No Blessings For This Dark Heart

As suspected, we have a clarification on Jeff Kardashipon’s “untouchable players” comments from Tuesday. And the clarification comes from Jeffy’s subordinate, who actually has a pulse on player personnel: Sandy Alderson. Here you go:

While there’s no doubt Jeff Wilpon was correct in pointing out the Mets have “definite deficiencies” on the roster heading into the offseason, general manager Sandy Alderson said Wednesday he believed the team’s COO was speaking “off the cuff” on Tuesday when he listed David Wright, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler as the four players whose roles were solidified for 2014.

“I think there are other guys who would qualify to be on equal stature,” Alderson said.

He declined to come up with another list …

… because he has a BRAIN in his head. Which competent general manager gives a list of untouchables to the press? None that I know of. Now which incompetent Chief Operating Officer does the same thing? Well, there can be only one.

And just in case you think … for some reason … that Alderson should have kept quiet and not embarrassed his boss, well first off Wilpon embarrasses himself by merely speaking. Second, Jeffy agrees with him!

Wilpon said that he was merely “speaking off the cuff” when he listed only David Wright, Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese as the players he considered to already be in place for next season.

“Certainly, I should have mentioned Murphy by name, I should have mentioned d’Arnaud by name, and like I said, you could potentially put (Juan) Lagares in that group,” Wilpon said. “And certainly you have to put in some of the young stud pitchers we have coming up.”

Said Wilpon: ” In my mind, Murphy was part of that group at first base, that’s why I didn’t mention him by name.”

The fact that Alderson came out and used a nicety like “off the cuff” (which was surely code for “my boss is an idiot”), and that Jeffy used the exact same phrase tells me that this is damage control, plain and simple. Even if Jeffy turns out to be right and Alderson trades Murphy or d’Arnaud or whoever, it’s akin to a stopped clock being right twice a day. And it doesn’t make it a good idea to spout his mouth off and risk Alderson losing leverage.

So Jeffy, what you should have done was not mention anything about anything. If you want to paint a wall, PAINT A WALL! Don’t bring the press corps and talk about things you know nothing about … in your khakis and your loafers.