Mike Francesca’s Interview Of Brodie Van Wagnenen Was A Bad Joke

Now that the Mets are on 880 AM, Mets players and front office personnel are once again free to appear on WFAN. This is the first time since the end of the 2013 this is permissible. Apparently, this was something bothering Mike Francesca because he seemingly took five years of frustration out on new Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen:

https://twitter.com/backaftathis/status/1057428195270688768?s=21

Listening to the interview and over again, it was blatantly clear Francesca was not listening to Van Wagnenen, and he had the intent to mock and belittle the new GM.

Overall, Brodie Van Wagenen’s key statement was, “I think it’s a good everyday lineup that I want to build off of.”

Every reaction and question which ensued was proof Francesca did not listen to that statement even when Van Wagenen kept reiterating it.

Not getting the answers he wanted. Francesca insulted Van Wagenen, outright ignored his answers, and went so far as to remind Van Wagenen he was taking over the Mets and not the Yankees. Francesca’s indigence and invocation of the Yankees is certainly peculiar when you not only consider how he staunchly defends the Wilpons, but he also went so far as to falsely claim the Mets had the seventh highest payroll in the majors.

Francesca continued the bizarre behavior (albeit not for him) by asking Van Wagenen who his cleanup hitter was.

Now, Van Wagenen could not have been more clear during this interview the Mets were going to add to this lineup.

That said, who cares who is the Mets cleanup hitter as of today? Van Wagenen was hired to figure out who it will be not just on Opening Day, but hopefully, Game 1 of the World Series.

Remember Yoenis Cespedes was the Mets cleanup hitter during the 2015 postseason, and he was not obtained until minutes before the trade deadline.

This is to say a GM’s work is never done. If you’re “Numbah 1,” you know that and don’t make ridiculous statements like, “When the team is full, can you call and let us know?”

But Francesca doesn’t care about potentially sounding ridiculous. Instead, he went in with an agenda, and that agenda was to be dismissive of all things Van Wagenen and the Mets. That is why Francesca sounded even more pompous and dismissive than he usually does.

The best way to shut him up and make him eat his words will be to build a winner, which is the job Van Wagenen was hired to do anyway. Francesca won’t, but everyone should give Van Wagenen an opportunity prove himself.