David Wright told reporters today that the Mets intend to hold a player’s only, closed-door meeting prior to tonight’s game to discuss Billy Wagner’s post-game remarks, among 
other things.
…from what i can gather, the meeting will occur after batting practice, just before the game, and wagner will lead the discussion and apologize and explain his comments to his teammates…
Prior to the game, Carlos Delgado told reporters that a) he did not speak to reporters yesterday because he was forced to leave the park quickly due to a family emergency, and b) Billy wagner aplogized to him for suggesting he was avoiding reporters.
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Also according to Willie.
I just want to know who called the meeting.
Why should Wagner apologize?? He is just telling it like it is.
Because Delgado apparently had personal issues to attend to and cleared things with willie.
Big surprise. There are alot of personal issues to attend to on this team, particularly with Delgado. I guess we don’t pay him enough to focus on his job.
And by “we” I mean the Mets – I don’t claim to pay player’s salaries by buying tickets…
I don’t know if that is entirely fair. Don’t get me wrong, the guy sucks, but if he had somewhere to be for family reasons or for any other reasons, then so be it. Who are we to say that talking to reporters should take priority over that? None of us know what the extent of the situation was, why can’t we ever give anyone the benefit of the doubt?
Here’s how I give them the benefit of the doubt. I already said it in this thread, but I’ll say it again.
Play better baseball.
Everyone has a family. We all have emergencies in our lives. If you have to go and be with someone, go be with them. But if you’re in the line-up… If you’re not asking for a day off because of something personal going on… then just play as hard as you can.
When baseball, and not even the games, but addressing the media, becomes more important that dealing with the problems everyone has in real life, then something is wrong.
But if they’re playing, play the right way. Then go and do what you gotta do, and get back to work as soon as you can. I don’t think that’s asking too much. They’re the same rules we common folk have to live by. :)
That’s my point. If he had somewhere to be whether it was serious, or something less like dinner with a relative he hasn’t seen in a while, or to get home at a certain time for the cable guy to show up, that is more important than talking to some stupid reporter trying to get under his skin after a loss. I wouldn’t mind if reporters weren’t allowed in the locker room at all. It seems like nothing good ever comes from it.
Well I do think there should be a legitimate reason for leaving… Unless they just don’t WANT to talk to the media. I’m fine with that too, but then they can’t complain about what’s written about them. Those meetings aren’t just good for the writers. It gives the players a chance to tell their side of things. If they don’t want to, then that’s fine, but then they can’t complain about it later. Not that Delgado has. Just saying.
But its not like its an isolated incident…Several times, Delgado has bolted without talking to the press.
And several times he is standing in front of his locker answering questions.
He hasn’t been doing his job, like getting hits… but talking to reporters as they ask stupid questions is not his job.
Um, actually it is. Media availability is in players’ contracts.
where did you get this info from?
Where did you hear that Delgado had cleared it with Willie?
Willie just said it when he was on with Mike and the Maddog.
I would guess he’s going to apologize for telling it like it is to millions of people instead of a room full of select people in a closed-door meeting.
This should be interesting. Maybe Wagner shouldnt apologize, but try to stoke the fires of those players.
Yeah, I hope they address a bit more than PR issues in this meeting.
Listen – I know everyone is panicking and rightfully so – but if the Mets sweep the Yankees then win the Braves series, which, I think, is not that strange a possibility – things won’t seem so bad.
None of that has happened yet. If it does, we’ll see how things go.
Yeah, but I just don’t think we should completely bury the team and the players and the manager just yet.
I’m not panicking. I doubt the time will come when I will lose interest in getting to Shea this year, but if that time were to come, I would simply give my tickets away and find something else to do. But that’s highly unlikely.
Then again, I don’t care if they sweep the Yankees. I’m not even really concerned with the wins and losses at the moment. Play better baseball. Playing better baseball won’t automatically lend itself to sweeping the Yankees or beating the Braves, but it will get them on track so that what happened during this week won’t happen again.
Winning five of six and then going back into a slumber is not better baseball. Start getting consistent. Do that and the wins will take care of themselves. Don’t do that, and in a week they’re right back to where they are now.
