Josh Reddick's Outburst At Front Office Puts Narrative To The Test

Ruh roh. Never known to have an unexpressed thought, Josh Reddick's candor has made someone look bad. The question is, who has he made look bad: the front office, Bob Melvin, or himself?

As csnbayarea.com reports, Reddick is claiming that Bob Melvin removed him from the original lineup against LHP Jorge De La Rosa, saying he had "been trumped" -- presumably meaning that the front office had overriden the manager and ordered Reddick to sit against the lefty. Melvin has denied that this is how the conversation went down or that he does not have full authority in regards to the lineup.

There are two angles to watch here..

One is the question of who is, in fact, giving an accurate account. Is the front office in fact dictating lineup decisions in a meddling way? (And if so, why the heck aren't they meddling with Eric Sogard batting leadoff or second???) Has Reddick, in calling out the front office, also broken a confidentiality code by repeating his manager's acknowledgement to the press? Or is Reddick's account faulty, meaning he is making public accusations of his team's front office, and of his manager's level of puppetry, that are untrue? Someone ought to come out of this looking really bad -- but who?

However, there is another angle to follow concurrently. The narrative has gone: criticize the front office and write your own ticket out of town. You can point to the disgruntled Tommy Milone and the allegedly Josh Donaldson "Billy Boy" confrontation, or you can scoff and note that in every case a trade has been made that the front office simply felt made sense at the time. Plus, plenty of players are traded without any backdrop of tension and players sometimes mouth off and we forget about it because they aren't traded.

Well, if Reddick is traded soon it will kind of back the narrative, won't it? And if he isn't, it will kind of help put the narrative to rest. Historically, few players have publicly complained like this and been kept around...but then again, few players have stayed quiet and been kept around. Yes, it's a bit of a revolving door in Oakland -- but who is about to be kicked into the vestibule? Kazmir? Zobrist? Clippard?

Reddick?