Opinion: Jerry Manuel’s Coaching Staff
The Mets today named Dave Jauss bench coach and Chip Hale third base coach, while shifting Razor Shines from third base coach to first.
Howard Johnson will remain as the team’s hitting coach, Dan Warthen will remain the pitching coach, and Randy Niemann will continue to be the bullpen coach.
The Mets also named Terry Collins the team’s Minor League Field Coordinator.
Original Post, 1:33 pm:
I will say this, while watching Joe Torre, when he was in town with the Dodgers, playing the Mets in Citi Field, I came to appreciate a coaching staff more than ever before, in terms of having the team and manager prepared for the game.
Normally, before the game, the opposing team’s manager is up on the cage, on field, watching batting practice, watching his team field, talking with players and coaches, and maybe even taking part in some of the drills. Not Torre.
He had to sit in the dugout and field endless and field endless questions from reporters, unable to even see the field, let alone gain information that might help with in-game decisions later in the night, as he team worked to prepare for that night’s game. The minute he was done talking with reporters, just about the time BP was wrapping up, his top coaches, Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa, scurried over and debriefed him on everything that occurred in the pre-game practice. Torre put his notes in back pocket, then effortless started taking pictures with fans, talked to Donald Trump, smiling the entire time, and then managed his team to a 5–4 win over the Mets.
Jerry Manuel must do the same, to a lesser extent, every night, before every game. I recall hearing how Willie Randolph just wanted to throw batting practice and work with his team, and he grew more and more frustrated every day that he had all of these other obligations that got in the way.
The point is, Manuel, like Torre, must have coaches who he trusts, who he works well with, and who can be his eyes and ears in a way that is probably not necessary on other clubs.
I hope Jauss, Hale and Shines can be those guys.
