|
In a post to Mike Pagliarulo’s Dugout Central, Tom Swidorski asks, “If the Mets fail to make the playoffs in 2008, is regime change possible?”
As such, Swidorski lists Gerry Hunsicker, Brian Sabean, Terry Ryan 
and Brian Cashman as people who should be considered to replace Mets GM Omar Minaya, should he be fired at the end of this coming season – while also suggesting Ken Oberkfell, Wall Backman, John Stearns and Ron Gardenhire as potential replacements for Willie Randolph, should he suffer the same fate.
…ah, yes, there’s the stuff that will make pessimistic Mets fans foam at the mouth on a cold winter day…go get it, boys…just remember: the grass is always greener…
…seriously, though, while this is certainly worth thinking about, personally, i can’t see wasting a whole lot of energy on it - seeing as how this team has yet to even step on a field…one step at a time, you know what i mean…
…that said, as i have written a few times during this off-season, should the Mets stumble around this coming season, this topic will most certainly be addressed…as it should be…
 |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.
If anything, willie would be fired. I would think that if the Mets miss the playoffs next year, Omar can sell the fact that he didn’t mortgage the future to the Wilpons, and that therefore the team will be better in the long term.
I agree, and I think that is the way it should be, although Omar did hire Willie, though would at the very least be an admission of failure on that hire.
A manager has to be evaluated on a season basis. Did you do as well as you should have / could have with the talent provided.
But as you correctly state, a GM’s body of work needs a larger span. Are the Mets better today than they were before Omar? Well, they’ve added Gomez, FMart and some decent pitching prospects to the system, at the same time going out (at least early) and getting the big league talent necessary. I think the Mets are in a better place because of Omar. He should stay, not forever, but if he doesn’t make a trade, he gets until FMart and Gomez become real major leaguers I think. If they suck, then you fire him for not eval. talent well.
Just as a GM needs several years to build a squad through the draft, free agency, and trades, a manager needs time to mold young players, battle adversity, and develop team chemistry.
I don’t think it’s fair to evaluate either position on a season by season basis – whether that evaluation is positive or negative – because seasons are not mutually exclusive.
Why wait?
Avoid the rush!
Fire ‘em now; the champagne will be just as sweet!
PS
Matt; now that your at SNY, you have to be a homer?
You cannot honestly say Willie has done a good job with the talent he has been given to work with, or could you?
I agree with Matt that talking aobut Willie’s replacement is premature. There’ll be plenty of time for that come May…
Wow. Anyone who thinks Brian Sabean would be a better option than Minaya should not be allowed to write a blog.
With Dave Littlefield gone, Sabean is easily one of the two worst GM’s in baseball (Bill Bavasi’s the other). Although having Ed Wade around again might make it a three-way tie.
Sabean is a bad choice on so many levels, but I’m sure he’s looking to leap out of SF before the Mitchell Report flames singe his arse.
Re: our fearless manager. . . .
I’ll come right out and say it — it is downright foolish to suggest that questioning Willie after last year’s collapse is the stuff of fairweather boobirds who prefer complaints to cheers. It’s a rational question after what we saw last year. Willie was at the helm of a team that underachieved for months, folded like a pup tent when they were challenged by their division rivals, and eventually suffered a historic collapse. Historic.
He’s never been in the upper tier of managers strategically, getting by instead on a reputation for an intuitive feel for the game, a steady hand on the wheel during the storm, steering his team through rough waters (and bad metaphors). September, 2007, stripped away much of that veneer — he was completely lost as his team spiraled out of control.
Now, he’s lobbing thinly veiled public criticisms at some of his players when he’s asked about the collapse. I’m sorry but those sorts of insinuation are not candor — they’re excuses, and seem at odds with his reputation as a players’ manager.
So, you can turn our criticism of Willie against us if you wish, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. I guess the upside for Metsblog is that the “Fire Willie” watch will generate a lot of hits.
AMEN. Omar chose to keep Willie at his own expense. It was widely reported that these two would now be tied at the hip for better or worse. Willie’s success/failure this season will be a direct reflection on Omar and if one goes, I believe that both should go.
Thats just a perfect assessment.
The Matt Cerrone’s and and the homer-fans of the world can only retort with the tired and ageless, “Is it WIllie’s fault that Delgado, Mota, etc didnt have a good year?!?!”
