New York media firestorm ignites over Juan Soto's apathy, private plane rumors

Is Juan Soto dissatisfied after the New York Mets caved and gave him everything he wanted? The man who knew Soto's destination first — alongside veteran New York scribe Bill Madden — certainly believes so after the Yankees' weekend Subway Series win.

Say what you will about Bob Klapisch's axes and how he grinds them, but he clearly has a source in the Yankees' front office, leaking Soto contract tidbits about a half-hour after the bomb dropped and his departure from the Bronx became a reality. After Soto's eighth-inning dribbler (and lack of hustle) led almost directly to the wheels falling off for the Mets in the bottom of the inning, Klapisch's latest reporting — whether you wholeheartedly believe it or not — certainly lines up with what we all saw with our own eyes.

After the 8-2 Mets loss, Soto promised to talk with reporters after speaking with his family, then left without doing so. Surely, that's the first time that a conversation with his family led to unpleasant implications. Soto also backtracked and declined to wear a mid-game microphone for ESPN's broadcast — understandable, but ... anyone who chose to leave Aaron Judge and the Yankees should have to answer for it. If you made a decision ... stand by it. Or did you make the decision?

Klapisch even went as far as to say that some Mets folks are "concerned" with how convivial Soto was with Judge and his ex-teammates, and how glum he's been on their side. Believe it or don't. We basically saw it unfold on the field.

Juan Soto private plane rumors shut down by Jeff Passan after Yankees-Mets

Things have gotten so overblown that even the craziest of contract rumors have gained traction. Karl Ravech mentioned on the ESPN broadcast that Soto was given access to a private plane by Steve Cohen as part of the language in his deal. True? False? Either way, he does not travel to road games on that plane, per Jeff Passan, which was the logical conclusion many Met fans drew as rumblings of his discord grew louder.

Provision or not, we're at the point — and with enough visual and behavioral evidence at our disposal — to believe Soto's first month in the spotlight with the Mets has not been as comfortable as he intended it to be. He may have misread the room on what it really means to lead the Bleacher Creatures on, then leave them cold. And if he thought he could avoid the behavioral rumor mill by leaving the Yankees ... he had another thing coming.