The New York Mets might be the most skilled team in baseball at creating controversy. Take the latest news from Flushing, where the Mets have reportedly asked shortstop Amed Rosario to prep for potential outfield work. That, within itself, is perhaps questionable -- there's an argument to be made against creating room in the lineup for Adeiny Hechavarria -- but it's not scandalous.
Or, at least, it shouldn't be. This being the Mets, Rosario and manager Mickey Callaway's accounts of what's going on (or when it started going on) differ in a noticeable and peculiar way.
Callaway said he approached Rosario on Saturday to begin the process:
Interesting convo between Amed Rosario & Mickey Callaway yesterday ... the manager approached the shortstop about the possibility of playing in the outfield.
— Deesha Thosar (@DeeshaThosar) June 23, 2019
Rosario has only shagged fly balls during BP, but he said he’s open to it if the #Mets need him in the outfield.
Contrariwise, Rosario said he started shagging balls earlier in the week -- on his own initiative:
Rosario disputes Callaway’s account that he began taking fly balls in CF yesterday, but says he did shag balls in the OF on his own earlier in the week. Says Callaway has spoken to him about CF. It’s on the radar.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) June 23, 2019
It doesn't matter which account is the truthful one. But these kinds of cracks in communication and messaging are as consistent with the Mets as they are bizarre. You could argue it's about media exposure, yet the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox almost never seem to have these kinds of issues.
Think back to earlier in the year, when the Mets said they were not going to use closer Edwin Diaz outside of the ninth inning. At the time, then-pitching coach Dave Eiland suggested those rules were not hard and fast -- a departure from what Callaway and others had said. And hey, Eiland proved correct as the Mets changed their minds less than halfway through the year.
Need another example? Consider how the Mets instructed Dominic Smith that he needn't play the outfield -- only to change course within a few months.
The Mets decided this spring that Dom Smith would not play any outfield, so they gave him no reps there -- despite him volunteering to do it.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 22, 2019
Now, with Keon Broxton gone, and Nimmo, Conforto and McNeil all injured, the Mets are changing their tune. Smith will receive reps in LF.
Sometimes there are going to be communication breakdowns. That's just baseball (and life) for you.
But the Mets seem to have this happen more frequently than anyone else -- to the point where it's noticeable and perhaps telltale about larger issues within the organization.
