraordinaire Chris Obekpa had been suspended for 2 weeks. The only legitimate big man and tremendous rim defender for the Red Storm, his loss almost certainly spells “one and done” for the Johnnies. Coach Steve Lavin spoke about the honor of playing at St.John’s; of his belief in the process and doing what’s right – without regard to timing or circumstance. Maybe Lavin is being honest here. I sure hope so, because Obekpa is literally the difference between the Red Storm winning at least one game in the tourney and not for their 4 seniors. It’s heartbreaking for his teammates, who busted their tails to get to this point. Obekpa is still a kid. Where was the adult to keep him focused and away from lighting up days before the Big Dance was to begin? On whose shoulders does that fall?
Disappointment all around and it’s only March. As Tall Matt said, no one can set up a season of despair early and often quite like the Metsies.
Angry Ward never disappoints – unless he’s he’s off, and he is. But come back tomorrow for the Substitue Teacher, who will be peeing green.
