Hour 2: Spitefulness

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This is The Michael Kay Show podcast.

**Michael Kay** (0:34)
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**Michael Kay** (0:41)
All right, so something that puzzles me. The Yankees are playing the Orioles. Pete Alonso had a home run in yesterday's game. So he has an 11 game hitting streak. For the season, hitting around 268, I think, 29 home runs and 82 runs batted in. Yesterday, he played in his 543rd straight game, which is second only to Matt Olson for the longest consecutive game streak of an active player. He's a horse. He's the polar bearer. He doesn't miss time.
Then, we look at the juxtaposition. We find out yesterday, Jorge Polanco is going to undergo surgery on his ankle. And he's going to miss the rest of the season. And hopefully, he'll be ready at the start of next season. This was the guy that the Mets signed to replace Pete Alonso, although Polanco had only played one previous inning at first base in his life, and injury prone. So when Steve Cohen talks about, you know, we can't take as many chances, and I think that David Stearns realizes that. Now, they took a lot of chances. They got Luis Robert Jr., who was always hurt. They got him. They got Polanco, who was always hurt, never had played the position. They fired an entire coaching staff, an entire coaching staff. And they expected it all to come together at the right time. They got Beau Bichette to play third base. They never played third base before. So you know what I'm saying? They took chances. And you could take chances, but for everything to come up on the affirmative, it's kind of tough. And it kind of exploded on the Mets. Now, they're having a little bit of a renaissance now, because of the fact that nobody that was thought to be playing any kind of role on this year's team has been called up because of all the trades at the trade deadline. So you can't really hang on the rim that they're doing well now, because this was not the plan. Anyway, I digress.
So when the Yankees came into town in Baltimore, the Baltimore Orioles with the third team, the third wild card team by half game and Pete Alonso, after an awful April, has had an OPS of over 900 since May, one of the best in the game. And essentially what he's doing is having a Pete Alonso season. So he's getting up with 30 home runs again, over 30 home runs, he's probably going to have 100 RBI's, and the Orioles signed into a five-year deal worth $155 million. And the Mets wanted no part of that. From the very beginning, David Stearns did not believe in the value of Pete Alonso, didn't believe in him. And the only reason that he signed the previous contract was because Steve Cohen stepped in, because he heard the fans at the Mets gathering that they had at Citi Field, he heard them. You know, sometimes you do have to acquiesce to what the fans want, because Pete Alonso is one of the favored Mets of all time. Homegrown guy, most home runs in the Mets uniform. So, Stearns didn't fight it. They signed to that two year deal, and he had an opt out after one, and he took the opt out after putting together a pretty good year. And the Mets really didn't bid on him. I mean, they were thinking about three years, they didn't think he was good defensively. Would he be willing to be the DH? By the way, he's been, he's DH'd the last five games in a row for the Orioles. And while playing first base, he's plus two defensive run save. And Polanco has not been able to get out of his own way.
So this is the point I'm trying to make. So Dan Martin of the New York Post got a hold of Pete Alonso yesterday. And said, do you take any joy in what's happening to the Mets? And this is the quote from Pete. He said, honestly for me, nothing is spiteful.
And I shake my head in wonderment. Because I know that if that was me, if I was that same guy, I would be writhing in delight that the Mets are in last place in the East without me. I would be giddy with satisfaction knowing that the guy they brought in for $40 million for two years has not been able to be healthy while I continued to play every single game, and now will miss the rest of the season.