" The buck stops with him !"
I was asked on numerous occasions last week who I thought would be hired as the next manager of the New York Mets . I thought long and hard because I had to think logically and not emotionally. I had said that if there was a gun pointed to my head with the trigger cocked I would confidently say Terry Collins. Turns out that I was right .
And you know what – I think that it was the right choice. Yes deep down I really wanted Wally just like the majority of the Mets fan base, but just like those Rolling Stones lyrics go -
” You can’t always get what you want. – But if you try sometime, you might just find – you get what you need !”
And you know what, Sandy Alderson made the right choice, Collins might be just what we need. Was he the most qualified man for the job ? The answer is no, but lets face the facts the two best candidates for the job – Bobby Valentine and Buck Showalter were not coming , Showalter because he has been hired by the Orioles and Valentine because – well because he’s Valentine and we all know that Bobby V has problems playing nice with others.
Of the final four candidates there were no slam dunks, they all had their pros and cons. Melvin has managed winning teams but he comes across as Art Howe’s smarter brother – hell they were both catchers during their major league careers ! Chip Hale is well respected but lacks the experience , and I have to admit my personal choice, Backman , has to once again prove that he can manage above rookie ball.
But the dice has been cast and the decision has been made – and I give Sandy alot of credit , Collins is his guy. He didn’t cave to the the wishes of our temper-tantrum prone fan base, and who knows maybe in twenty years he willwe be as reveared as Gil, Davey and Bobby V .
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Needless to say Mo Vaughn is already petitioning to have Terry Collins removed as Mets manager.
Current and past Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today are :
Our new fearless leader, Sandy Alderson is 63 (1947).
Rich Chiles, The man who was supposed to make us forget about Rusty Staub ( yeah right!) is 61 (1949) .
Reliever from the ’92 campaign, Lee Guetterman is 52 (1958) .
Middle reliver from ’87-’88, Gene Walter is 50 (1960) .
Mets center fielder from ’98-’02,Jay Payton is 38 (1972). He had such a strong arm and a hot bat – it is still amazing that he never reached his potential with the Mets.
Utility outfielder from the”06-”07 teams, Ricky Ledee is 37(1973) .
Baltimore Orioles signed pitcher, Sid Fernandez of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 22, 1993. I was very upset that the Mets let Sid go. He along with Dwight Gooden were the last remnants of the dominant Mets pitching staff from the ’80′s.
New York Mets signed free agent middle reliever, Mike Remlinger on November 22, 1993.
San Diego Padres claimed relief pitcher, Jason Middlebrook of the New York Mets on waivers on November 22, 2000.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed pitcher, Jason Roach of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 22, 2004.
And don’t forget , there are just 130 days until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami and 137 days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
35 comments
saltygary
11/22/2010-8:16am at 8:16 am (UTC -4)
Last night MF4D said her opinion of the hiring was “Eh…”. I’ll take that eh and raise it to a Meh…
rustyjr
11/22/2010-8:21am at 8:21 am (UTC -4)
And it’s your right to feel that way
metsfan4decades
11/22/2010-8:20am at 8:20 am (UTC -4)
Once the FO whittled it down to the final four, I really didn’t have a strong opinion one way or the other on who they choose. I had some reservations about all 4, and there were some real positives about all 4.
My reservation on Collins is the stories circulating about his tenure in Anaheim and Japan. The articles make it sound like he lost control of that clubhouse. I hope there’s more to those stories than reported b/c I think that was Jerry’s downfall. We certainly don’t need that continuing – or happening again. I’m going to stay positive about this right now though. If the FO thinks he is the best man for the job, then quite possibly he is.
I see Chip Hale was a close second.
Also reading Warthen is staying on as pitching coach.
rustyjr
11/22/2010-8:26am at 8:26 am (UTC -4)
Look , at the end of the day all managers lose their clubhouse . It happened to Davey, it happened to Bobby V , it happened to Torre before he bolted to L.A hell even great managers like leyland and Billy Martin were fired for that ! Through the years when rosters turn over it is very difficult for a manager to keep his message fresh
Dirtysanchez
11/22/2010-8:36am at 8:36 am (UTC -4)
you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
rustyjr
11/22/2010-8:42am at 8:42 am (UTC -4)
Exactly ! We ran both valentine & Johnson out on a rail when the winning stopped
kingman 26
11/22/2010-8:47am at 8:47 am (UTC -4)
Thanks Harvey! Great movie.
