The Mets Are Falling Apart
by Luke Halpert on Mon 18 Jun 2007 01:33 PM EDT | Permanent Link | Cosmos
Right off the bat, I'd like to say that I expect you to be skeptic of what I'm about the write. This blog isn't even about breaking stories (not that we don't want to every now and then), this is the first real post at Nyjer Please and I'm a relative unknown in blogging circles. That trifecta calls for **** 99.9% of the time. Well, I'm here to tell you that Nyjer Please is the .1%. A source who will remain anonymous, gave me a couple of nuggets the other day that have come up during the club's recent stretch where they have lost twelve of their last fifteen games.
First off, my source is told me that "the manager doesn't care much for the center fielder", obviously alluding to Willy Randolph and Carlos Beltran. In an off the record conversation, Randolph said Beltran "lacks passion" and is fed up with Beltran's lack of hustle on the base paths.
Secondly, Julio Franco, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday, is becoming a "clubhouse cancer". Since the losing streak, my source told me that Franco has become the ringleader of a "racial divide" in the clubhouse between the Latinos and non-Latinos. While it isn't a straight divide, it was painfully obvious there was something going on during last night's debacle at Yankee Stadium, where the Latinos were sitting in the dugout while the non-Latinos were on the dugout railing the entire game.
Finally, my source is telling me the non-Latino crew is convinced that the organization prefers Latino players. They feel that Julio Franco and his .200 batting average is "only on team because of his heritage" and are dumbfounded how Carlos Delgado is still hitting cleanup every day. The one player who is most unhappy about this is soon to be free agent Paul Lo Duca, who feels the club doesn't want him back because he "doesn't fit the profile", obviously alluding to the Latino bias of the club.
Well, there you have it. The Mets, my Mets, who once looked like the perfect team, the Brangelina of baseball teams if you will, are going through what looks like a clubhouse shift that could completely destroy this team. The catcher, the unquestioned leader, the heart and soul of the club doesn't want to come back and our manager doesn't have the hots for the center fielder. Hopefully a nice five-game win streak will cure all this and all will be well in Metsville."
Got this from another site.
