By now, Noah Syndergaard knows you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Not the hand that signs your checks, the hand of the New York media…
It was only a few hours before sunrise when the Mets had completed a crushing 16-inning 3-2 loss to the Giants. Noah Syndergaard had pitched seven innings in what was probably his best game of the season. Try as they might and did, the team could not manage a win.
It was time to head back to the hotel, which Syndergaard presumably did along with the rest of the team. Between then and the following morning, Syndergaard caught wind of a Tweet by the Mets MLB Beat Reporter, Anthony DiComo. It lit a fire under Syndergaard. Here is the public exchange we get.
After one of the tougher Mets losses of this season, there was a pretty stark difference between losing pitcher Chris Mazza, who stood in front of his locker and answered every question, and starter Noah Syndergaard, who bolted the clubhouse without answering any.
Nobody’s Right If Everybody’s Wrong
Everything in DiComo’s Tweet is accurate and correct. From the get-go, major league ballplayers are taught and, in many cases, told, to make themselves available to the media – win, lose, or draw. It requires a tough skin, but it’s part of the job.
Following on the heels of a dustup between the Mets Mickey Callaway and Jason Vargas with another reporter, Noah Syndergaard reacted with emotion, pride, and perhaps a sense of frustration in his response to DiComo. Still, in the profession he has chosen to make a living, that doesn’t make it right.
Or, is Syndergaard intentionally firing a shot over the bow, and DiComo just happened to be an unwitting messenger?
Surely, by 9:30 the next morning, the cobwebs were cleared from Syndergaard’s head. So, is this him saying, “You know what? I’ve had enough of this crap. Get me outta here”?
Who can say? I’m just posing what a reasonable question is. Because after all, it’s becoming ever so evident Syndergaard is not, and never will be, the second coming of Jacob deGrom – the accurate measure of consistency.
Noah Syndergaard: It’s All Cute And Innocent Until It’s Not
To the chagrin of the Mets, Syndergaard has had his share of hissy-fits and run-ins with Mets brass. The whining about going to Syracuse before opening day. The refusal to undergo an MRI before a disastrous start that put him on the shelf.
A view of himself as being single and “available” on the streets of Broadway, recalling the days of Matt Harvey. His tirade to Mets brass telling his bosses to “pay the man” during deGrom’s extension talks. It’s all cute and innocent until it’s not.
The fact that Syndergaard’s latest hissy-fit comes on the heels of a resurging Mets team (covered in a story earlier today) means Brodie Van Wagenen and the rest of his brain trust needs to figure out where Syndergaard is coming from – and fast.
If he wants out, show him the door. More than Zack Wheeler, Syndergaard is and always has been the Mets most significant trading piece. He can yield a fortune of talent to what is already a solid, though underperforming, team.
If there is any doubt about the mindset of Syndergaard, now is not the time to err on the side of caution. Trade him, and don’t look back.
They say timing is everything. Time will tell, but I sense that Noah Syndergaard has given the Mets a way out if they opt to trade him. He bit the hand that feeds the franchise – the New York media. And like it or not, the Mets can’t afford to keep taking one on the chin every time one of their own goes off the reservation…
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.