Hope all is great with you Dirty!
stickguy
11/22/2010-8:46am at 8:46 am (UTC -4)
Yes, eventually things go bad for a team, and the manager takes the fall. Born to be fired! Hell, Charlie in Philly already lost the clubhouse and fans (in mid-2007), and I am 100% sure if the Mets hadn’t gifted them the division (and philly missed playoffs) he would have been axed.
Now he is hot shat, but guaranteed, if the team stumbles this year from age and injury and general lack of offense, the tide wil turn again.
Calm professionalism when you are wining turns into passive unmotivation when you start to lose. And Fiery leadership becomes overbearing control freak a-hole.
Most likely, collins does no more than 2 years in the gig. If nothing else, his history shows that he burns hot, but flames out quick!
and that seems to be just what Sandy is looking for. A guy to help implement his top to bottom organizational vision of how things need to be done, with a relatively quick turnover to someone else to take them on the long haul.
kingman 26
11/22/2010-8:49am at 8:49 am (UTC -4)
Except for the silly Phillie comments, totally agree.
Run a boot camp ST, end the card-playing and nonsense, and re-instill an organizational philosophy of actually HAVING a philosophy aside from depositing paychecks.
stickguy
11/22/2010-8:52am at 8:52 am (UTC -4)
what silly comments? the pint about 2007 is absolutely true. The fans hated him worse than we hated Jerry. And it is a fickle fan base, so it won’t take long for him to be the enemy again.
Oh wait, I know. You are upset that I suggested the Phillies could ever not be great! (put a winky here..)
and card playing will not stop. Every team plays cards. And really, with today’s players, how long do you think a boot camp is going to work?
set reasonobale professional standards expectations, and manage to that. Taking away everyone’s ipods will just look silly!
kingman 26
11/22/2010-9:21am at 9:21 am (UTC -4)
Chollie was very good with Cleveland and has been excellent with Philly.
That’s the fact my friend.
He has been an MLB manager for eight full years—five 1st place finishes, three 2nd places, five playoff spots, two pennants, and a WS.
How many active managers can touch that record?
I ain’t the one with the Phillie issues.
stickguy
11/22/2010-9:52am at 9:52 am (UTC -4)
you don’t live in the philly local market, read the paper, and watch the news.
Back in mid-2007, the fans hated him, and it was widely reported that the country bumpkin was getting the ax at the end of the year (and many people wanted him gone before that, and again it was reprotedly being discussed).
so yes, I am quite comfortable saying that if they phils had not gotten lucky in the last few weeks of 2007, your boy Challleeee would have been canned after the 2007 season.
and everything that happened in the 2007 PS and beyond (basically all the winning you mention) is irrelevant to that.
as to now, he is a big folk hero. But if the team stumbles again and does not recover, he is not going to be getting a very long leash down here. Hell, the team was getting booed (and charlie criticized) in the 1st half of 2010 for lousy play!
metsfan4decades
11/22/2010-8:56am at 8:56 am (UTC -4)
He’s right, Kingman. Charlie had one foot out the door.
stickguy
11/22/2010-9:54am at 9:54 am (UTC -4)
he is also the poster boy for the manager not being as important as the talent. Just stay calm and steady, and try not to make any truly stupid moves.
Sounds like Melvin actually.
and Knog, before you jump all over me again, Charlie himself says he is not a great manager on the field!
kingman 26
11/22/2010-9:59am at 9:59 am (UTC -4)
Stick I agree with this!
My main thoughts on the new Met manager were that he needed to be a strict disciplinarian first and foremost—-way before in-game strategy is considered.
The way this team played the last two years, a cross between the greatest baseball strategists in history and Napoleon and Wellington could not have made this lazy team win!
They need a boot firmly in the ass. Collins can do that.
stickguy
11/22/2010-10:01am at 10:01 am (UTC -4)
well, you got your wish on a strict DS type. Hope (for all our sakes) it works out.
metsfan4decades
11/22/2010-8:57am at 8:57 am (UTC -4)
You’ve got a point. I guess it depends on the manager type and the players – as those rosters turn over.
Also guess it’s too much to ask for to get a Bobby Cox type manager. They’re probably few and far between.
stickguy
11/22/2010-8:48am at 8:48 am (UTC -4)
I also get a kick out of heralding a “new Era” when the 2 key guys are both old enough to take 401(k) payouts without paying an era withdrawal penalty!
AARP comes to Queens. And since they ended up hiring a drunk for the job anyway, better put Ensure out in the clubhouse instead of beer.
