Jessica Mendoza Releases Statement After Strange ESPN Appearance Blaming Mike Fiers

Hours before Carlos Beltran stepped down as the New York Mets' manager on Thursday, Jessica Mendoza made waves across social media for her rather bizarre comments on the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

Mendoza appeared on ESPN's "Wingo and Golic," and said she had a problem with former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers' decision to go public with the team's scheme to electronically steal pitching signals.

After getting roasted on social media by baseball fans and sports reporters, Mendoza released a statement to clarify her comments.

"I credit Mike Fiers for stepping forward, yet I feel that going directly through your team and/or MLB first could have been a better way to surface the information," writes Mendoza. "Reasonable minds can disagree. Ultimately what matters most is that his observations were made public and the game will be better for it."

So, Mendoza kind of apologized, but also stuck to her guns. Even though she credits Fiers for bringing this scandal to light, she maintains her stance that she would have gone about doing so differently.

Either way, Mendoza is getting flamed not only for her statements on the morning show, but for her relationship with the Mets. Mendoza is a special advisor to the organization's baseball operations, and she was the only member of the team to comment on the situation up to that point. Of course, her words were viewed as extremely biased.

Mendoza stressed in her statement that her affiliation with the Mets has no bearing on her beliefs.

Given how she was being destroyed by all members of the sports media world, Mendoza decided it was best to do some damage control...right after the Beltran news.