I used to get pissed at Wagners rants but now i’m over it. Something has to set a spark not sure what it is. But im willing to light myself on fire cause you can’t lose 3 of 4 to the Nats during a 7 game home stand.
I have to, painfully, agree. I usually can’t stand Wagner, but he actually made some good points.
This is great, I think this is what they need. (in fact I may have even posted this is what they need earlier today) Get all the boys on the same page. Lets play for ourselves and get the Met pride back. Also, no apology needed by Wags, if any one should be apologizing its Delgado and anyone else slacking so far this year.
Further, I think WRight is tricking the media, there will be no apologies everyone is just getting fired up with or without Willie.
Hows the weather in NYC anyway, will they get the game in?
clearing up, radar shows it’ll stop raining in time for the game most likely
I think Wagner should apologize The way he said it was more antagonistic than the way Lo Duca did last year.
I agree with Wagner’s sentiments, but he should have tried to do things internally first. Or at least he should have been more tactful about it.
It’s a good sign that he’s apologizing. I don’t believe he apologized to his Philly teammates when he dissed them, but I could be wrong.
Well, who’s to say taht he hasn’t already tried to do something internally first? Perhaps that is why he was so bent of shape this time. He obviously didn’t realize that Willie had already spoken to Delgado and was fine with him leaving right away.
When did Willie talk to Delgado and tell him it was fine to leave right away? Link?
We don’t know if Wagner has said something before. But even if he had, would it have been proper for him to curse out his teammates in public before reporters? Maybe he should have taken it private a second time.
I think my main concern is that this could make things worse for a team that is already struggling. It could drive a wedge between players and that’s the last thing they need.
Also, mackey, from your comments above, it appears you are saying Willie gave Delagdo permission to leave early just yesterday?
But yesterday is not the extent of the issue, according to Wagner and Lo Docua. It’s a long-standing thing where Delgado is just not generally available to reporters after games. Not just yesterday.
Or they can finally address some of this stuff and agree to put it behind them and play baseball at the level most of us believe they should be playing.
Willie referenced it in his interview with mike and the maddog. I have seen plenty of post-game interviews with Delgado this season and throughout his tenure with the Mets.
True. And hopefully that happens.
But still, I think it was risky calling Delgado out in public. It would have been better to do what Mex did when he would criticize Staw but in private. Their relationship evolved into a fistfight, but at least it was a private thing for the most part. Maybe if the current Mets threw a few punches at each other it might not be a bad thing for this club!
LOL!
You know what the difference between the players of that era and today is in my opinion?
Today these guys would get in a fight, and six people would go on the DL. The two guys in the fight, and four people trying to break it up.
I heard willie reference planning to talk to the players during the regular pre-game meetings, I didn’t hear him mention a players-only meeting but I have to keep the radio low here.
For every LoDuca/Wags that imply there is a problem in the clubhouse, there is a schneider/church that say its one of the best they’ve ever been in. I don’t pretend to get whats going on here.
Well …..being as the only other clubhouse schneider and church have been in was washington and montreal i think about any situation would be an upgrade.
Not only that, but what are the two new guys who have been received very well going to say?
“We appreciate the support the fans are giving us, but we wish they could know that most of these guys are boring buttheads who smell like sour milk!”
Of course they’re happy.
True, but they don’t have to say anything, either. Who knows. maybe someone comes out tonight with a shiner, that would be interesting.
The Stache is on FAN now
“True, but they don’t have to say anything, either.”
That’s true.
So it takes THIS to get a team meeting going?
Good for Wagner I suppose. Bad on the rest of the players for not seeing this needed to be done earlier.
typically…yes..it takes a bad losing streak or really bad play
its not like these meetings do ANYTHING… theyve happened before and it hasent fixed this sinking ship… truth is …these meetings go as such…
willie talks
wagner talks
wright talks
everyone else listens, ignores, or has some sick reggae-ton beat going on in their head…
And the drama continues… oh please kiss and make-up and let focus on BASEBALL as it is the name of the game they are all set out to play not auditioning for soap opera
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