And get Collins some extra roomy pants to cover up his Depends.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-8:52am at 8:52 am (UTC -4)
As long as it’s the management and the players (alou, El Duque…) I’m fine with that.
rustyjr
11/22/2010-8:59am at 8:59 am (UTC -4)
New era in the sense that the Omar /Jerry comedy hour has been cancelled
stickguy
11/22/2010-8:49am at 8:49 am (UTC -4)
and finally, it is hard to say that Alderson is a Wilpon puppet after hiring the guy that the fans are probably the least enthused about, and that for damn sure won’t sell 1 extra ticket (not to mention all the season people that promised to give them up.)
saltygary
11/22/2010-9:32am at 9:32 am (UTC -4)
I wouldn’t normally think that a manager has any real effect on ticket sales but I can see this move costing the team a handful of season ticket packages. I imagine there were some wanting to see what comes out after the season before renewing. Many ticket holders are frustrated with pricing in the new stadium and the mets losing makes it extremely difficult to sell certain games to make up for the cost in the after market. If I had a season ticket package I would of probably got rid of it last year let alone this year and pick it back up once the team shows its turning around. News of Terry Collins and no payroll additions doesn’t jazz the fan base enough to shell out a couple grand.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-8:50am at 8:50 am (UTC -4)
I did not want Collins, but that said, I am really thinking that Alderson has a plan, and we’ll have to trust his plan. Seeing that it is only a 2 year deal makes me smile. Much like whne Collins got the Astros and then the Angels “prepped” to make a leap into being good for long stretches, I hope that this is the plan as well. Hoping for more but figuring that 2011 will be a growth/transition year, I think it’ll be good. And with so many youngins… teach them right and teach them early. Hopefully it’ll sink in and then Wally, if he is being groomed as they say, can take over for in 2013.
metsgirl31
11/22/2010-9:04am at 9:04 am (UTC -4)
I agree it appears he has a plan and we have to trust that plan. After the last few years it’s easier to just be skeptical and say it’s another dumb decision (as many on another site have done) but I think they have their reasons for picking him and I’m good with that. Have to feel good about the future…for the first time in a while.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-9:08am at 9:08 am (UTC -4)
ain’t that the truth!
saltygary
11/22/2010-9:34am at 9:34 am (UTC -4)
We don’t have to trust the plan, we just need to let it play out before we trash or applaud the plan.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-9:41am at 9:41 am (UTC -4)
I would think that not trusting said plan is creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. That said, it’s not like we, as fans, have any impact, so I guess taking the wait and see on our side will be sufficient.
saltygary
11/22/2010-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
For most things that I have absolutly no impact in I just don’t waste my time with trust. Politics sports… its healthy to hold some skepticism. With thatt said how can you not be excited with how the front office has shaped up. Probably the best on paper but so where the 93 Mets
Gotta wait and see. Collins to me is meh, Warthen is a surprise but I can see why they kept him. Just gonna go along for the ride and save my angst for when I need to go on my fire sandy rants in a couple years.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-10:27am at 10:27 am (UTC -4)
I think what I am not looking most forward to is seeing mention of the Mets on MLBTR and it not just mention a manager. Bring on the Hot stove and the rebuilding of the BP!
saltygary
11/22/2010-10:31am at 10:31 am (UTC -4)
I have a feeling that this years hot stove will be a true test for Mets fans. Hopefully the lack of moves or big moves I should say wont get everyone too crazy
stickguy
11/22/2010-11:06am at 11:06 am (UTC -4)
don’t count out any big moves happening. I don’t think there wil lbe any big $ FA signings, but plenty of room for other moves (like trades).
Outside of the obvious (and usual) MiL guys moved, we potentially have 2 superstarts (Reyes and beltran) in play. And some other solid players like Pagan.
So this year could still be quite interesting.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-11:14am at 11:14 am (UTC -4)
Would 2 years, 16 million be considered a big $ FA signing?
TRS86
11/22/2010-11:26am at 11:26 am (UTC -4)
We shall see. NO one knows their financial situation other than who the Wilpons have informed. However, I am sure it will be that they are cheap if they don’t spend on some mediocre FA like so many wanted them to do last year.
stickguy
11/22/2010-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
not to me. By big, I mean Lee or a bay level contract.
njstuckintx
11/22/2010-11:34am at 11:34 am (UTC -4)
So Garland it is! Sold! Sign me up!