I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…

I think the manager has alot more to do with the team than effecting 5-15 games. and btw how big are 5-15 games right now?? the manager sets the mood of the team, he instills them with the sense of urgency. He has to keep the players on their toes instead of just tossing out mundane quotes all year. I think the manager has to be a little more dynamic. Look what Leyland did last year, one tirade to the press and the tigers started believeing in themselves and took off. Pinella rode his team hard the first 2 months and turned that team around right away. Now I am not saying Willie has to fire and brimstone, but get out of the dugout once in awhile. Get tossed, don’t be scared of the umpires. Point is the team became complacent just like their manager.

As far as all players get thrown out at third, I understand that. But there have to be times that the manager has to put up the Red Light and make sure that the player does not run under any circumstances. The 9/15 game against Philly where Jose got thrown out in the middle of a rally that could have put the game away sticks out. And so does a late game against the Nats (Endy didn’t get thrown out at 3rd, but he shouldn’t have been running in that 2 strike situation)

My problem with Willie is two fold.

All year the Mets made boneheaded plays. That has to be due to a lack of preparation which is really the Manager’s biggest job in an organization, make sure the players are prepared to give you their best.

The second issue is that the Mets played listlessly all year. Basically they inherited their manager’s laid back persona. The fact Willie got ejected from far less games than his players is a telling stat.

As far as last year, the Mets got outplayed by the Cards, I guess that can’t be placed on the manager but the Tigers pitchers handling the ball like a greased pig did them in.

Back to this year, yes the BP and rotation were huge culprits, but c’mon, this division was there for the taking. Maybe not stubbornly using Mota every time they were behind so he could put the game out of reach would have made a difference. Maybe not keeping the black hole formerly known as Carlos Delgado in the 4 hole for the first half would have fixed things too.

Last year was a dissapointment, 2007 was an affront to Met fans. For that reason alone Willie should be fired. Obviously it’s not all his fault, but a fresh start is necessary, for the players and most of all for the fans. And the short leash argument is just silly, either fire him or don’t fire him until after the team screws it up again in 2008.

Art Howe could have done just as good a job with the players Omar put out there.

:-P