Max Scherzer Says Mets Clubhouse Was "Great"

 Max Scherzer made his return to Citi Field for the first time since he was traded a month ago to the Texas Rangers for top prospect Luisangel Acuna. 

While it was only a month ago, it feels like years ago when the Mets pulled the plug on their playoff aspirations by trading away Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Mark Canha, and David Robertson to name a few in a fire-sale that sent shock-waves through baseball. 

Since the trade went down, we have head rumors of clubhouse discord. Stories that Scherzer and Verlander really never got along -- an issue that dated back to their time in Detroit over a decade ago. Rumors that Verlander was a "diva" in the clubhouse, and even rumors that Pete Alonso was a clubhouse problem. 

 

 

Now we have stories that the Mets were not only considering a deal to send Alonso to Milwaukee, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported this week that the Mets will consider moving Alonso in the off-season. 

It has been wild. 

And of course, Scherzer is back at Citi Field this week. The Mets gave him an ill-timed video tribute which was booed by fans on Monday -- no shock there. The Cy Young Award winner spoke to reporters on Monday. He denied any clubhouse friction. 

"It was not [toxic] at all,” Scherzer responded to a reporter’s question. “We actually had a great clubhouse. We had great veterans in our clubhouse, everybody included. That’s definitely not the reason why we lost."

On Verlander, Scherzer was even more cryptic, saying only that he and Verlander were on a "better page" now than they were at the start of the season. Asked to elaborate, Scherzer didn't.  That's a pretty odd and loud statement by Scherzer. 

It was known that he and Verlander did not always see eye to eye while with the Tigers, yet, the Mets ignored those warning signs and signed Verlander to a mega deal to pair up with Scherzer. It blew up in everyone's face big time. 

There is no telling what went on in that Mets clubhouse. But something did happen. The chemistry on this year's ball club was nowhere near as collegial as it was a year ago. The only man to point the finger at is owner Steve Cohen, who thought throwing money at a square peg would somehow find a way to fit a round hole. 

The 2023 Mets were a $364 million failure. And if it weren't for the New York Yankees total implosion this year, all the talk would be about how bad the Mets were and are.  

Maybe one day someone will write a book on this disaster of a season, and get to the bottom of it all.