Mets owners too weak to stand their ground with Beltran

Caught in the Malestrom

The idea of Carlos Beltran as manager of the New York Mets would take some getting used to, but fans seemed willing to give him a chance.  Many were even looking forward to seeing the former hometown star’s return to Queens.

Then an article from The Athletic blew up the baseball world with the announcement that the Houston Astros were electronically stealing signs, in their home stadium, from the opposing catcher. They used a centerfield camera which was fed to a monitor in the clubhouse. If there was a breaking pitch coming you can hear a banging on the trash can.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred finished his investigation on the Astros and stated that they indeed in violation of the rules as well as specific edicts issued by MLB on the matter. The main culprits were then-bench coach, Alex Cora, and a group of players, led by Carlos Beltran implicated in this mess. The new Mets skipper was the only named player in his entire report.

I get that Manfred suspended Houston GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager AJ Hinch for one year, fined the Astros $5 million, and forfeit the first and second-round picks for 2020 and 2021. It’s even understandable that the Astros fired both Luhnow and Hinch and Boston rid themselves of Cora.

But here comes the Diva Mets who needed to get into the quagmire, even if it wasn’t their own. The Wilpons and Van Wagenen forced Beltran to step down as the Mets manager last week and that stinks.