STRO THANKFUL FOR THE CHANCE TO START OVER
Pitcher says Blue Jays treated him poorly after he gave his best, writes Rob Longley.
PITTSBURGH, PA. It’s a little jarring at first — the orange on the uniform and the “six” that was emblematic of Marcus Stroman’s years as a Toronto Blue Jay exchanged for the seven on his New York Mets jersey.
But other than that, it’s business as usual for the traded or spurned (take your pick on the description) starter that the
Jays parted ways with this past Sunday.
The brash, at times bordering on cocksure, ace won’t deny his frustration at the demise of a franchise that he feels just three years ago electrified a city and a nation much as the NBA Raptors did this spring.
And while maintaining he’s no longer bitter, Stroman is certainly passionate and pointed on how things unravelled, both for the team at large and for his own relationship with the Jays’ front office.
“Nobody’s left,” Stroman said, when we talked about the purge that has claimed Stroman and so many others from those recent playoff appearances. “It seems like (management) wanted to get rid of some people, get everybody out and just start their own regime. So, it’s a business. It is what it is.
“I knew I wasn’t a part of these guys’ plans and so I’m very thankful to be in New York with a new organization and a new opportunity.”
In the 15 minutes we chatted outside of the visitor’s dugout at PNC Park — where Stroman will make his National League debut on Saturday night — the 27-yearold Long Island native didn’t appear angry. He was forthcoming, however, and certainly not shy about discussing how his time in a city he loves came to an end.
WIN NOW, BABY:
Stroman wouldn’t be alone among veteran Jays players — most of whom are gone now — who struggled with the extensive rebuild and would share this view. In the prime of his career, Stroman can’t get his head around a team stripped so bare of veterans that it’s difficult to fathom how long it could be before contention comes around again.
“I want to win always, every year,” Stroman said. “I just want the organization to be invested in winning and going out there and putting the best product on the field and doing everything they can to get wins. I think that’s what this game’s about.”
And then a zinger, which can be digested any way you choose.
“I don’t think we (as players) are about saving wins for four or five years from now,” Stroman said. “I don’t think fans like that, either.”
ON JAYS GM ROSS ATKINS:
Stroman has been with the Mets for less than a week and he can’t say enough about his relationship with the GM who acquired him, Brodie Van Wagenen. As you can imagine, the flamboyant pitcher claims he didn’t feel such love from the brass while in Toronto.
“I’ve made the all-star game. I had a gold glove. I threw backto-back (seasons) of 200 innings and I never heard a word from any of those guys (in the front office),” Stroman said.
“At the end of the day, I’m extremely excited to be (with the Mets).”
The only time during our interview that Stroman gets close to animated is when the subject of an extension with the Jays is broached.
“There was nothing offered ever, from their perspective,” Stroman says of Atkins’ comments that there were some talks. “If they do say that, it’s a complete lie. It is what it is. That’s the truth. I’m not going to beat around.
“It’s pretty apparent. I’ve been waiting to take some type of deal since I’ve been there. I’ve been offered nothing.”
Stroman’s point: It should have been automatic that the Jays would have been interested in showing him the money.
“I have 800 innings in the AL East, the best division in baseball,” he said. “I don’t owe anything to anyone. My numbers have kind of proved that as I’ve gone out there every year. It’s a business. I really learned that. If I’m not in their plans, I’m not in their plans.”
ANGRY EXIT:
By all accounts, when Stroman was informed of his trade this past Sunday, it was an ugly scene in the Jays’ Rogers Centre clubhouse.
Words were exchanged, expletives delivered. Whether Stroman was upset at being dealt to a non-contender, or whether he just felt the need to vent, is unclear. On Friday, however, he acknowledged that some of his angst was directed at Jays management.
“The emotions when it happened, that was just (reacting) to how some of the process was handled with some of the front office,” Stroman said. “It wasn’t how I should have been treated. And they handled some of the things very poorly, so it was more me just voicing my opinion. We, as athletes, we have opinions, too, and I’ve been there for so long. I love the city. I love Canada. I love all the fans. Obviously, I was frustrated with how it was handled.”
As a point of balance, there were some in the Jays’ clubhouse who had grown tired of Stroman’s act. Though unwilling to go on the record, we heard stories in the days following the trade of a player who could be difficult.
“I loved everything about him between the lines,” one Jays official said. “But some of what he did was getting to be a bit much. It wasn’t always the best situation for the young players. He wasn’t the most positive influence.”