Jerry Manuel was a guest on SNY’s Daily News Live yesterday, and had the following to say when asked if he would have a problem managing a player like Manny Ramirez:
“I don’t think so. I don’t have a problem with people that produce in the form and fashion that Manny Ramirez produces. We shouldn’t spend that much time in the locker room anyway, our job is to be on the field – and Manny Ramirez has proven that he is probably one of the best right-handed hitters of our generation. To have a shot at managing him would be exciting for me. I’ve had Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, tremendous right-handed hitters. I would love to have the opportunity to watch Manny hit every day.”
Manuel said it is not his job to lobby management for players, he leaves that up to Omar Minaya – however,“Once that player becomes a Met, I get involved from there.”
He also talked about Luis Castillo, back-to-back collapses, and the World Baseball Classic, on which he said:
“I wish there wasn’t the World Baseball Classic at this time because the core players are the players I need to manage in spring training. Those are the guys you want to make sure understand what you’re looking for and what you want… From the 23rd of March on, we’re going to have to do some things to get everybody in line.”
To watch Manuel’s five-minute interview on Daily News Live, courtesy of SNY.tv, click play below:
If nothing else I would appreciate it if the Wilpons or Omar would address why the Mets aren’t looking at Manny as an option. Why are ticket prices rising if the payroll isn’t?
I would think it is because they need to stick to their budget….whatever that is.
Now why ticket prices went up and payroll didn’t – is there necessarily a correlation between the two – couldn’t team operating expenses (new stadium, cost of hotel accommodations, player per diem, airfare, etc) have gone up which requires the raise in ticket prices to match profits from last season?
I honestly don’t know……I’m just guessing and thinking out loud.
The fact that ballplayers get a per diem for meals and such makes me laugh actually…….I do realize some of them make the league minimum….but still….
keeping the payroll the same is unacceptable given the teams failures the last 2 seasons…
Not even the fact that they blew it the last 2 season. The fact that they are keeping the payroll the same and getting what $30Million from Citi every year and raising ticket prices are absurd. If the Mets sign Manny and able to pick up Perez or Sheets I think that would send the Mets into the WS. the Mets definately have more than enough resources to sign these 2 guys. Freddie Coupons doesn’t care about winning. You know what our lineup would be like if we signed Manny Ramirez?
I think you need to change the intro to “if he would have a problem managing a player like Manny Ramirez”
As you have it now, he is saying “I don’t think so” in response to “if he is capable of managing a player like Manny Ramirez”
I usually don’t point out the minor errors but this one actually had me thinking Jerry was saying he couldn’t take on Manny (until I read on, obviously)
Thanks Matt
Matt:
Your intro to that quote makes it sound like Manuel is saying he couldn’t handle Manny. In fact he’s saying just the opposite:
“when asked if he would be capable of managing a player like Manny Ramirez:
‘I don’t think so….”
i can understand not giving him more than 2 years guaranteed but don’t tell us that you did everything possible to make the Mets a winning team when you don’t even bother to sign the best FA available. If a team is going to give Manny 3+ year guaranteed so be it, but it doesnt look like anyone will…
Manny would gives us more wins than anyone else we can put out there and thats the bottom line.
This just keeps getting stranger and more curious by the day. With Wilpon making his statement and then the players that have made theirs. Now Jerry. It could be that they all want Manny and Omar does not? That the Wipons do not? Or that they are all setting the stage for Manny.
It would have to be: “The pitching market went away from us so we decided to bring in Manny and fill the rotation by trade (or by signing Garland/Wolf).”
I cant understand how some people can say that a combination of Ollie and Murphy/Tatis wins more games than Manny and Garland.
Because better pitching has a greater impact on a team’s performance than better hitting…
slightly better pitching does not have a greater impact than a drastic increase in the hitting
Each of the last two seasons, OP has posted an ERA .7 better than Garland while pitching 1 more game, though roughly 30 less innngs. OP is also two years younger.
We must have different definitions of what “slightly” means. And for those who what the actual runs total to take errors out of it, OP in last two seasons, 190 runs. Garland, 230.
Allowing 1+ more runs per start isn’t balanced by signing Manny. Pitching wins championships.
…obviously 40 runs over 2 seasons isn’t 1+ per start…ignore that part…
What happened to signing Perez “by the end of the weekend”? Oh that’s right, he got Boras as an agent and the Mets bidding against themselves.
I feel bad for Jerry- he’s the next scapegoat after Willie.
part of a managers job description.
