Sure, the Toronto Blue Jays gave up two
top prospects who might turn out to be baseball superstars. Or like so many hot
prospects before them, they could crash and burn in the big leagues, especially
in the glare of the New York City spotlight (if they even make it that far).
But we knew Dickey could handle the heat because we saw him pitch his way to the
National League Cy Young award in 2012.
A question that still lingers is if the
Mets, who were portrayed as being on the fence, ultimately decided to trade Dickey
because he had the nerve to express his frustration with the pace of his
contract negotiations at the team’s holiday party. While I agree that the
timing was terrible, I completely understand Dickey’s frustration and am
bewildered that the Mets traded him rather than give him the same, very reasonable deal the Blue
Jays did. Sandy Alderson firmly denied that Dickey’s comments had anything to
do with the trade and I do believe it was driven more by the Mets simply not
wanting to pay their ace that much money on a team that’s probably going to be pretty
bad for the next few years. But I wouldn’t put it past the Mets to make such a
petty move.
Even if you think the Mets made the
right call in getting such talent for an ace they didn’t want to pay to keep,
the problem with the move in the short term is that there is now one less
reason for Mets fans to bother showing up at the ballpark. The Mets had to prove
that they are committed to putting a quality team on the field right now and
trading Dickey runs counter to that.
Holiday gift packs for Mets fans are
available today, but I doubt Mets fans will be reaching into their wallets to
get them.
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