Read: Jerry Manuel, One Year Later
Today is Jerry Manuel’s one-year anniversary since being named manager of the Mets, during which he is 88–67.
His .568 winning percentage is seventh best during that span, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
…my biggest complaint with jerry this season is that he’s been very, very inconsistent with the lineup… and, i realize that may be a by-product of injury… however, the constant back-and-forth with Ryan Church, which Keith Hernandez criticized on air last night, as well as the constant rotation of shortstop, first baseman and corner outfielders, has been questionable…
Manuel talked to reporters prior to yesterday’s game, and had the following to say when asked about the inconsistent lineup and injuries:
“I can see where people say, hey, you don’t have the same lineup, he’s been inconsistent… That’s OK, I can understand that… But again, it doesn’t go without a thought process or preparation… It’s been tough, (due to injuries), because the things that you implement in spring training are designed to get the core to another level.”
…the injury issue is fair… no question… he’s probably just trying to catch lightening in a bottle, with all the constant shifting around, but i sometimes wonder if he’d be better served just assigning roles and letting these guys play it out…
In a thought-provoking, and well-written post to his blog for the New York Times, Ben Spihgel writes, among other things:
“As he promised, Manuel has helped turn the Mets into a better situational hitting team. They enter Tuesday batting .279 with runners in scoring position, tops in the N.L., and .280 with runners on base. That 80-pitch curveball drill from spring training has instilled the importance of making contact – only five teams have fewer strikeouts with runners in scoring position than the Mets – and helped Carlos Beltran become a better opposite-field hitter.”
…nice work, ben… i hadn’t seen those numbers in a while, and it’s interesting to think it could be the result of jerry’s drills… then again, it could just be…
…in the end, i think jerry has done a good job… not great, but good of course, i’d probably be being saying the same thing about Willie Randolph, or Bobby 
Valentine, or whomever else might have had the job… like i said yesterday, i find managers to be overrated… player performance is most important… so, i never feel any one decision from the manager is bigger than a player’s swing or how a pitcher is throwing… this is probably why i never write detailed post-game criticism of jerry… i guess i’m just not that smart, or i just don’t focus on it… or, at least i don’t focus on it to the extent i focus on the guy who struck out with the bases loaded, or the guy who dropped the pop fly…
…i also reject the idea that any one man can get a major-league veteran to play better fundamental baseball… these guys are professionals… they’re either good at that stuff, or they aren’t… they either trust and believe in their teammates, or they don’t… if the team is playing poor, fundamental baseball, to me, that falls more on the GM than the manager…
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