4:30 PM
The Mets have denied the report from Howard Megdal of Capital New York (read below) that the order to fire Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens came from Jeff Wilpon.
Megdal reported that Jeff Wilpon sent general manager Sandy Alderson an “angry” text during the team’s 5-3 loss to the Pirates on Memorial Day and followed it up with an “angry” phone call that resulted in Hudgens’ dismissal.
On Wednesday, the Mets released a statement saying “the reports are substantively inaccurate and erroneous.”
Sandy Alderson also added that the decision to ax Hudgens was made after consulting with many people including Jeff Wilpon.
11:00 AM
So who actually fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens on Monday? Was it his friend of 20+ years Sandy Alderson as it appears, or was this a directive straight from the top?
Both Hudgens and Sandy had nothing but pleasantries and complimentary things to say about each other after Hudgens’ freshly axed head rolled out the Mets clubhouse the next day. But perhaps it was what Hudgens told Michael Kay during an interview on ESPN Radio that really gave one pause:
“If they want a winner in that town, I would let the purse strings loose and let Sandy do what he wants to do.”
Wait, so Sandy isn’t doing what he wants to do? Sounds like that’s what Hudgens is implying.
Is this just some sour grapes and a veiled knock at Mets ownership or is there more to this sordid affair?
Enter Howard Megdal of Capital New York:
It’s been a common thing, as the Mets have struggled, for the team’s C.O.O. to express displeasure with general manager Sandy Alderson.
And sure enough, during Monday’s disappointing 5-3 loss at home to the Pirates, Jeff Wilpon sent Alderson an angry text, and followed it up with an angry call. Then, after the game, they had an angry meeting.
But at that meeting, according to a knowledgeable source, Wilpon did something new: He overruled his general manager on a baseball matter, ordering him to fire hitting coach Dave Hudgens, a longtime Alderson friend and colleague.
Alderson, who has been in the job since 2010, delivered the news to Hudgens shortly afterward, in the presence of manager Terry Collins.
Megdal did his due diligence and reached out to Mets spokesman David Newman to either confirm or deny his findings.
But Newman offered no denial and instead sent Howard on a mission to find the answer in Sandy Alderson’s post-firing comments, which of course provided nothing of substance on the matter.
Maybe it’s like one of those eighties abstract posters where if you stare long enough at the damn thing, an object or in this case the truth suddenly appears.
