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Since being named the interim manager, Jerry Manuel has been filling tape recorders with priceless quips and proclamations. This “breath of fresh air” was immediately embraced by the media, and we fans were fed the idea that the Mets would immediately start fighting for first place.
After a week, however, the Mets under Manuel are 3-4. Manuel’s promises about bullpen roles, resting starters on the road, and a new offensive attack have fallen by the wayside. For many, the talk from Manuel has been a lot of hot air - after all, actions speak louder than words.
On the other hand, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a sub-.500 team can’t suddenly turn into a contender with the flip of a switch. The hiring of Jerry Manuel was one step of many in the process.
The buzz from Shea is that internal meetings are occurring now, “and changes are coming”.
We’ve heard enough talk. I, Joe Janish, am willing to give Manuel and the team’s front office 30 or so days to get these changes implemented. No doubt we’ll see obvious moves - such as personnel adjustments affecting Carlos Delgado and Oliver Perez. We should also see more roles evolving, particularly at second base and in the outfield. An energy spark from the farm system is a must - be it an arm or a position player or both - because the Mets have little in the way of trading chips for an impact player (think: 2005, when the promotions of Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang boosted the Yankees).
At the same time, I fully expect Omar Minaya to continue working the phones to land someone who can make a difference. In addition, let’s look for the relievers to eventually settle into roles, the hitters to start bringing a game plan to the plate, and the team as a whole keep its focus and spirit no matter what the score.
As Ron Darling suggested, a month is a fair amount of time. Let’s talk then.
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I think that’s as fair as you get, Joe.
I like the thought of someone from the farm coming up (see: Carp, Mike).
Castillo needs to be put down in the 8 hole. His bat behind Reyes absolutely KILLS this lineup’s flow. His glove is too good right now to be removed altogether. I think you put the Easley/Chavez platoon in the 2 hole. Wright needs to get his S together and beltran needs to stay hot. Delgado needs to retire. Isn’t our #5 supposed to be feared? I can’t honestly say that he is…
I like the idea of giving Carp a shot. But Castillo is far from this teams biggest problem- and you can’t platoon him and Easly because Castillo is a far better hitter from the right-hand side.
I dont think he’s this team’s biggest problem, i am just infuriated that the guy let’s hitter pitches go and then is FORCED to swing at a strike zone pitch….whether it’s a good pitch to hit or not.
Where do you s’pose that spark from the farm is coming from?
As well as Carp, Evans, and Murphy are doing, I don’t get the sense that any of them are ready for the show.
What spark?
Carp isn’t ready for the show? If batting .340 for the entire year isn’t ready, what is?
Not necessarily. He was batting .360 just 6 days ago.
He’s also at AA, not AAA. He’s also 21.
I’m not saying he would be a flop in the bigs, but he could easily be as bad or worse than Delgado when he gets here.
And by all accounts, he’s a butcher in the field, so he’s not likely to be an upgrade defensively either.
Jay Bruce is 21 too. Reyes was 20. Get ‘em here.
Exactly.
Wow. You think Carp will put up numbers like Bruce? You gotta be kidding.
Jay Bruce was at AAA and had a ton more power. He was also a much more highly regarded amateur.
Last year at this time Carp was awful.
He hasn’t done it long enough to prove anything yet. Hell, he didn’t even get a big league invite this spring.
You can call him up, but you’d better be prepared for him to be very raw, and not very good right now.
No, I don’t think he’ll be Bruce. All I need him to be is equal to Delgado. At least he’ll be learning.
The chances of him even being equal to Delgado at this point are slim. He has fewer dingers at AA than Delgado has in the bigs.
I’m not saying Delgado is any good, but to expect at this age, at this time, for Carp to be better is a tad foolish.
I just want to see what it is we have. Delgado isn’t getting it done. Maybe Carp will. If he doesn’t, that’s fine. At least we tried something else.
Well, to simply be on par with Delgado, Carp would have to hit .235 and hit an occasional home run and make half assed attempts to field balls.
And I’m not convinced he’s hit even the occasional home run, hit .235 or field at all.
Like I said, if you bring him up and don’t mind watching him flail, then fine.
What would be a shame is for people to expect him to come up and “save” this team. I don’t think he’s that type of player. Certainly not now.
If he proves me wrong, great!
I don’t think Carp will save the season by any means. But, Delgado isn’t going to either. I’d rather roll the dice with a younger guy than one who is on his way out if given the choice.
What about bringing back Nick Evans for another stint? He’s got a tad less adjusting to do in the bigs as opposed to someone like Mike Carp.
I’d prefer Evans as a platoon partner with Delgado. Evans can’t hit righties, Delgado can’t hit lefties. Its perfect.
That’s AA
How about Moises Alou for one game?
You mean like all 9 innings? Isn’t that asking a lot?
ok heres what I think
Delgado..bye bye Welcome Mike Carp
Church back from DL when ready, bye bye Robinson Cancel
Perez? I dunno what to do with him…send him to AAA in favor of a young guy?
there is no young guy worthy of coming up this season
Jon Niese probably wouldn’t do any worse that Perez.
That would completly f— with Niese. No need to do that to him.
I don’t think it matters very much to you or any of us if changes are implemented as long as wins are implemented.
There’s not too much that can be done to this roster to show an improvement other than Church coming off strong from the DL, but if the team starts finding ways to win, we’ll all be happy.
This 30 day thing seems like a load of crap to me. We could have said the same thing 60 days ago or 30 days ago and it would have the same meaning.
What are you going to do in 30 days when the mets are still a .500 club? Nothing probably except renew your patience for another 30 days
Amen.
Disagree. The thirty days is to absorb Manuel as manager, learn how he does things, adapt to his style, etc. If you’re not willing to see what a change in managers does, why did we fire Willie, again?
delayed comeuppance for september 2007 when, as opposed to now, the manager had a large effect on performance
TMU, I agree re: Manuel - but not re: the front office.
“I, Joe Janish, am willing to give Manuel and team’s front office 30 or so days”
I’m sure they’re quaking in their boots.
What happens after that? Another 30 days perhaps?
seriously joe, i literally laughed at loud when i read this.
I, gbaked, laughed and shook my head as well.
The front office mishandled the aftermathe of The Collapse. Most of the team’s current problems stem from that. They have had much longerthan a month to make moves to turn the page.
The thought processes in retaining randolph, giving Castillo four years, not obtaining a valid platoon/backup for Delgado, and staying with Moises without a solid backup or platoon are all inexplicable.
It’s hard to continue giving Minaya (whom I have always liked) and his crowd the benefit of the doubt.
*aftermath
The problem with this approach is that we all should know better after last season. Isn;t this what we did last season? We closed the door on the season in the middle of July and assumed it was all fine. Wouldn;t it make sense to play this out and see what happens? The way this division is going there doesn;t seem to be any one team that is willing to step up and grab a big lead. What happens after 30 days Joe? You’re going to bad-mouth your team mercilessly until what? It’s lame.
I’m all for making some changes here, especially at first base but jesus give Manuel and the team time to do it. Something tells me this team is going to finish strong. We’ve played like sh&^t and are still only 4 games out of first. Just let them play the games already a let the pieces fall where they may. This desperation garbage in mid season never got us anywhere and never will.