Category: Management

Mets Looking At Freel- Phillies At Pitching

Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings column today contains a few Mets references:

  1. The list of managers that the Mets will be looking at for 2009
  2. 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.

Mariners Fire John McLaren

Seattle Mariners

Image via Wikipedia

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?

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Manuel’s New Strategy Pays Early Dividends For Mets

New York Mets shortstop José Reyes during a Mets/Devil Rays spring training game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Image via Wikipedia

For three and a half years we’ve been watching Willie Randolph bring in his closer, Billy Wagner, to pitch the ninth inning of tied or close games.  Jerry Manuel’s second game as manager of the Mets showed us a much needed strategic shift.  Manuel’s intestinal fortitude was tested by his star shortstop in his first game as well, and he passed with flying colors.

Willie Randolph followed the modern “book” for closers as Mets manager. Billy Wagner nearly always pitched the ninth inning of games that the Mets led or were tied. I always disagreed with pitching Wagner in the ninth inning of a tied game. I wondered: Why not hold onto that weapon until you really need it? Apparently, Jerry Manuel agrees with me. Duaner Sanchez pitched the ninth inning, and when the Mets took the lead Billy Wagner shut the door in the tenth inning. That’s the way to play that situation! Wagner is the pitcher to close out a win, not hold over a tie.

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