Jerry Manuel would love to know his job status
“Jerry Manuel admitted yesterday that he would ‘love to know’ if the organization plans to bring him back next season, but he also isn’t about to seek out GM Omar Minaya or Jeff Wilpon for an answer. Manuel, whose contract expires after the season, said he’ll refrain from asking because he doesn’t want to become a focal point – especially if the organization has already decided to dump him – in this final month.”
Here’s the thing about Manuel, how is a difference maker? What has he done to justify keeping his job? By the way, being a nice guy and entertaining reporters is not a sufficient answer.
I look at Buck Showalter. The Orioles were playing .300 baseball when he took over on August 1. They were awful. The team is more or less the same as it was before his arrival. Yet, they are 17–12 under his leadership. Why? I don’t know, I suppose it could be a coincidence, favorable pitching match ups, just dumb luck, etc., but it’s hard to believe it doesn’t at least have something to do with Showalter, who is known for joining a team and whipping it in to shape with equal parts outside-the-box thinking and on-field strategy. The baseball manager is overrated, but there has to be a connection between Showalter and his team’s recent success.
Manuel is 190–198 in 2.5 seasons managing the Mets, who have looked totally disinterested during the last two months of this season. He was mostly a .500 manager with the White Sox too, short of one fantastic season. In his heart and mind, I truly believe Manuel expected this team to evolve and grow from the back-to-back collapses and the experiences of the last few seasons… I think he thought, by now, they would have bonded and started trusting one another and playing better baseball. But, it hasn’t happened. It isn’t working.
In short, I get the impression he is a better man than manager… and to get back to winning, in this ballpark, with this roster, the Mets will need more than that. Remember, hope is not a strategy. And so, I’d be shocked, stunned if Manuel is back in the dugout in 2011, because it is clear to every one that it is time to move on.