Everyone,
I have been a reader of this site from the start and this is the first time for me to post. Consider me one of the fans that would like to see Manny on the Mets. The way that I have taken the comments from both Omar and the Wilpons is a bit different. When Omar is asked about Manny his response is always “our focus is pitching” and ithe Wilpon’s response has been “Omar has not come to us with a request”. I think Omar has an eye on Manny but is playing it low. He has not said that the Mets will not sign Manny.
I believe he figures Boras will come check with him before Manny signs anywhere. I hope this is the case.
I feel the same way. Basically, Omar is willing to take him on, but only within certain parameters (years and dolalrs). And he can’t really do anything until the other holes are filled, so hence the waiting game.
It will be more interesting to see what happens once Omar finally lands another SP. At that point, it is either one of the few FA OFs as a starter (manny, dunn, abreu trifecta, AKA manny/moe/jack), swing a trade for offensive help, or let the team ride.
We will all know soon enough.
hopefully, omar wont wait on manny too long…or some other LUCKY team will snap him up
I was listening to ESPN radio on the ride home yesterday and our favorite ex-GM was on. And he said pretty much what i think is happening. He said I went through it and I believe this is what is happening.
Omar hasn’t gone to the Wilpons yet this off-season. But in the past 2 seasons when he approached them about a trade for Manny or brought him up in discussions, they would say “I want no part of that clown” or something negative. So Omar just knows not to bring it up.
I think that is pretty much what is happening
but feff said omar has free rein on manny
When he was asked what we can expect from Luis Castillo, his answer was very refreshing. Instead of saying what Willie would have said (i.e. I think he is going to have a big year for us, he’s my guy), he simply said that it is a great question and he thinks Luis still has the skills, but wasn’t sure if he could still be that player, and if he wasn’t doing the job, they would step in and make a change. I like that answer.
I was discussing this off-season with a fellow Met fan yesterday, and I came to the conclusion that it has not been a very good one at all. I was, like most, excited by K-Rod and Putz. But if you break it down, K-Rod gives us what Wagner did last year over a full season, so as upgrades go, it’s probably not as big as it might appear. Putz is an upgrade over Heilman, I think that’s safe to say. But then what?
This team has made only a minor improvement, and yes, they only missed the postseason by a game, but shouldn’t they try to improve by much more?
The pitcher they are pursuing now isn’t an improvement over the guy he’s replacing, he IS the guy he’s replacing.
To not pursue Manny is to not seek to improve this team in a significant way.
They have a new stadium. For years we have been hearing how important it was to have a top-notch team christen the new ballpark. They have their own network. For years we have been hearing how this would drastically increase revenue streams, and when coupled with the new stadium… wow.
So now we’re here, ready for the new stadium, and the only bona-fide improvement over the teams that collapsed in ’07 and ’08 is JJ Putz.
Thant is not enough. I feel somewhat betrayed by this team. And believe me when I say, I rarely let myself think this way.
and we’ve actually decreased our hitting so far.
Easley > Cora
Endy > whoever wins the job
Alou (when he actually played) > Murphy/Tatis
You are aware Alou didn’t play at all last year right?
Murphy/Tatis better this year than Murphy/Tatis last year.
Castillo this year better than Castillo last year. or at least the same, which is better than half a year from Easley and Argenis.
Endy was fine, but those backup OF we got can easily do what he did, with a little more pop.
Pelfrey will get better too.
Delgado may not be as strong, but I doubt he’ll slip to ’07 standards. Not that Manny can’t make the team better, but it’s an expense and a risk that they might be better off not taking. Especially if it handcuffs from being able to fix holes mid-season or next season due to budget restraints.
I am aware that Moises Alou batted over .340 as a NY Met.
Thanks
He was never on the field. It was an almost completely useless .340
meeow
Yup for his 15 games last season Alou was great.
15 games. 15 ONE- FIVE. if that was the other way around it’s not even good.
Please.
Yup Endy Chavez’s .269 average 1 HR 12 RBI’s 30 Runs scored and 8 SB, can’t be replaced by Reed/Sullivan or whomever. Nope Endy was just so good.
Yup Cora can’t bat .269 with 6 HR and 44RBI in 113 games. Nope he can’t replace that.
Please. As it stands right now this team won’t finish worse then top 5 in runs scored in the NL. Murphy/Tatis is better then Alou for 15 games, Pagan, Endy, marlon anderson, trot nixon, chris aguila, brady clarke. Yup that’s the list of people that played LF until Murphy/Tatis platooned every day.
