Tewksbury, MA—No team in sports history has ever had as many “unnamed sources” as the New York Mets. And this is no recent thing either. This nonsense has been going on for decades. When Gregg Jeffries had the audacity in 1989 to play with passion, unnamed sources came out of the woodwork to bury the kid. Who are these unnamed sources?
Unnamed sources swirled like buzzards over Willie Randolph when the former manager left for a Fathers’ Day night trip to Anaheim in 2008. These sources spoke openly of Randolph’s impending demise while he flew to California for nothing-other than his flesh-for which the front office had demanded a pound.
More recently, Justin Turner was let go by the Mets at the conclusion of the 2013 season. Turner was barely out the door when unnamed sources leaked some ridiculous idea that the Mets had grown tired of Turner not playing hard all the time. Met fans viewed Turner as an all out max effort guy who ALWAYS played hard. And now as the emerging cleanup hitter for the Dodgers.
Why do I bring this up now while the Mets are in the middle of their most legitimate championship run in 30 years? Why inject such negativity into the midst of the most exciting Mets team since the 80s? Just like everyone else, I have enjoyed this postseason run immensely. The dominance of the Mets’ Big 3-Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard-has been nothing short of stunning. The Mets have not yet played Game 3 of the NLCS in the not so friendly confines of Wrigley Field, their series victory is a mere formality. Optimism is sky high. Good feelings and fan support are at all time highs. But…
Unnamed sources have reared their ugly Met heads yet again. Rumors about the fate of Yoenis Cespedes began the moment he arrived from Detroit. He’s strictly a rental; He’ll be gone in 2 months; No way the Mets pay this guy. We’ve been hearing it since July. The drum beats of his inevitable departure grow louder every day-exacerbated by the Unnamed sources.
And then yesterday’s “news” that the Mets have NO intention of bringing back postseason hero Daniel Murphy. Not sure if this is truly the plan, but as the paper of record for the dirtiest owners in sports history, the Daily News’ unnamed sources are usually correct. Those unnamed sources are Jeff Wilpon. So just as Met fans fill the Wilpon coffers with postseason largess-($9.00 hot chocolate anyone?) he is letting fans know not to get TOO happy. This postseason run may be exciting and even magical, but these are still the Mets. Lurking just beyond this wonderful ride is the knowledge that yes, these are still the Wilpons. And that means that the man most responsible for getting the Mets to the playoffs-Cespedes, and the man most responsible for keeping them there-Murphy will soon be gone and will doubtless become victims themselves of those Unnamed sources.
