February 2, 2021: Groundhog Day

Another man hired by Sandy Alderson turns out to be a creep.

Former Met manager Mickey Callaway has been accused by five women of inappropriate behavior. He told The Athletic he never meant to be disrespectful and consensual, and his wife is aware of the “general allegations.”

It is a tough read, but I made myself get through it.

He sent one female reporter multiple shirtless selfies and asked for a shirtless selfie in return. He texted to her “I bet you look yummy in Tequila.” He extoled the virtues of sleeping naked. He gave her a massage in the dugout when he thought noone was looking.

“He was completely unrelenting.”

Also in 2018 he emailed a different female reporter and commented on her physical appearance, and said, “Let’s go get drunk, I will tell you what’s going on with the team.” 

He sent another woman Callaway a video of himself shirtless on a tractor.

Did the Mets know about this creepy, predatory behavior?

The Mets, when contacted by The Athletic, said that in August 2018 – about 10 months after Callaway joined the organization – the team learned of an incident that took place before it hired him. The team investigated that matter, a spokesperson said, but declined to reveal the nature of the incident, the outcome of that probe or whether Callaway was disciplined. Callaway continued managing the rest of the season.

Sandy Alderson hired Mickey Callaway (after a long dinner with Fred Wilpon). He also hired Jared Porter.

That ain’t good.

I suppose there were signs. I thought of this incident as soon as I read the news:

Thankfully, Jeff got the doggo.

Plus there was the time Mickey threatened a reporter and took Jason Vargas’ side in a potential physical altercation, and was forced to apologize.

The article indicates this was an open secret among women in baseball. The fact it took years for this to become just plain open gives me a stomachache. It is also incredibly depressing to not be surprised, in that this is about a man in a position of power. It’s Groundhog Day all right. This shit keeps happening, over and over and over. People will yell #cancelculture, including those who know Callaway will probably be fired as pitching coach of the Angels, sit on his couch for a couple of months, latch on in a winter league and make a triumphant return to MLB this time next year, #redeemed and all that.

I’m tired of feeling embarrassed about being male. Not nearly as tired as women who have to deal with this bullshit when they just want to do their fucking jobs, but tired.

In the Before Times, I want to say December 2019, I went on a first date. The woman — a Mets fan, not that it matters — and I had a pretty good evening at the bar. I picked the place and it turned out she lived a block away. I offered to walk her home. She said I could, until we reached the corner. I understood.

“I get it. Men are scum.”

She laughed. Loudly. It was the hardest she laughed all night, and yes, she laughed other times during our evening, after I said funny things on purpose thank you very much.

George Saunders once said humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to. I wish what I said wasn’t so humorous.

The Mets acquired pitcher Jordan Yamamoto from the Marlins for minor-league infielder Federico Polanco.

Yamamoto had an awful 2020, but who didn’t amirite? He was designated for assignment last week. He has another year of minor league options, whereas the other . Yamamoto is from Hawaii and wears #50 in honor of that fact. The Mets have had some success with Hawaiian pitchers.

Literally no one:

Newest Met Jordan Yamamoto:

Awha?

Noah Syndergaard Has Chosen the First Book We Will All Read As Part of His Book Club

It is Scott Carney’s What Doesn’t Kill Us. It’s about physiology. Syndergaard explains it while shirtless in a hammock, which isn’t the best timing, but that is weirdly his long-established thing.

This book is about becoming more like our ancestors, experiencing dexterity, and being rugged. We can tap into our innate physiology by creating natural stresses through cold-water exposure and different breath work that can stimulate us as well. As the title implies, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. This book is about becoming a stronger human being. I hope you learn more ways to becoming naturally stronger by reading this book this month and I will check in to hear your favorite parts.

I am skeptical, not cynical. Breath work sounds like meditation, which I am all for. My issue is generally this reads like the novelized version of the Paleo Diet.

Is it someone’s special birthday today?!

Yes! Melvin Mora is 49 years young today (Wikipedia says his birthday is on the 7th. We go by Baseball Reference around here.) That’s actually kind of young!

I loved Mora. He could play any position and had a surprisingly strong arm. So instead of letting him get a crack at the everyday shortstop role when Rey Ordonez was out for the year, Steve Phillips traded Mora for Mike Bordick. Bordick was benched in the final game of the 2000 World Series for Kurt Abbott. Fuck! I hate remembering stuff!

Here he is making Ryan Klesko look like a damn fool.

And here he is scoring the winning run to send the Mets to Game 163. I remember listening to this on the radio. I love remembering stuff! #oldschoolgare

It’s snowing in New York. Don’t know if you noticed.

It was actually serene and shit walking around a bit in the snow on Sunday evening. Then on Monday another 12 inches was dumped on us.