Another Billy Wagner Big Shocker

Well now this shouldn’t surprise you at all. You know, as long as we’re still talking Hatgate. Or maybe it should surprise you. Or confuse you. Because now I’m confused:

A red-faced Bud Selig called the Mets on Sunday night, the commissioner of baseball irate that the organization had thrown his office “under the bus” in divulging MLB was responsible for the decision that banned players from wearing caps honoring emergency services workers during the 9/11 game at Citi Field.

He was red-faced because the controversy caused him to miss the early-bird. You don’t want to mess with Bud Selig when he hasn’t had his 4PM dinner.

A person familiar with Selig’s thinking said the commissioner never threatened the Mets with a fine. The source hinted the Mets’ hierarchy perhaps used threat of a fine as a scare tactic in getting players to comply. The source also suggested the Mets perhaps fueled the fire by waiting until the last minute to inform players they couldn’t wear the caps during the game. MLB had issued the memo several days in advance of the game. But another source said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon was “back and forth” with the commissioner’s office on the matter until the proverbial 11th hour, when it was decided the Mets, on the hook for a $25 million loan from MLB, shouldn’t risk the wrath of Selig.

“It was in our control a little bit, but yet it wasn’t,” catcher Josh Thole said. 

So now it comes out that the Mets hierarchy was more involved than we thought. So when you combine that with the backwards and corporate thinking of Major League Baseball, is it really a wonder that this got screwed up, pissed on, and blown up to be a major issue? And are you really surprised that the finances of the Mets are involved? Maybe they’re involved because the Wilpons were truly scared to mess with MLB … and that makes sense when you look at history, and when you see that the Mets have consistently been one of the clubs to adhere to slot to keep their relationship with MLB strong. And if this “threat of a fine as a scare tactic” is true, then shame on the Wilpons to choose sides with the corporate lunatics at MLB rather than their own players. But what do you expect from the Wilpons? When have they ever not disappointed you?

But what of MLB? If the Mets have indeed done everything to placate the owners, then the thanks they get is Bud Selig accusing the Mets of throwing the office under the bus? And how about this source, this “person familiar with Selig’s thinking” letting all of these complaints out into the open? The controversy is bad enough … the worst thing Selig, Torre, and the rest of MLB could do is exactly what they’ve done, and that’s to go into spin mode instead of just letting this proverbial stench waft away to sea. Instead, what should have been an understated and solemn moment has turned into tabloid fodder. And if MLB was willing to use back channels like “a person familiar with Selig’s thinking” to get their side of the story out, combined with the Mets “throwing MLB under the bus”, as it were, then how strong is this so-called “relationship” anyway? Considering all who are involved, does it surprise you? Is it a big f***ing shocker to you?

It’ll be fun tonight at Star Wars Night when Joe Torre runs on the field armed with a light saber trying to confiscate the Chewbacca costume. Because if the Mets dress as Chewbacca, we all must dress as Chewbacca. And New Era must sell official Chewbacca hats.

Arm bash to Big League Stew.