Mets Lineup Conspiracy: Is Front Office Dictating Order?
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Who's managing things around here?
Some believe the curious lineup used by the Mets on opening day came from the front office, not skipper Terry Collins, though it could have had his blessing.
WFAN beat reporter Ed Coleman said Tuesday on the "Benigno & Roberts" show that, in his opinion, it wasn't Collins' idea to have Curtis Granderson and David Wright at the top of the order with the speedy Juan Lagares batting sixth.
"I thought that was taken out of Terry's hands, to be very honest," Coleman told Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. "That's my feeling. And I don't think Terry would admit that."
Ed Coleman On Mets
He wasn't alone. ESPN's Adam Rubin tweeted Monday: "No surprise, but heard this lineup configuration is coming from a computer other than Terry Collins' laptop."
The issue wasn't that Wright, normally a lock to bat No. 3, was bumped up a position in the order, something the team tinkered with this spring. Coleman was more perplexed about the Mets "yanking" around Lagares, who he said should be leading off and not batting behind Daniel Murphy.
"I thought Murphy was going to be there (at No. 6), " Coleman said. "I was shocked when he wasn't. And honestly, I think that came from elsewhere."
But a team source told Newsday that it originated "strictly" from Collins and his coaching staff, who then got "input" from the front office.
Not everyone was buying it. Even Matt Cerrone, founder of Metsblog.com -- which is partnered with Mets-owned SNY -- said his "hunch" was that the lineup came from general manager Sandy Alderson, who has been rumored to have his differences with Collins.
"But I mean, look, my opinion -- if you read the post -- is that, if it works, then I'm not sure really what the big deal is as long as Terry is on board," Cerrone said Wednesday on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton show."
It almost didn't work. Nationals ace Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before the Mets broke through for a 3-1 win in Washington.
Collins -- or is it Alderson? -- plans to roll out "roughly the same lineup" against the Nationals on Wednesday, according to Newsday.
