Tag: Jerry Manuel

Mets Announce 2009 Coaching Staff

Here’s the breakdown:

Staying– Howard Johnson (hitting), Sandy Alomar, Jr. (catching), Sandy Alomar, Sr. (bench), Dan Warthen (pitching)

Leaving– Guy Conti (bullpen), Luis Aguayo (third base), Ken Oberkfell (first base)

New– Razor Shines (third base), Randy Niemann (bullpen)

Jerry Manuel knows Shines from their time together in Chicago and he was coaching the Phillies Single-A team last season. Niemann is doing his third tour as the Mets bullpen coach next season replacing Conti. Conti was a father figure for Pedro Martinez and this indicates that Pedro won’t be back with the Mets next season.

All three coaches that are leaving will be re-assigned within the organization including Oberkfell who’ll be managing the Triple-A team in Buffalo.

We don’t know who the first base coach will be yet though.

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Mets 2008 Off-Season Needs: Second Baseman

I think it’s universally agreed upon at this point that one of Mets GM Omar Minaya’s biggest mistakes was signing Luis Castillo to a long term contract. He’s a shell of his former self, with bad knees plaguing his ability to contribute to the Mets. Frequently, during the 2008 season Castillo sat on the bench watching Damion Easley, Argenis Reyes, and even Ramon Martinez start at second.

Castillo just finished the first year of his 4-year/$25 million contract. He received a $1 million bonus when he signed the deal and he’s scheduled to receive $6 million/year thereafter.

If that wasn’t enough to turn your stomach, here’s the bad news: I fully expect Castillo to be the Mets starting second baseman on opening day 2009 in Cincinnati. The reason is 100% financial. I don’t think the Wilpons will be of a mind to eat all or most of Castillo’s contract as has been suggested by some, including one of my favorite writers Matthew Artus.

You don’t need me to give you Castillo’s statistics for 2008 to know he was terrible. I heard you booing him at Shea in September, including when Jerry Manuel benched him just to avoid being treated so harshly by the home crowd. Castillo lost his starting spot during the most important games of the season in September to journeyman Ramon Martinez. Need I say more?

The sad truth is that Castillo isn’t going anywhere. The Mets have too many holes to fill in the free agent market this off-season in the outfield, bullpen, and rotation to eat Castillo’s contract. Billy Wagner’s $10.5 million isn’t covered by insurance because his injury was a pre-existing condition. So the Mets are eating that money already. And don’t forget that they’re paying Willie Randolph $2.25 million in 2009 to watch on his favorite network SNY. They won’t eat another big contract.

The bottom line is don’t get your hopes up about Orlando Hudson or Brian Roberts. The only way that will happen is if the Mets can trade Castillo for another player with a bad contract like the D-Backs’ Eric Byrnes. He’s got $22 million coming to him over the next two seasons. That may be a fit because they’ll need to fill a hole at second base when Hudson leaves. And the Mets need some help in the outfield.

Barring that type of deal, you should expect to see Castillo at second base again next season. I don’t see the Mets eating most or all of his contract.

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Audio: Bobby V., Manuel, And Heyman

I’ve got some more audio links to help you get through what’s turned into a longer off-season than expected.

Jerry Manuel joins WFAN’s Mike Francesa and Eddie Coleman to talk about his contract to continue managing the Mets

Jon Heyman joins Francesa to talk Mets, Yankees and the post-season action

Bobby Valentine joins Steve Somers to talk US and Japanese baseball, and the Mets hiring of Jerry Manuel

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Mets To Announce New Contract For Jerry Manuel

Multiple media outlets are repoting that the Mets will make an announcement today that Jerry Manuel has agreed to a contract to continue managing the team. The interim tag will finally be removed from Manuel’s title after managing 93 games this season after the firing of Willie Randolph.

The deal is reported to be for two years at $1 million per season, with a team option for a third year. That contract will put Manuel squarely in the middle tier of manager’s salary between Bob Melvin in Arizona and Eric Wedge in Cleveland.

I’m surprised that the Wilpon’s and Omar Minaya didn’t appear to investigate other options. They jumped right into negotiations with Manuel. Apparently, they really liked the way he managed the team.

There isn’t much not to like about Manuel’s work this season. He certainly motivated the players to attain their potential and did his best with a bad bullpen. He’s a solid choice to lead the Mets in their first seasons at Citi Field.

The only concern I have is that, by all accounts, he lost the White Sox clubhouse in 2003. He had some tough personalities there like Frank Thomas. But that’s something we’ll need to keep an eye on going forward.

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Mets Manuel Likely To Return

The word is there could be an announcement as early as Tuesday that Jerry Manuel will be signed to a contract to continue as the Mets manager. I have no problem with that. He had a .591 winning percentage over 93 games this season, a sizable sample. Over a full season that translates to 96 wins. You can’t beat that.

That said, I’m extremely disappointed that the Mets got to the precipise again and couldn’t make it over the top. And that’s with Manuel at the helm. He did take over a team that was dead and gave them some life. So Manuel started out pretty deep in the hole. I don’t consider injuries as a factor for the Mets this season because every team has injuries.

If it was my decision, I’d do some due diligence to see if Keith Hernandez was willing to take the managerial job. If not, I’d work on signing Jerry Manuel to a two or three year deal.

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Links: Mets News Sept. 23, 2008

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 29: A New York Mets fan h...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Reader TD tipped me to this column by Jayson Stark on relief pitching in the NL East. I know it’s a sensitive topic but it’s a really good read. Thanks TD.

SI’s John Donovan continues the trend of writing about the Mets weak bullpen.

Mets P John Maine says he’s ready to go after throwing a simulated game yesterday.

Jerry Manuel says he won’t re-arrange the starting rotation this week.

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