Out-of-touch Jeff refused to blame the disaster on the rash of injuries to stars Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes. So tell us Jeff, what exactly went wrong? Who screwed up in assembling a team with the highest payroll in the National League? Shouldn’t that $147M outlay have bought a better supporting crew? Is their any hope that the Mets can improve on their dismal 70-92 record?
Don't give us fluff that General Manager Omar Minaya and Manger Jerry Manuel must "step up" in 2010 or face the music. Omar should have been canned six months ago.The clueless one gave a vote of confidence to the crackerjack medical and training team that was responsible for the MASH unit in Flushing. Another big thumbs-up went to pitching coach Dan Warthen. He’s the genius who guided the pitching staff that had the second highest number of walks in baseball and the fourth worst E.R.A in the N.L.
Manuel said Warthen will keep his job next year due to the dandy job he did with young pitchers Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez. That defies reality. New York Times writer David Waldstein today noted: “Pelfrey regressed this season, the injured Maine barely pitched and Perez divided his time between being injured and being ineffective.”
Danny, you’re doing a heckuva job indeed.
Mercifully, Mets management did have a bit of good news. Third base coach, Razor "Send 'Em Home" Shines, is being redeployed to an unannounced coaching spot. Thanks to Razor, the Mets ranked near the top in having base runners gunned down at home.
The only consolation: this year’s team didn’t suffer the dramatic collapse of the last two seasons. The Mets were dullsville, well out of contention by August. Manuel provided a shot of levity during the mea culpa session. He feels he should be under consideration for “manager of the year” honors just for finishing the injury-racked year with his sanity intact. Jerry then added he was only joking. In the Mets asylum, one never knows.
Bobby Valentine can’t save this dreadful management bunch fast enough.