Goodbye Jerry

53I suppose in the end there was a dignity to allowing Jerry Manuel serve out his contract as the field manager of the Mets but there was so little doubt it was time to go at season’s end that the last days (ok, last month) were hard to watch or write much about. I called for an end to the Jerry Era in May, arguing that his passive offensive strategies and skittish bullpen management were losing us too many close games and contributing to morose feel about the team. And sure enough Jerry went to the finish with a club that couldn’t score enough and often, lost games as a bullpen fatigued by months of nightly matchup duty eventually coughed it up. To Jerry’s credit, he handled his setbacks with class and a smile, and for a time in 2008, brought some real magic to the Mets. But at the risk of sounding like Jeff Wilpon, it’s time to look in a new direction.

Jerry turns in jersey No. 53. The fate of coaches including Howard Johnson, Dan Warthen, Razor Shines, Dave Jauss and Chip Hale seem wobbly as well, although Hale was terrific at third base and I’d like to see him back. The first of many things to watch this off-season will be for Ike Davis to take over No. 20 once Johnson gets his walking papers: It’s apparently his favorite. Could we see Josh Thole take a lower number as well?

May those two guys provide us reminders of a few of the things Omar Minaya did well, because Minaya is also out of work as of today. I liked Omar but he too earned his way out, probably two years ago, mainly for his lack of creativity and imagination, particularly when it came to acquiring pitching, and of course press conferences which could make your hair hurt. Not to mention a poor choice to mange the club.

Jeff in his remarks today promised a new GM “as soon as feasible” after which a hunt for a new manager and staff will begin: Stay tuned!

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One comment

  1. Jon Springer says:

    Submitted by gored82 on Mon, 10/04/2010 – 9:54pm.
    I’d love to see Bobby V back in 2 or Wally Backman back in 6 as manager, or perhaps both – Bobby as manager and Wally as bench coach…

    Bench Coach

    Submitted by Jon Springer on Tue, 10/05/2010 – 4:15pm.
    Bench coach is usually the trusted advisor to the manager in addition to being his successor in the event of injury, death, firing, etc. I’m not sure Backman could tell anything Valentine doesn’t already know; and his presence would invariably be misinterpreted by the fan/mediots who’d call for a coup the first time Bobby has a problem with a player or writer or opponent.

    Let’s give Wally the reigns at AA and see how he does. I’d L-O-V-E for Bobby to return but if you believe the Wilpons, it will all be up to the incoming GM.

    It happened before

    Submitted by gored82 on Tue, 10/05/2010 – 9:31pm.
    I’m willing to believe them – Wilpon hired Frank Cashen in 1980 and gave him plenty of control…

    Bobby V looks great in comparison

    Submitted by 9th_string_catcher (not verified) on Wed, 10/06/2010 – 8:49am.
    to all the managers that followed him. And he won in Japan. I just wonder if he will drive a GM absolutely nuts, and keep him from implementing his own vision. He’s a great tactician and did wonders with the 2000 team, but I really wonder if he’s really the guy you want to rebuild this team. Maybe.

    I prefer to grab someone up and coming at an admirable organization. The Twins contend every year and have had two managers in 20 years. Anaheim has had great stability at manager and they always contend. Same goes for Atlanta and Philadelphia. I don’t know who runs and builds these teams, I only know that they have strong organizations that win, which would be a nice change for the Mets.

    Fans like us want recognizable names to root for, but I would rather have someone I never heard of like Frank Cashen in 1980 to come in and get the job done.

    9th String Catcher…

    Submitted by gored82 on Wed, 10/06/2010 – 8:47pm.
    You’d never heard of Cashen before 1980? You had to remember the great 1960s-70s Orioles teams and the ’69 World Series…

    Numbers

    Submitted by Tomswid (not verified) on Wed, 10/06/2010 – 9:17pm.
    I’d like to see Thole in number 10. 30 is too high for a catcher.

    Well, to be fair, I was 14 in 1980

    Submitted by 9th_string_catcher (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2010 – 8:41am.
    So other than M Donald Grant, Al Rosen, Gabe Paul Tommy Lasorda and Joe McDonald, I hadn’t heard of anybody. But think of the logic behind the Cashen move – he was the architect of all those great teams built from within with great pitching, good hitting and strong defense up the middle (like Paul Blair). I would like to get an executive from an organization that preaches patience, implements a strong business plan, makes good decisions and builds longevity. That’s why I would love to get someone from the Twins, Braves or Phillies – it wasn’t that long ago that Charlie Manuel was upder incredible scrutiny, but they stuck with him. I would like to see a GM who doesn’t only sign premiere free agents, but also knows how to make the little deals for unhearalded guys who fit the org plan.

    2 things

    Submitted by gored82 on Thu, 10/07/2010 – 10:46am.
    @Tomswid: 30 is too high for a catcher? I have fond memories of Mike Piazza in 31 and even Ron Hodges in 42!

    @9th string catcher: The trade Cashen made in 1982 sending Lee Mazzilli to Texas for minor league pitchers Ron Darling and Walt Terrell, and then the one in ’84 sending Terrell to Detroit for HoJo, were 2 of the best in team history…

    I know Cashen now…

    Submitted by 9th_string_catcher (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2010 – 12:44pm.
    He made pure genious moves and built an incredible team that would have contended for years had it not been for the ravages of cocaine addiction. But in 1980, I had never heard of him. We need the 2010 equivilent!

    High catchers’ numbers

    Submitted by gored82 on Thu, 10/07/2010 – 1:28pm.
    Jorge Posada has done 20 justice with the Yankees, and Carlton Fisk was pretty good in 72 for the White Sox…

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