Kelly Shoppach Denies Involvement In Bobby Valentine Drama

The Mets' Kelly Shoppach claims not to have had any involvement with the scenario that saw the majority of the Red Sox squad call a meeting with Red Sox brass over the status of manager Bobby Valentine.

If you thought it was awfully coincidental that reports surfaced that the only player to be dealt from Boston since news of the Valentine fiasco broke happened to be the person named as the ringleader of the mutiny, Shoppach might agree with you. The catcher spoke to the media trying to absolve himself of any association with a reported text message calling a meeting that saw a reported 17 players complain about the manager.

"I wasn't behind any texts," Shoppach said. "I actually didn't even attend the meeting [with ownership]. It was on an off-day in New York. I stayed back in Texas with my family. I've already gotten a few text messages from some of my former teammates apologizing that my name was even brought up in that.

Perhaps Shoppach was dealt from Boston over his apparent ringleader role in crafting a text message eventually sent over Adrian Gonzalez' phone, but it seems just as likely that the backup catcher is now taking the fall for something totally unrelated to him, with his trade to New York providing a convenient opportunity to implicate him.

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