New York Mets: Bryce can’t play nice, shows why Mets passed on him.

Can Bryce play nice? Monday night’s 5-1 New York Mets victory at Citi Field was sugar sweet for Mets fans, but Bryce Harper’s implosion took the wind out of the Phillies’ sails, reaffirming why Harper was not a fit for the Mets.

New York Mets fans watched in amazement. Why would Bryce Harper even get himself into such a predicament? Perhaps, at the age of 26, he still can’t accept that baseball is a team sport and not a “me” sport. $330 million sets you up for life but it can’t buy you a personality.

Many Mets fans were angry with the Wilpons for not pursuing Harper during free agency this past winter. They called the Wilpons cheap and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen nothing but a puppet to ownership. But last night Harper showed what a counter-productive player he can be. How dare does home plate umpire, Mark Carlson, call a strike on him?  He’s Bryce Harper and you’re not! They are lucky he didn’t take the baseball and go home!

Well  Bryce, you see, these are the Major Leagues and whether you pout, sulk, and have a temper tantrum, the game is not going to stop and the umpires will not get fired. I like to think that you are no bigger than the game, even if you think you are. Just ask pitcher, former Cy Young Award winner, Jake Arrieta. He wasn’t too happy about whatHarper did. Arrieta bluntly said he needed Harper on the field and needed him in the batter’s box.

In other words, Harper is of no use to him and the rest of the Phillies when he was watching the game from a monitor in the clubhouse. Can you see the destruction in the New York Mets clubhouse if he played in Flushing?

A veteran like Arrieta has a point. You put out everything you have to pitch the team to a win only to have one player get thrown out and your efforts go down the drain. How would Jacob deGrom feel about that?

By the way, according to Arrieta, umpire Mark Carlson missed some calls for both teams. So, why does Harper act like he’s picked on? I guess in Harper’s World if he doesn’t swing at a pitch it has to be a ball, case closed. That’s Ted Williams territory. Last I checked, Harper has a long way to go until he comes within sniffing distance of Williams.

That was an expensive rejection and the Phillies can feel good about spending stupid money on Harper. There is more to a team than signing the big names, it’s called chemistry and Brodie Van Wagenen is protective of that, no chemistry means implosion.

While it happened in Flushing, at least Harper wasn’t representing the New York Mets. Maybe Bryce may play nice and learn a lesson. I doubt it.