“One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” Albert Camus wrote, though had he lived to see the New York Mets, he may have reconsidered. This year has been especially Mets-y: after spending most of the season in first place, they collapsed in August, losing nineteen of twenty-five games while falling all the way to third, the playoffs now a long shot at best. For most teams, a disappointment of that scale would be the headline. Not the Mets.

After a rare win Sunday over Washington, second baseman Javy Báez was asked about he and a couple other Mets flashing each other thumbs down after moments of success during games. “It feels bad when I strike out and get booed,” he said, “It doesn’t really get to me, but I want to let [the fans] know that when we’re successful, we’re going to do the same thing, to let them know how it feels.”

At first glance, it’s hard to tell what makes less sense: Báez claiming the boos don’t get to him before acknowledging taking action to get back at the very fans he said didn’t bother him, or admitting such a thing knowing his words would be treated as blasphemy. They were: that same day team president Sandy Alderson released a statement calling the thumbs down and Báez’s admission “unacceptable” and assuring the public it would “not be tolerated.”