Photo Credit: Gary Dunaier 

Most Mets fans will agree that the last seven days have been pretty good in Mets-land. Mickey Callaway is pushing all the right buttons, the bullpen has been fantastic, and the Mets are in first place, with a nice 5-1 record.

With that being said, there was an apparent difference in the ballpark experience, with backup PA announcer Rob Rush calling the players up to the plate, instead of Alex Anthony, the longtime voice of the Mets who was recently dismissed. And, while we didn’t know too much regarding the circumstance of his firing, Bob’s Blitz is now reporting that an inside joke, done behind closed doors, is the reason for his dismissal, according to a close friend of Craig Carton, host of the Carton & Friends radio show:

“A friend of mine who is close with the Mets tells me that he (Alex) was in a closed office with a buddy, the door was closed and it was very private. The person who claims to have heard the joke was outside of the office. It was not done in front of anyone or done to embarrass anyone.”

Now, before I comment on this, we do have to note that this is still a rumor, the Mets refuse to say anything on the matter, but as they aren’t disputing this claim, it’s only fair to take it at face value.

Also, I do understand why the Mets should not be tolerant about this. While not everyone is an angel outside of working hours, you shouldn’t be disrespectful either, behind closed doors or not.

With that being said, the punishment Alex was given over a private joke behind closed doors” isn’t relative to the punishments the Mets have given to other instances of employee negligence. Take the Mr.Met incident, for example. After Mr.Met made a disturbing gesture in front of thousands of fans, many of whom are kids that idolize him, the employee was simply reassigned. That’s right, not fired, despite the whirlwind of negative press that ensued afterwards. Given that, I don’t think it’s plausible that the Mets fired their longest tenured PA Announcer over a private joke.

Like Carton said in his radio broadcast: “that sounds like a bit of a witch hunt against a guy who was with the team for 14 years”.

Either the Mets wanted him out over a preexisting matter, and they were looking for an excuse to do so, or, there is simply more to this story that we don’t know about. Simply put, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.