Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rogers talk about his experience covering Jerry Manuel when he was with the Chicago White Sox for six years. The conversation covers everything from his managerial style to his personality.
Author: Dave Doyle
Frequently disappointed Mets fan
Video: Yankees Broadcasters Defend Randolph
This video is from the WFAN radio show Mike and the Mad Dog. They play a clip of Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling complaining about the Mets mistreatment of Willie Randolph while broadcasting a Yankees game.
This could also be posted under “Reason #7,482 to dislike the Yankees”.
Mets Looking At Freel- Phillies At Pitching
Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings column today contains a few Mets references:
- The list of managers that the Mets will be looking at for 2009
- The Mets have some interest in the Cincinnati Reds’ Ryan Freel
He also talks about the Phillies desire to bolster their starting pitching via trade. He says that they’ve looked at C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Jared Washburn, and will be looking at Erik Bedard. Their problem is that they don’t have much left in the minors for a trade. So they’d have to “empty the tank” to make a deal.
Ryan Freel would be a nice fit with the Mets. His scrappy play and ability to play the infield and outfield would certainly be an asset for the Mets aging, injury-prone roster. His current line is .298/ .340/ .359 with 6 SB’s in 131 at-bats.
Mets Focus Squarely On Minaya Now
Now that Willie Randolph is gone and Jerry Manuel is all but guaranteed to be the Mets manager for the rest of the 2008 season, the Mets success or failure will fall squarely on Omar Minaya. The Mets GM has had his share of up’s and down’s since he got here in 2005. There are some differing schools of thought on this topic. Some think that the Wilpons won’t get rid of him no matter how the 2008 version of the Mets performs. And others differ.
Jim Molony of MLB.com wrote a column today and completely agrees with me that 2008 may be Minaya’s final stand with the Mets. The Wilpons have allowed Minaya to assemble a team prepared to win now with a nine-figure payroll. The onus is on them to do what their charge is: to win now.
Molony runs through the litany of bad trades and free agent signings that Minaya has made and there have been quite a few. But what’s more telling is the industry opinion of Minaya’s team:
"They’ve relied too much on old players and it’s cost them," a veteran NL scout said. "They’ve had a lot of injuries, sure, but that’s what happens when you have a lot of older players."
As we’re writing Willie Randolph’s Mets eulogy this week, maybe we should start working on Minaya’s as well.
Mets Trade Deadline News
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Steve Hensen of Yahoo Sports wrote a column today predicting which teams will be buyers and which will be sellers. He lists the Mets as buyers with this quote:
Every new manager should get a new toy, and Jerry Manuel would like a relief pitcher, a corner outfielder and a player who actually cares.
Ouch, but hard to argue with. It couldn’t take that much to get Xavier Nady back from the Pirates. Having a right handed hitting 1B/OF would be too perfect for this team.
Tim Brown, also at Yahoo Sports, says that the Mets are prepared to make a run at the Colorado Rockies Matt Holliday:
The Mets, for another, have run their horrendous September into 2½ more lethargic months, thus bearing the look of an organization on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Their offense is slightly more average than their pitching. And Moises Alou will hit for as long as his body will carry him, which, so far this season, has amounted to 49 at-bats. They spent a good amount of their farm system on Johan Santana, but team officials believe they could still make a play for Holliday, the 2007 MVP runner-up whose career splits skew so dramatically to Coors Field.
That’s too aggressive a move for my liking. Holliday is a nice player with a big bat from the right side, but he’s a one and a half year rental. The Rockies will want multiple top prospects for him. I’m sure they’ll want Fernando Martinez, John Maine, plus another players that’s under their control for several years. The price will be way too high for Holliday.
Davey Johnson Gets Futures Nod
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Former Mets manager Davey Johnson has been announced as a manager for the Futures game on July 15 at Yankee Stadium. He’ll be opposed by Tino Martinez. Davey’s also managing the USA Olympic trial team in an exhibition game on July 13 before the Beijing Games in August.
Mariners Fire John McLaren
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Not to be outdone by the Mets, the Mariners fired manager John McLaren today. This follows GM Bill Bavasi’s firing on Monday. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will take over the major’s worst team with a record of 25-47. Their putrid performance mixed with their $117 million opening day payroll proved to be a bad combination for McLaren.
The amazing thing about this story is that McLaren was the SECOND manager fired this season. How could he keep his job for longer than Willie Randolph?
The Mets Report 