Mets Morning News: Mad Max the Union Man

Meet the Mets

Max Scherzer never expected to be the public face of the union. But, after the previous CBA, he vowed that he could not “sit here and complain” if he was not in the room where it happens. “When it’s your opportunity to be able to stand and fight for the young players, you need to stand and fight and make a better game for them,” Scherzer said to Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal.

Phil Regan was elected to the Syracuse Mets Wall of Fame.

Johneshwy Fargas tweeted that he is back with the Mets this spring.

Around the National League East

The Nationals plan to take things slow with 17-year-old outfielder Cristhian Vaquero, who was recently given the largest international signing bonus in franchise history. Vaquero will remain at the Latin Academy in the Dominican Republic for now.

Griff McGarry was a volatile college pitcher drafted in the fifth round who is now one of the Phillies’ top prospects.

A new study from J.C. Bradbury, a Professor of Economics at Kennesaw State University, shows that Cobb County is “running a deficit of about $15 million a year paying for the [Truist Park] stadium obligations, which translates to about $50 per household income every year.”

Around Major League Baseball

MLB and MLBPA are scheduled to meet again today and the union plans to provide written responses to each of the league’s latest proposals.

John Harper says he’s come around on the idea of a fourteen-team playoff structure, especially if it ends the lockout. He wrote about how it could work for SNY.

In such a fourteen-team playoff arrangement, Max Scherzer floated a “ghost win” proposal, which would have the higher seed start a best of five series with a 1-0 lead. This was already rejected by the league while the two sides were negotiating in Florida, but it is clear that without radical measures such as the “ghost win,” players feel competition could be “eroded” in a fourteen-team playoff format.

The short attention spans of the younger generation are not to blame for the decline of baseball. Major League Baseball is to blame, writes Neil Best of Newsday.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

As Mets fans, we’re used to baseball-related disappointment. But the disappointment and anger many baseball fans are feeling now that Opening Day has been cancelled due to the greed of petulant billionaires is deeper and more personal, writes David Capobianco.

This Date in Mets History

Various fun spring training highlights happened on this date in years past, but there will be none to log in the history books for March 6, 2022.