Quote: Rules, Relationships and Rebellion
During his weekly spot on WFAN yesterday, Jerry Manuel had the following to say, when asked if his clubhouse is more loose since he took over:
“Well, for me it’s all about relationships and it was a difficult thing with the cloud that was hanging over the club. It had nothing to do with how the clubhouse was being run. For me it’s about relationships more than rules. Rules without relationships lead to rebellion…Yes, the clubhouse was tight. Not because of anything Willie was doing, but because of his status. A lot of attention was payed to that and I would say it was difficult for some of the young players to handle.”
Regarding whether Howard Johnson is responsible for the team’s lack of production at the plate, Manuel said:
“I think it’s a group effort, HoJo and myself. We have to try to find a better plan for how we can win games with the offensive machinery we do have. That part has been somewhat challenging for us to understand what type of team we are versus what type of team we were…
“Everyone has lost players, don’t get me wrong, but without Church and Alou that’s a lot of offense that we are missing. Plus, Delgado has been somewhat of an enigma, he’s been sporadic here and there. So, when you have that combination, and when you replace offensive players with strictly defensive players, you have to create a different way of scoring runs and winning ball games.”
…from what i can gather, manuel and the team’s management like HoJo, who i do not think will be fired…frankly, i expect to see lineup changes and people cut or traded before HoJo is sent packing, which is how it should be…HoJo works hard, and he is respected, and he deserves the opportunity to work with manuel on a new plan…
To listen to Manuel’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.