Quite a list of stud outfielders.
I do agree that an offensive upgrade would be nice. either at 2nd base, Catcher, LF or RF. But if it doesn’t happen the offense isn’t what worries me so much as the Rotation right now.
You can’t possibly know that Tatis/Murphy will be better this year. In fact, they like;y will be worse. The Tatis story last year was a wonderful one, but he’s had a career filled with unrealized potential, and he’s on the wrong side of 30. Murphy may indeed be a good hitter, but to count on improvement over what he did in limited exposure last year is foolish. Might he be better? Sure. But he might be a lot worse, too.
I believe Castillo will be better too, but there is no way to know that. Sometimes players wash up quickly.
My point is just this: this team collapsed two years in a row, and the only demonstrable improvement they made this winter was Putz. Sure, that could be enough, but if I ran a team in the largest market in the country with a new stadium and my own network, I would have gone further than a relief pitcher and counting on improvements from a creaky second baseman and an improbable LF platoon of two guys who don’t play the outfield.
I just think the owners of this club prove again and again that they are not very bold. It usually takes something humiliating to make them step up. Of course, two straight blown September leads ought to be humiliating. It is in my book.
You can say that about the Yankees until yesterday and they spent almost 500 million.
CC wouldn’t win more them Moose’s 20
AJ wouldn’t win more then Pettite’s 15
Teix & Swisher wouldn’t replace Abreau/Giambi’s production.
They just signed big names to big contracts. Now I will say with Andy that they have effectively upgraded their rotation. But it’s not like they made whole sale improvements to their team. Who’s their CFer. Will Cano be motivated. Can Posoda catch and throw. Who’s playing the corner OF positions.
But they spent almost 500 million so their fans can’t complain right?
Wow … I was listening to WFAN this morning and Carton was talking about how Jerry had said “he wants Manny” and that now there was a serious problem between Jerry and the Wilpons. So I login and come here to get the scoop, and as usual, there is no controversy.
We have Manuel saying that if he had Manny on his team he would be glad to manage him, which is the right thing for him to say. He even says it’s not his job to lobby for players, and that is Omar’s job.
Thanks Metsblog, for being objective. It’s nice that we don’t have to live off of the scraps from local newspapers and WFAN to get our news, since they atrociously distort the truth on a daily basis. I’m so tired of the BS.
well if you read between the lines it is fairly obvious Jerry wants Manny but yes to say that there is a serious problem between the Wilpons and Jerry is not true
beltran and wright want manny too.
1. I like Jerry. I think there is mostly truth when he speaks which is refreshing compared to most managers who tend to stick to talking points. I also like his approach to things much better than Willie
2. It looks to me as if Jerry is sending a subliminal message that he could reign in Manny to…whomever in the front office by saying he’s managed guys like Belle and Thomas (both headcases by all accounts)
What is Jerry supposed to say, “No I don’t want Manny!” He can’t say that in case the Mets get him. Same thing goes for Castillo.
Omar and Wilpons won’t say they don’t want Manny cause that would put Boras in a weaker position and they don’t want to upset Boras when they’re trying to sign Ollie. (Maybe)
He could say things like “I think our offense is great the way it is”
And “Luis Castillo is a great player”
We KNOW he hates Luis. He goes about it in a politically correct way, but it’s pretty obvious he would love to bench Luis if he pulls another 08.
If he said those things, then he would be a Willie Randolph clone. Thank god he isn’t.
Genesis wasn’t arguing that he SHOULD say those things, he was merely answering the question posted above.
Its so much more enjoyable listening to Manual then Randolph, i’m not saying one is a better manager than theother but Manual gives me more confidence that he’ll identify whats going on with his team and what it needs
mark4212:
Re: the Yankees.
Who gives a f–k? I’m not talking about the Yankees, I’m talking about the Mets. We’re not going to improve the rotation by adding Ollie, because he’s not an addition. We’ve improved the bullpen, which was admittedly the biggest issue, but don’t you think there needs to be more improvement?
If you’re not improving the rotation, you’d better improve the offense, even if the offense was very good last year. Why not make it great?
Jerry Manuel needs to make a guest appearance on The Boondocks.
As everyday goes by it seems more and more apparent that Manny will end up here. Hopefully everything will fall right into place and we’ll land him.
On the bright side, it sounded to me like Manuel is not going to give Castillo too much rope….