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David Wright chews out Mets top prospect for eating lunch during game

(AP)
(AP)

David Wright knows the right time to eat lunch, and it sure as heck isn't during a New York Mets intrasquad scrimmage.

In a rather delicious slice of Mets drama, Wright and veteran relief pitcher Bobby Parnell had to teach youngster Noah Syndergaard — the team's No. 1 prospect according to Baseball America — a lesson Tuesday afternoon about when it's OK to eat and when you should be with the team.

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They spotted Syndergaard, a much-heralded, 22-year-old pitching prospect, eating lunch in the clubhouse during Tuesday's game and weren't having it. Marc Carig of Newsday had the scoop and recounts what's happened:

Noah Syndergaard should pick better times to eat lunch. (Getty Images)
Noah Syndergaard should pick better times to eat lunch. (Getty Images)

Wright caught the former first-rounder off guard by demanding that he get back to the dugout immediately. Stunned, Syndergaard did not get up from his chair until the intervention of another veteran leader, Bobby Parnell.

With Syndergaard's plate still piled with food, Parnell picked it up and tossed it into a nearby trash can. With the message received, Syndergaard stood up and joined his teammates in the dugout, a lesson learned after a rare bit of clubhouse justice meted out by veterans.

"If a kid's not playing nice, you take his toys away," Parnell told Newsday.

Wright's intent, he told Newsday later, was not to single out Syndergaard. Rather, he believed it was important to remind a young player to be mindful about chances to learn. During the exchange, Wright barely raised his voice. He even smiled. But his words carried some punch.

"I'm not a big ranter and raver," Wright said. "When I get on somebody, it's 99-percent private. I'm not going to yell and scream. But when I speak to somebody, when I get on somebody, the point needs to be taken."

Count this as another clubhouse struggle revolving around the idea of players doing their own thing away from the team — which is sometimes a part of baseball these days. Modern technology and personalized schedules mean not every player is doing the same thing at the same time. On the flip side, that's not always great for team building.

Mat Latos recently complained about how members of last year's Cincinnati Reds team would hang out in the clubhouse during games and not cheer on their teammates. Meanwhile, new Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor has put restrictions on the use of mobile devices in his clubhouse. Last year's Kansas City Royals buried their heads an iPad game before kicking the habit and making a postseason run.

For his part in Tuesday's incident, Syndergaard told Newsday that he understood why the Mets veterans reacted the way they did and that he'd learn from the situation. And learning from your mistakes is what spring training is all about, right?

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!