Today Yoenis Cespedes was asked point blank by a Mets beat writer if he intended to “honor” all three years of his Mets contract. Yo responded by saying “Yes”. First of all, I believe the exact wording of the question was “Yoenis, do you plan to opt-out of the option to opt-out of your current Mets contract thereby opting-out of the opportunity to opt-into free agency, keeping in mind that any choice to opt-into the option to opt-out essentially is a choice to opt-into your right to exercise free will as a human being?” Then the reporter wrote “opt-in” and “opt-out” on two separate pieces of paper, put his hands behind his back, and asked Yo to opt-out of the opt-out by picking the correct piece of paper behind his back all while saying “Opt-in, opt-out, opt-in, opt-out” over and over again.

In all seriousness, I know they are required to by league rules, but I still can’t believe the players consistently speak to these reporters who are just trying to trap them on a regular basis. Yoenis Cespedes is a goddamn saint for listening to this crap. Yo had two choices today. He was directly asked if he planned to stay for his three year deal and not opt-out.  He could have said “Yes” or anything but yes which equals “No”. If he chooses anything but yes the media says he’s creating an in-season contract controversy during a pennant race and adds that he’s a golfing, smoking, lazy distraction.

Instead he says the right thing which is “yes”. And now the backlash for that response has already started. Already I’m seeing beat writers and articles saying if he opts-out he’s a liar and he’s not a man of his word and blah blah blah. Are you kidding me? First of all it isn’t a lie to say the right thing to a room of reporters trying to make you look as bad as possible. Second of all these reporters have some nerve making the decision to opt-out of a sports contract a question of “honor”. “Oooh if Yo decides to make the most money possible he’s not honoring his word! That’s so dishonest!!” Give me a damn break.

Finally I’ll say this for the millionth time. Yo is an MVP candidate in his prime. He’s the best player this franchise has had since Carlos Beltran. He has already expressed many times on record how much he loves being a Met, and he took a below market value deal to stay here. He deserves a mega payday. If he decides to stay and play out this incredibly lucrative 3-year deal then he’s a saint, and we should re-name the left field seats “Yo’s Corner” or some crap like that. If Yo decides that he wants a longer term deal and opts-out then the Mets should pay him what he deserves and name the left field seats “Yo’s Corner”.

Yo’s “decision” should have no bearing on the Mets decision. There is no decision for the Mets. Yo is an MVP candidate and the best player on the team. He must be signed. I don’t care that he’s battled injuries all season. I don’t care that long term deals are risky. He’s a 30 year old prolific slugging outfielder. The last two seasons he’s been a top 10 offensive player in the game. Pay this man and stop with the BS media smear campaigns and loaded freaking questions.