To Start Cold Offseason Engine, Open Choke
That's one way to forget about Atlanta winning the World Series...
Image: Roberto Carlo
Well, that was an awfully gossipy first day of the offseason.
Early Wednesday evening, the New York Post anonymously sourced some detail into the much-suspected scuffle between Mets infielders Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil in the clubhouse tunnel during a game against the Diamondbacks on May 7.
At the time, the story was tweaked for the public, with Lindor noting postgame that the disagreement was over whether there was a rat or a raccoon in the clubhouse. We all knew it was bullshit then and we know with certainty that’s the case now.
Kinda makes you wonder why we’re hearing about it six months after the fact with no reported hostility since. Peculiar, but anyway…
The Post’s report offers a timeline leading up to Lindor allegedly choking McNeil — yeah, seems things got a little wild — that included McNeil’s supposed hesitancy to shift as the team had wanted him to, leading to defensive missteps and a source of tension between him and Lindor.
Check out the whole story linked above. It’s a certified doozy. But also, as noted, it’s anonymous.
No name (or names) being attached to the information doesn’t necessarily scream concrete info! But the scenario is believable enough that this should probably be accepted as a loose recap of what actually went down that night.
Though, as we stated here in May (also linked above), it’s really none of our business what happens behind those closed doors. We predicted that the public would only find out what “actually” happened if things went south. They did, and we did.
The motive behind releasing the story into the wild now, just as this organization is trying to turn a corner, is odd, to say the least. One could assume it was leaked by a recently jettisoned employee, but that might not be the case at all.
In any case, just as it was in May, this is mostly a non-story. Are reports of McNeil’s early-season defensive defiance a bit concerning? Sure. In a perfect world, everyone should be on-board with the plan.
Lindor physically attacking McNeil isn’t a great look either. And neither is this story getting out, for that matter. So again, why is this coming out now? I don’t have a good answer for that but no one’s spilling beans without good reason, friends.
You could look at former interim GM Zack Scott, fired on Tuesday, two months after his DUI arrest in White Plains, NY, but that almost seems too obvious.
And you can be pretty positive that old-school baseball guys Ricky Bones and Gary DiSarcina aren’t crossing those sacred clubhouse lines.
My totally unfounded conspiracy theory is that J.D. Davis leaked the story. Dropping it under the cloak of Scott’s dismissal is just a perfect setup, plus J.D. pretty much confirmed he was on his way out speaking with the media over the final weeks of the season.
Again, totally an unbased opinion. Just having some fun playing detective. Onward.
It really doesn’t matter who leaked it. What matters is what this is all leading up to. And rest assured, we’ll find out the end game of this ruse before too long.
Whether this process completes with Jeff McNeil in another uniform by Opening Day is a fair question to ask.
Personally, I think it would be a mistake to jettison the guy who led the majors in batting average (.319) from his debut in July 2018 through the end of 2020 (140 wRC+, 13th) before falling off a cliff in 2021, even if he may not work well with others.
If the right deal were to come along, sure, you trade him. But with McNeil’s penchant for contact and defensive versatility, I’d be inclined to keep him around in the super-utility role he takes on so well.
Exciting start to a pivotal winter, no? LFGM.
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