Last I checked, 26 homers and 87 RBIs from 1b is better than what most NL teams have going for them.
What’s more, in some ways it IS Willie’s fault how his team performs on the field, at least in isolated situations. No one can convince me that the collapse was just a statistical aberration. It was psychological, and Willie, as the manager, is there for strategy and captaincy, the latter of which deals directly with team psychology, and both of which escaped him late in the season. Sure, it’s possible that he happened to have a team of uncoachable malcontents, but that doesn’t seem consistent with any of these players’ personalities or track records. Instead, when the wheels came off, Willie wasn’t able to guide his team through. Is it a lot to ask? Of course, but there are managers out there who are up to the task.
So, while it seems odd to suggest that Willie has anything to do with a given player’s statistical output, there are a lot of factors that go into a player’s performance — mood, focus, health, etc. Ask yourselves if who your boss or supervisor is and how he or she deals with crisis affects your performance.
Amen on Sabean!!! His teams are constructed of “proven veterans” (read: end-of-the-road journeymen). And he gave Barry Zito the most ludicrous pitcher’s contract since Denny Neagle’s deal from the Rockies.
Terry Ryan worked miracles with the Twins (his record is a lot more impressive than Mr. Moneyball). But if he hit the wall and retired there, is he likely to jump into the Mets and NYC?
Hunsicker or Cashman could be interesting…
Yes this is premature.
But conceptually, the manager and GM sholdn’t be joined at the hip. LIke others noted, Willie has to make the most out of the talent on the team. This means winning games, and also developing the young players (and keeping everyone involved), not destroying pitchers, etc.
But, that doesn’t mean he needs to win the WS or be fired. Not if the team isn’t really good enough. They do, however, need to play hard and smart, or he should be heald accountable.
The GM though has to be evaluated longer term. This includes how the farm has improved, the young talent coming on board, how well he has filled holes, etc. Basically you need to determine how well the team is positioned for a sustained run of success.
And not unloading the farm for 1 guy (depending on who gets traded and who comes on), even if it isn’t popular with the fans, if it makes the team better overall could be considered a reason to keep him, not fire him
It is a tough balancing act, but Omar’s missions should not be to win a WS in 2008 at all costs.
Willie made the most of the talent in 06; losing to the Cardinals? Is that what you meant to say? You normally make sense.
I was just talking conceptually. That is, Willie (or any manager) needs to be evaluated as to whether he made the most of the talent. I wasn’t implying that he had!
Like many, I’m on the fence about Willie. But can we at least not distort what happened in 2006? By the Cards series the we were relying on two starting pitchers with a combined 9-18 record during the regular season to make 4 of 7 starts.
Two of our 3 “money” pitchers were injured. I was bitterly disappointed in losing Game 7 but amazed they got that far with Perez and Maine having to carry the load.
2006 was a great year with bad ending caused in large part by unfortunate injuries to key pitchers.
2007, blame away, I’m with you there, but please let’s not forget the facts of 2006.
At least Littlefield and Wade have the “no resources” argument. Sabean has no excuse – he’s the worst GM in baseball, period.
The guy thought Matt Herges could be a closer on a playoff team. When that failed, he invested in Benitez.
And want to beat Omar up for the Milledge trade? How about Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano AND Boof Bonser for AJ Pierzynski (who he then released less than a year later)?
How anyone could look at that and say he’s a good option for the Mets is beyond me.
Not to mention throwing $120M/7 year contract at a #2 pitcher on the declining side of his caeer, thereby helping to drive up the price of pitching overall.
The guy should be banned from baseball for gross incompetence.
You can say it’s premature, but it’s more of a hypothetical analysis than a prediction. Omar and Willie have done a fine job with this team, and while from time to time both make me scratch my head, whether it be swapping young players, or using his “gut” instead of baseball knowledge, they won’t deserve to be canned unless we completely tank in 2008. Even if we do, I don’t see Omar going anywhere.
As others have stated, the two should be evaluated separately. I find myself scratching my head more over Willie’s decisions than Omar’s.
I have my doubts as to whether Wille can cut it as an NL manager. To put it in Colbert terms, he’s not “dead to me” but he’s definitely “on notice”
I think Wally Backman or maybe Stearn could be a nice manager, but at this point I’m willing to give a humbled Willie another chance to show he is willing to learn from his mistakes and stop being stubborn with his on the field moves, and more recently his off the field mentality.
