That's odd - I've read the article carefully, twice even, and can't find where Wright told Milledge to "shut up". Must be a glitch in the Intertubes.

* burns Wright jersey *

We have a guy in the office that's always complaining about other people complaining. Good stuff!

"Everyone in the organization babied the heck out of him," Wagner said. "We couldn't get on him too much because we were told to lay off of him. It could have been a whole lot worse for him and all we did was try to help him to help us."

I cannot believe the front office tried to make it easier for a young, talented player to help the ballclub. What were they thinking?

I cannot believe the front office tried to make it easier for a young, talented player to help the ballclub. What were they thinking?

It really is an idiotic culture that someone should be harassed to see if they're "tough enough" to do the job. Players should just STFU and let each other play. Management should crush that crap quickly. Dumbasses, the team WANTS young players to suceed. Maybe fringy veterans don't, but no one should really care what they think.

Lassus to Wagner: Shut up.

I have a hard time believe Wagner let anyone off "easy" by normal standards. Maybe by his standards.

The locker room isn't boot camp. Silly practical jokes as hazing are just good fun; haranguing a rookie into submission is just being the north end of a southbound donkey.

Only some of the time did Wagner drill Millege in the head for bunting.

I suspect Wagner was a big part of the locker room tensions that played a part in motivating the Milledge trade.

I've had enough of Wagner's antics. If he weren't crucial to this team's success, I would drive him to JFK myself. Let him play out his contract and run his mouth on another team.

"Everyone in the organization babied the heck out of him," Wagner said. "We couldn't get on him too much because we were told to lay off of him. It could have been a whole lot worse for him and all we did was try to help him to help us."

Translation: "I wasn't allowed to be as big of a jerk as I really wanted to be, so he should count his lucky stars and thank me."

Milledge notoriously showed up only an hour before the game's first pitch during a series in Philadelphia, drawing harsh criticism from Wright at the time. Milledge also celebrated a bit too much when he high-fived fans along the rightfield line after a tying home run at Shea Stadium.

Nice job downplaying the "tying home run at Shea" that Milledge hit and then sacreligiously celebrated with fans afterwards. It was the first home run of his career and it was hit with the Mets down to their final out against Armando Benitez in the bottom of the tenth inning. The crowd was celebrating like it was a playoff game, such was the enmity toward Benitez, and Milledge accepted the adulation being bestowed upon him. What a headache that guy was!

"Everyone in the organization babied the heck out of him," Wagner said. "We couldn't get on him too much because we were told to lay off of him. It could have been a whole lot worse for him and all we did was try to help him to help us."

Oh, big tough guy Billy Wagner is going to pop off now? The same guy who didn't have the balls to admit that he hung that sign until AFTER Milledge was traded? Now either the sign was meant to be a message sent directly to one player (Milledge), or it was typical rookie hazing with no meaning behind it, as Wagner now claims. If it was "typical," then every rookie would've gotten a similar message, no? They didn't, because Wagner is talking out of both sides of his mouth. No surprise that Lennon lets him do it - it dovetails nicely with the general ax-grinding in the article.

The Mets would do well to just shut their collective mouths and move on here. Trading Lastings Milledge is going to work out about as well for them as trading Amos Otis did. The entire organization is going to regret it one day.

Translation: "I wasn't allowed to be as big of a jerk as I really wanted to be, so he should count his lucky stars and thank me."

You've cracked the code.

What is it with the Mets that they always seem to have at least one colossal D-bag on the roster? And it seems like guys who had good reps before coming to Shea suddenly become D-bags shortly after arrival... Cone, LoDuca, Wagner (May have been douchey before, don't pay much attention to Philly sports these days). Or do all the Met hijackings on BBTF just make me more aware of the ############# going on at Shea?

Lot for me to think about this morning.

I'm having flashbacks to the "Worst Team Money Could Buy" team of 1992....

I think Wagner would fit right in with the vets on the Dodgers
come on Omar, trade Wagner for Kemp :-)

Cone, LoDuca, Wagner (May have been douchey before, don't pay much attention to Philly sports these days).

I'm not aware that Cone was ever regarded as a #########

Wagner was in Houston, probably was in Philly...
LoDuca was a douche in LA, but the media there portrayed him in a very different (and false)light to advance a certain agenda of theirs

wow, douche gets through the nanny, but not doosh bag...

I've had enough of Wagner's antics. If he weren't crucial to this team's success, I would drive him to JFK myself. Let him play out his contract and run his mouth on another team.

This is a ludicrous sentiment. Obviously, he'd fly out of LaGuardia.

LoDuca was a douche in LA,

Thanks! Call me if you need anything!

It's really a shame that the Mets players weren't able to turn Milledge into the next Gregg Jefferies.

LaDoucha

It's really a shame that the Mets players weren't able to turn Milledge into the next Gregg Jefferies.

Brian Schneider has all the skills necessary to be the next Joe Foy.

A lot of long distance shouting going on between traded playeers and their ex-teammates. Crawford in TB vs. Young in Minnesota, and now Milledge vs. Wagner/Wright. Does it seem like Wagner, Wright, and Crawford are all saying the same thing?

Ryan Church is yapping about the Nats and his treatment there.

He even goes as far to say that they benched him last season after the Pena trade to keep his salary down in arbitration.

It makes no sense to bash your former team. He just needs to turn the page and worry about helping the Washington Nationals. Forget about what we’re doing over here. Forget about the New York Mets

He's in the same division.

Amazing, you all think you know more about the clubroom dynamic than the people actually in it. The mets should be ridiculed for creating a double standard.

"That is absolutely not true," Bowden said. Church "was benched because we traded for Wily Mo Peña and then started scoring one more run a game. I promise you that is not true."

I see, you bench your second best hitter, when you trade for Wily Mo, meanwhile you are giving regular at bats to Nook Logan...

I'd be pissed if I was Church.

FWIW, it looks for all the world like Church was jerked around in Montreal/Washington- is there any rational reason that he spent 50 games in AAA in 2006? he was the Nats second best hitter in 2005.

Amazing, you all think you know more about the clubroom dynamic than the people actually in it. The mets should be ridiculed for creating a double standard.

That's the real issue, of course we don't "know"
the real issue is that upper management often has less of a clue than us outsiders.

that should be clubhouse.

I'm a little disappointed in DWright here. Wagner is an immature jerk. But you would think DWright would be prudent enough to avoid getting tangled in a pissing match with Milledge on the tabloids, unless his quotes were taken out of context.

What is it with the Mets that they always seem to have at least one colossal D-bag on the roster?

What are the odds that a group of 25 people doesn't include at least one colossal D-bag?

FWIW, it looks for all the world like Church was jerked around in Montreal/Washington- is there any rational reason that he spent 50 games in AAA in 2006? he was the Nats second best hitter in 2005.

He had options when some others didn't, and they didn't like that he slept through spring training that year.

Then he went down to the minors and slumped, hitting .200 or so for the first month or two. When he finally woke up and got his head on straight, they brought him up.

He's a solid player, but a headcase.

What are the odds that a group of 25 people doesn't include at least one colossal D-bag?

Probably lower than 50/50, but we always seem to hear about them on the Mets.

And I don't blame DWright for his comments. Wagner seems like a huge douche, but he's still there and an important part of the team. Milledge is gone and still yapping about things. (although I have no trouble believing that the veterans and Mets organization as a whole didn't treat him well) What's Wright supposed to do, throw his closer under the bus to stick up for a rookie who got run out of town?

What's Wright supposed to do, throw his closer under the bus to stick up for a rookie who got run out of town?

He could always just "no comment" when asked about it.