It takes a lot to be a fan of the New York Mets. The Amazin's, however, last night may have topped themselves with what the New York Times described as "one of the most bizarre moments in the 2015 baseball season."
The debacle centered on the "trade that wasn't." Social media reported that the offensively challenged Mets pulled off a trade for Carlos Gomez, an apparently gimpy slugger of the Milwaukee Brewers and ex-Met, for infielder Wilmer Flores and injured starting pitcher Zack Wheeler. The report was dead wrong.
News of the swap swept the cellphones in Citi Field and the Mets dugout. Fans weighed the merits of the trade. Players consoled the sullen Flores.
Since the game was a blowout, Met announcers talked up the trade, while noting that Flores remained on the field playing shortstop. Traded players traditionally skip the game to avoid injuries that could scuttle the deal.
"Most of these fans know that Wilmer's about to get traded.," said Mets play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen. "Social media being such these days, everyone knows what the situation is. It's a little odd that Wilmer's still in the game."
Upon each at bat, fans cheered for Flores, a reversal from the jeers of earlier in the year when Wilmer was a disaster at short, which is not his position.
As the game wore out, emotions got the better of the 23-year-old Venezuelan, who began to cry. He's been a member of the Mets organization since age 16. In the 9th inning, Mets manager Terry Collins mercifully removed Flores from the line-up.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that the Mets suspected that Gomez has a serious hip issue, which the Brewers deny.
The Flores fiasco shows the power of social media to spread information, both true and false. It also demonstrates the need for traditional media to verify social sources—though the Times claims that it confirmed the deal with a top baseball executive.
The trading deadline is tomorrow. Flores may be let go. Good luck, kid. Let's Go Mets!
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