Tag: Jerry Manuel

Manuel’s Mets Can Take A Punch…And Punch Back

I’ve talked up Jerry Manuel on this blog before. But I have to say that the most impressive thing, in my mind, about his tenure with the Mets is the team’s resilience. Clearly, the motivation for this post is the Mets series this week against the Phillies. Losing the first game in dramatic, ninth inning fashion was devastating. Coming back to win the next two games showed incredible ability to be down but not out.

There are several other examples of this during Manuel’s tenure as well. On July 2nd the Cardinals left the Mets on the field in St. Louis. Troy Glaus hit a home run with two outs in the ninth inning off Carlos Muniz to win 8-7. The next day the Mets came back to beat the Cardinals 11-1.

On July 4th the Mets got left on the field again with two outs in the ninth inning against the Phillies. Shane Victorino hit a 1-2 pitch off Duaner Sanchez to right field to score Pedro Feliz and top the Mets 3-2. The next day the Mets beat the Phillies 9-4 and the Mets took the last three games over the Phillies.

The best quality this team has shown under Jerry Manuel is the ability to pick themselves up after extremely difficult loses and live to fight another day.

Mets Take 9 Game Win Streak Into Second Half

PHOENIX, AZ - May 6: Mike Pelfrey #34 of the ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The Mets go into the traditional second half of the season tonight with a nine game winning streak, confidence, and swagger. The last two weeks have seen Mike Pelfrey dominate all competition like the next coming of Roy Halladay. His recent performances have symbolized the Mets turnaround from the most lifeless team that money could buy to a team of united players that are achieving, if not exceeding, their potential.

As the Mets series in Cincinnati begins tonight, there will still be questions about Ryan Church’s foggy head, Carlos Delgado’s resurgent bat, Pedro Martinez’ ability to stabilize his spot in the rotation, and Billy Wagner’s ability to close “the big game”, and the crater in left field that Moises Alou left behind.

But there won’t be questions about the Mets desire to win and intestinal fortitude. There were plenty of those questions during the first two months of this season. That has miraculously changed under the direction of manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen.

It’s difficult to quantify how much the managerial and coaching changes have changed the Mets. I haven’t seen Dan Warthen throwing seven shutout innings but I have seen that from Oliver Perez and Pelfrey. I haven’t seen Jerry Manuel have a 9 RBI game but I did see that from Delgado. But something clearly changed on this team when the manager/coaching purge occurred. The Met took a little time to stabilize… Then caught fire!!!

The biggest change for me, as a fan, is that I like watching this team over the last month. I didn’t for the first two months of the season. It wasn’t fun or enjoyable. I understand that the Mets winning streak won’t carry into September, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I like about this team is their resiliency, their ability to mount a comeback, and the appearance that they want to win as badly as I want them to. That’s the kind of team that I’ll pay to watch.

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Video- Mets Hot Going Into The Break

Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin appears on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the state of the Mets at the All-Star break. The topics include Jerry Manuel’s influence during the team’s turnaround, Mike Pelfrey, and Ryan Church’s impact on the Mets trade needs.

Audio- Manuel, Pelfrey, Warthen, And ESPN Radio

I’ve got a plethora of audio clips for you this afternoon. Mike Pelfrey talks to WFAN’s Steve Somers after getting his fifth straight win last night. Don LeGreca from ESPN Radio talks about the possiblity of Barry Bonds coming to New York, and EY (Eric Young) talks Mets and Yanks. Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen talks to WFAN’s Chris Russo about his career and what he’s seeing from the Mets pitchers so far. Mets manager Jerry Manuel talks to Chris Russo about the Mets recent success.

WFAN- Mike Pelfrey

ESPN Radio- Barry Bonds/ NY Baseball

WFAN- Dan Warthen

WFAN- Jerry Manuel

Video- Post Game July 8- Manuel, Pelfrey, And Beltran

Mets manager Jerry Manuel and outfielder Carlos Beltran talk about the Mets fourth win in a row over the Giants’ Tim Lincecum. Beltran talks about how he smoked a hanging curveball over the right field wall for a three run dinger in the first inning.