Brodie Van Wagenen, ever intent on becoming the Mets Czar, spends too much time in the clubhouse, and it’s making things worse…
Brodie Van Wagenen, who is moving ever closer to inheriting the title of Czar of the New York Mets as opposed to his actual title a General Manager, has an apparent built-in tendency to want to be “close” to his players.
Conveniently, he hides this behind the BS supposition that he works for his players, and not the other way around. Cut the semantics, it is the other way around, and Van Wagenen’s ever-exploding ego is hurting your team, even though that may not be your intention.
Brodie Van Wagenen can walk into the Met’s clubhouse today following three successive losses to the lowly Derek Jeter team masquerading in major league uniforms, extend a pat-on-the-back, “hang in there” words of encouragement – only to turn around before anyone wakes up tomorrow morning with the news that the same player has been DFA’d, traded, or demoted with one stroke of a pen.
That’s called power, and Brodie Van Wagenen has it by nature of his title as General Manager of the New York Mets. And while there’s no one on the current Mets team, including Mickey Callaway, the man who is supposed to be protective of his players, who is about to tell Brodie in no uncertain terms, “Get lost, this is our domain”, the consequences of Van Wagenen’s abuse of power is weighing heavily on a team already in the depths of another season lost.
The Mets took only two hours to get shutout by Miami starter (bet you can’t name him) on Sunday. The team looked and was listless.
And with the dismissal of Mickey Callaway looming over the Mets, even if as a scapegoat for the team’s woes, Todd Frazier, who should be looking over Brodie’s shoulder himself, offers this lame eulogy to Callaway’s tenure with the Mets…
Not just a good manager – a great manager. But it’s to be expected because the players always know they are the ones, at the core, who are responsible for a team’s success or demise, and not their manager, even if his name is John McGraw or Joe Torre.
Van Wagenen hears none of this, though. He is safely ensconced in the cocoon of Jeff Wilpon’s pretend to be the “new Met’s” ownership flag, which turns out to look like the same flag waved by the organization before Van Wagenen.
You can’t make this stuff up with the Mets. It just plays out in front of you. As Pete Townsend wrote for The Who….”Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
Because he has the power though, Brodie Van Wagenen (still) has the opportunity to turn this Met’s 2019 team around. The Division is fast becoming out of reach perhaps with the Phillies and surging Atlanta Braves making strong statements, but there is still a Wild Card to play for, even though the Mets have the ungodly task of moving ahead of six teams, including yes – get this, the Cincinnati Reds, to qualify.
Brodie Van Wagenen will do what general managers do when faced with oncoming disaster. They’ll pick the low-hanging fruit and Mickey Callaway will be retired to pasture. But the real culprit of the Met’s season will remain untouched – unless Brodie is willing to show his culpability (read Todd Frazier, Jason Vargas, Robinson Cano (Oops, I forgot to run to first base again), Jed Lowrie, et.al) in the early upending of the Met’s season.
One thing is certain, though. Playing buddy-buddy with your players is not the answer. And it should be more comforting to Mets fans that Brodie Van Wagenen is spending the bulk of his time away from his team’s clubhouse, and more on the upcoming June College Draft and whatever he might gain from endless phone calls to teams likely to engage in trades to better his current roster.
The Czar of Mets baseball isn’t listening though – even when Noah Syndergaard talks sense…
Brodie has the power – how about using it? And maybe a good place to start is with a nominal fine for Robinson Cano’s second incident of inexcusable loafing on the field…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
