Luis Rojas had "no idea" what the thumbs down gesture represented when Javier Baez, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar flashed it during the Mets' win on Sunday, but the team addressed the controversial decision in a team meeting, and Rojas considers the matter closed.
So do the players, who apologized prior to Tuesday's doubleheader while Baez walked back his initial comments a bit, saying the thumbs down was meant for the Mets dugout after originally saying it was a way of "booing back" the fans, who have been critical of the team during their poor performance in the second half of the season.
"They were ready to do that," Rojas told Carton and Roberts. "They wanted to speak publicly. Not only the apology, they wanted to clarify some things…they wanted to make it more clear. He's appreciative of the fans and the Mets fanbase, same with Lindor, who will be here for years to come.
"[Baez] wanted to clarify the message. We talked about the message. It's something they won't do anymore, but they wanted to clarify their love for the fans…they want everyone to be together through this."
Rojas said he has also talked with Lindor about the fans' response to his debut season with the Mets. The star shortstop hasn't played to his typical level this year after signing a record $341 million extension with the Mets, which has led to plenty of boos from the Citi Field crowd. But Rojas has never gotten the sense that Lindor was angry with the fanbase's response. Lindor has said that he wishes the response was different, but according to Rojas, Lindor knows he can control the response by playing to his potential.
"Francisco and I have had some conversations, but every time we talk about it, he talks about playing better," Rojas said. "Like 'yeah, I'm gonna start hitting.' He brings it up, and we know he's gonna start hitting. Francisco is a special player, we know that. He has talked about it, and he wants to give fans what they want to see out of him…it's not something we spend a lot of time on, but he wants to give the fans what they want."
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