Can R.A. Dickey Return to Mets in 2013?
It may seem silly right now to wonder whether R.A. Dickey can return to the Mets in 2013, considering that a trade with the Blue Jays seems imminent. However, until the deal is done, Dickey is property of the Mets. If for some reason the trade falls through, can the knuckleballer return to Flushing?
One thing that escapes me is the assumption that R.A. Dickey will accept an extension to his current contract to play for the Blue Jays. Everyone seems to believe that because Dickey wants two years, $26M to play for the New York Mets, that he’ll accept something similar to play in Canada. Really?
Maybe he will, but I would think that a big reason Dickey is willing to accept less than market value to stay with the crappy Mets is because he likes living in the New York area, likes keeping his family in this area — and providing some kind of consistency / stability by staying in New York, and likes all of the opportunities provided by being in the media capital of the world. Why would he be equally willing to move himself and his family out of the country — for the same amount of money?
If I’m the Mets front office, I am really, really hoping that R.A. will come to terms with Toronto; maybe they already know he’ll sign an extension with them. Still, I’d be nervous until the ink is dry from his signature. Because if this trade falls through, what will the Mets do?
If the trade falls through, not only do the Mets have one less potential trading partner, but they also lose significant leverage. Now add in the recent anti-R.A. smear campaign that has spread among New York Mets beat writers — can Dickey return to the Mets after being thrown under the bus by journalists who seem to have been paid by the Wilpons to spin propaganda? I’m not so sure, but I am sure that other teams see the Mets’ predicament, and will be less likely to offer a lucrative package of prospects in return for R.A.
What’s your thought? Does this trade with Toronto absolutely, positively, have to happen now? Is there any possibility that R.A. Dickey can return to the Mets after the negative press?
Answer in the comments.
Do you really think it would affect him? If the Wilpon interview didn’t affect Wright, this shouldn’t affect RA, although that doesn’t make it right. I guess thats why the Wilpons get the press they get.
I don’t anticipate the Mets making RA “forget” their smear campaign by offering him a multi-year, many ten-of-millions of dollars extension. Their current spin campaign is aimed at making fans feel better about his exit.
Get everyone, both the Mets and Jays all hot and bothered about this trade and then Dick-y, who they say is very smart deciides that he will NOT accept an extension with Toronto unless he gets another year or 3, and a transfer bonus of say $10 Million.
Nixes trade, and now Dicky can become a free agent and really get even.
He who laughs last, laughs best.
– Said by no sensible person ever, because even in NYC the tabloids are treated like the comic books they are.
Joe, you are the most Jekyll-and-Hyde sports blogger I’ve read. A stellar and objective analyst when discussing player mechanics and game theory; a conspiracy-minded wingnut when not. You wouldn’t be simply trolling for comments, would you?
Who wrote that?
Not that it matters, I’m just curious.
Tabloids and comic books are what is read by the general population, and the average Mets fan.
The rest of us read blogs authored by conspiracy theorists. 😉
By the way, was the Dick Young / Tom Seaver controversy of 1977 an unfounded conspiracy dreamed up by some wing nut?
In this case the Mets are trying to trade an asset in hopes of getting better in the long run. In the Seaver case Young and M. Donald Grant were in collusion to discredit and dump the most important player in franchise history. It had nothing to do with making the team better.
Yes, the Mets pr dept. sucks, as do the Wilpons—but they pale in comparison to Young and Grant.
Some people may think I’m a conspiracy theorist, and maybe I am, but it’s an incredible coincidence that beat writers and bloggers suddenly started publishing negative stories about R.A. Dickey — who no one, ever, wrote a bad word about before — right before this trade came to light.