Quote: Can We, or Can We Not
In a column for SNY.tv, Ted Berg explains why Jerry Manuel represents a new start for the Mets and their fans, writing:
“No matter how you feel about Manuel’s motivational tactics, you’ve got to love the air of levity he’s already brought to a very difficult situation. Maybe Manuel saw that Willie’s stand-up act in postgame press conferences before his untimely demise endeared the former manager to the Shea Faithful and the media. Or maybe Manuel’s just a funny guy who doesn’t take minor drama too seriously. Either way, it’s welcome. Good to see someone in a Mets uniform is enjoying himself.”
Yesterday, Manuel made his first appearance as manager on WFAN’s Mike and the Maddog, which you can listen to by going to WFAN.com.
When asked what needs to change in order to get this team back to winning, Manuel said he needs to get his position players fresh, so they can create an environment for where they can have ‘career years,’ and he would like to create specific roles for pitchers in the bullpen.
Additionally, Manuel said his message to the team will be, “We have to focus through out the entire baseball game…If we do that, not only be physical tired, but mentally drained, after each game that’s all I ask, because with the talent we have that should equal good baseball.”
Manuel admits that there has been a general malaise around the team this season, saying, “We’ve been puttering around here and there…I think that’s more of a focus thing than any thing else. We try to be positive, but, at the same time, we’ve got to be realistic and say, ‘Hey, can we or can we not.’
Mike Francesa asked Manuel if he believes a time may come this season when he will have to move on from some of the older players, like Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado, to which Manuel said:
“Well, you may be right…I think that’s where we as an organization need to be good at evaluating out people and say, ‘Hey, can he or can he not do it?’
Manuel, on playing in Shea Stadium, where the fans have been quite negative this season:
“These are the greatest fans in the world, you can’t ask for a better situation to be in…I think we’ve got to show up and do some things and we’ve got to appreciate the fact that that’s our home park and we’ve got to play like that’s our home park. I have sensed some timidity in our performances there, some trepidation, some hesitance. We’ve got to free ourselves up, because the people in New York, all they want to do is win – all they want to do is win. That’s the bottom line. They don’t care how you get it done, they just want to win.”
Lastly, Manuel describes himself as, ‘a motivator and a communicator,’ noting that Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are, ‘his guys.’
…honestly, i could listen to this guy speak all day long…