*Stearns.
100% typo, he was one of my favorites
Why isn’t Stearns already the third base coach? Just sayin’.
catchers make the best managers.
Stearns coached 3rd base for the Mets for two years. I’m sure there’s more to the job than holding/sending runners, but at that he was an absolute disaster. You could have flipped a coin and had better results. After enough embarrassments, runners just sort of ignored him.
It’s terrifying scenarios like Brian Sabean as GM and Wally Backman as manager that make me think: Um, let’s just stick with what we’ve got and not drive this train into a ravine.
backman has won championships and manager of the year awards at the minor league level. willie did nothing but sit on uncle joe’s lap. i would be more comfortable w/ backman than willie any day.
If Omar and Willie go (which I doubt, especially if we acquire Santana), I’d like to see Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire get their jobs. I doubt they would but they’re the best of the guys suggested.
Why not bring back the Frank Cahen/Davey Johnson combo?
That’s Cashen. The Skins brought back Joe Gibbs for a cameo return so why can’t we do the same?
Frank Cashen? Is he still alive? If he is he’s close to 90 … why would he want to be a GM at that age?
Ya, Cashen looked very geezerly at the 86 reunion! Was sort of sad.
Please NO BRIAN SABEAN!!! EVER!!!
Any GM that trades Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser AND Francisco Liriano for AJ Pierzenski, and then cuts Pierzenski a few months later because he doesn’t get along with the roided up freak deserves no better than to run the Pirates.
Matt, do yourself a favor and stop quoting Dugout Central. It’s an awful blog, with some outlandish baseless opinions. Pags (if it’s really Pags and his buddies running that site) seems to be completely out of touch with baseball.
Number 41 are you Art Howe or Steve Phillips????
You probably think Joe Torre is a good manager!!
I keep forgetting that Willie blew the NLCS in 06, I know that one inning of Mota lost the whole series for us, not being forced to pitch Trachsel (as 2 of our SP’s were out) or that our offense sucked for the better part of that series, or that John Maine was a rookie and OP was in AAA most of that year…
thanks for setting us staight chief
How is this even worth thinking about? January is just a tad early to concede the 2008 season, isn’t it?
A tad early.. yes.. but not unreasonable considering that we have gaping holes in the 4 and 5 spots in our rotation with no real options left except to overpay for Livan Hernandez, Bartolo Colon, or Kyle Loshe. Add that to the fact that the rest of our team is being held together by glue and popsicle sticks and you have a very foggy outlook on the 2008 season. Considering that we weren’t a playoff team last year, assuming we can make the playoffs this year with more question marks is ludicrous. So barring a trade for an unnamed twin, I think its reasonable to start discussing other managerial options….
i belive the gaping holes you are talking about are there due to omar’s lack of action last off season. while i am not the biggest willie supporter, i do feel omar got a bit big on himself after the 2006 season and didn’t address the needs the team was going to have this year.
Rickey speaks the truth. Rickey thinks you should listen to Rickey. Rickey gonna be in the Hall of Fame soon.
Yes. But unfortunately, GMs are usually allowed to hire more than one manager. Omar’s problem is not that he huired Willie. His problem is that he is stupid.
Isn’t it a little early to be making nooses for Omar and Willie?
no way omar should not get fired he is building a camp in dominican republic we might find a diamond in the rough how bout a david ortiz or another pedro martinez how bout an albert pujols or a manny ramirez or another jose reyes or francisco rodriguez come on now the guy knows what he is doing he got us back to winning and shawn green played like shit now if u go check the last general manager he had bad picks in the draft most did not even reach the majors now minaya knows how to draft he got us david wright and reyes and carlos gomez and everyone in the mets. omar do not trade for santana should not trade their future he got us maine and maine was not a good pitcher look at him now with rick peterson and oliver perez had his era at 7 i think and i think they should sign kyle lohse to a 3 year 24 million and an extra 6 million in accentivies during the 3 year period and an option of 12 million as 4th year and resign oliver perez to that.
Dude, you need to get acquainted with capital letters. That stuff is just unreadable.
It’s not the lack of capitalization that got to me. It was the complete lack of punctuation. I was never into stream of consciousness.
omar did not draft wright or reyes.
Omar and Willie should have been fired after last year.