Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had the day off on Monday from “High Heat” on MLB Network. But after the storm of controversy flooded the Mets on Sunday when several players used thumbs down gestures in a statement toward booing fans, Russo wasn’t going to stay quiet.
Russo called into the show, where he lambasted Mets players for their actions — the same ones that prompted team president Sandy Alderson to release a statement condemning the players on Sunday.
“All these Met fans who sit there, and they’re going to get disrespected? Disrespected by Javy Baez? Are you kidding me?” Russo said. “There’ll be an insurrection in that ballpark the next few days.”
Baez, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar were the players seen using the thumbs down after big hits on Sunday, when the Mets won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 12.
It was Baez’s comments after the game that turned the controversy into a full-on inferno, with the shortstop saying, “When we don’t get success, we’re going to get booed. So they’re going to get booed when we have success.”
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During his more than two-minute rant about the Mets, Russo tore into Baez and Lindor.
“Baez has been there a month and hit .207. It’s not like he’s hitting .400. .207,” Russo said. “Lindor, look yourself in the mirror, he’s making $40 million a year, you’re hitting .224 with (38) RBIs. Nobody cares about your defense. Look yourself in the mirror, you’ve been an embarrassment in your first year here. There’s no arguing. None. Zero.”
Russo also questioned how manager Luis Rojas claimed to have no knowledge of the message behind the players using the thumbs down signal during the game. Russo said he likes Rojas, but he questioned whether the second-year manager would survive this.
Sunday’s win pushed the Mets to 8-19 in August, and after opening the month in first place in the NL East, they woke up Monday in third place, 7.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves with the Phillies sandwiched between them.
A dreadful 2-11 record in a 13-game stretch against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants fueled the Mets’ downfall this month, but Russo doesn’t buy that as a reason for the team’s free fall in the past 30 days.
“They couldn’t beat Pittsburgh (in July), they lost to Cincinnati, they lost three out of four in Miami, for crying out loud, to the Marlins,” Russo said. “They got swept in Philadelphia (where) they did absolutely nothing. The Mets make it sound like, ‘Well, we lost to the Dodgers and Giants.’ No you didn’t. You lost to a million of these teams. You’ve got nothing.
“I know (Pete) Alonso’s predictions. Ah, shut up and play. God almighty. Go out there and play baseball, and win some games and keep your mouth shut, and be thankful there’s fans in the stadium, who spent a fortune to go to those games.”
Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com.
‘Mad Dog’ Russo torches Mets after thumbs down gestures to booing fans - SILive.com
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