Mets Incite Conspiracy Theories

In the latest move by the Mets, Gary Sheffield was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury. This occurred a day after Sheffield was pronounced “available” for a game, and on the same day that Sheff expected to be in the starting lineup.

And you wonder why people like me are constantly concocting conspiracy theories about the New York Mets organization.

Obviously, SOMETHING is going on that we are not privy to. A team simply doesn’t put a healthy player on the DL without an ulterior motive. Further, a team that is already hamstrung (pardon the pun) with injuries, and has had difficulty scoring runs, does not remove from the roster their most productive hitter and only legitimate power threat — not unless something is up.

Is there a trade brewing that requires roster space, or the showcasing of someone? Is there some kind of insurance money that can be collected for having a certain number of players injured? Is their poor handling of other injuries forcing them to be ultra-conservative? Did Sheffield tick off someone inside the organization? Have they exhausted so many options that they’re giving the George Costanza “do the opposite” strategy a whirl?

And the ultimate conspiracy theory: are the Mets purposely sabotaging themselves — i.e., trying to lose games on purpose? Let’s hope not — though if they are, the idea seemed to backfire, as the Mets exploded for 7 runs in the first five innings of play on Saturday night.

This one is hard to figure, but maybe something will occur in the next few days that cause us all to say “a-ha!”. For example, maybe the Mets are on the verge of making a blockbuster trade that will bring in 5 MLB players — named Halladay, Rios, Wells, Overbay, and Scutaro (hey, crazier things have happened). Or maybe they are showcasing Cory Sullivan for a team in need of a light-hitting, good fielding outfielder. Or maybe they’re auditioning Sullivan for the left field job next year. Perhaps there’s something else.

Something is brewing …