Home » Shea What? » Manuel Being Manuel » Tongue Lashing for the Mets?
7
June 30, 2009 Manuel Being Manuel Joe Janish

Tongue Lashing for the Mets?

manuel-ghandi-smDuring the SNY postgame, while the team remained behind closed doors, Ron Darling suggested that Jerry Manuel might have given the Mets a “tongue lashing” after Tuesday night’s loss for their poor play. (It was later reported as a “family talk”)

Darling might have been right about that, but if so, how in the world does Manuel have any credibility with this club to say anything? After all, it is Manuel who conceded the next month or so to the competition, telling the world that his team was too decimated by injuries to play above .500. It was Manuel who laughed and joked after getting swept by the Yankees at home. It was Manuel who suggested to the media that his team’s best chance to win would be by hoping the other team made mistakes.

After being told by your manager how inept and incompetent you are, how could you possibly accept — or be motivated by — any type of “dress down” for poor performance by the same man?

If anything, there may be a mutiny.

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
Related Articles
  1. nwaldrop July 1, 2009 at 2:08 am
    Whatever Manuel says or doesn’t say isn’t material any more. I think the team, the fans and probably the owners have lost faith in him after his actions and comments this past month.
    I think the ownership has already given up on this year. Given the damage that the Bernie Madoff scheme had on the owners (they get Krod AND Putz before the scandal, after the scandal they get Tim Redding)I think they may see next year as a rebuilding year with Manuel at the helm.
    To be any kind of contender next year they need a power hitting first basemen, a power hitting left or right fielder, and maybe another second basemen. They need at least three starters. And they need a new bullpen built around K-Rod (who knows what will happen with Putz). In this economy and with the hit the Wilpons took with Madoff, I see them trying to build their farm system back up and getting a new general manager and manager for 2011 while writing this year and 2010 off. They tried to “win now” for three years with Minaya and it just didn’t work. I think this year it’s “lose now, win later.”
  2. sincekindergarten July 1, 2009 at 4:53 am
    As much as it pains me to say this, I think that you’re right. But, with the NL East, all a team would have to do is to reel off a six or seven game winning streak and they’d be in the catbird’s seat. IOW, they might accidentially win this thing.

    For the moment, all they can do is to go out and have fun. They actually might win a game or two. They’ve got a good crop of players in the low minors. Let them develop.

  3. TheDZA July 1, 2009 at 9:01 am
    I agree, the Mets could pull it round still, but at the same time it almost feels like we as Mets fans have collectively turned a corner. After two years of promises we now realise that it’s time to build again…It almost feels like a relief to say it. Not a massive rebuild, just shed soem excess and get the younger players ready to contribute on a day-in-day-out basis.
    One bummer is Beltran may not get the championship(s) he should have done when he signed…I feel bad for him cos he is one of the best.
    Maybe…maybe we can hang around the wild card, but that never really counts as an aim this early does it? Well according to Jerry yes, but according to most teams it’s a fallback when you drop short in September.

    Should be interesting to see what transpires over the next 3 months…but most likely painful too.

  4. Stephen Greene July 1, 2009 at 9:44 am
    Beltran was with Houston in 2004 when they lost.
    In 2005 Houston gets to the WS without Beltran.
    Maybe Beltran is not suppose to go to the WS?
    Beltran had a chance in 2004 and 2006 and failed.
    Will the Mets be better without him? Could
    the Mets in 2010 be like Houston in 2005 without
    Carlos?
  5. gary s July 1, 2009 at 10:59 am
    trade beltran to a contender for prospects..he’s 32 with 42 year old knees.he can still help a good team the next few years.if i’m the gm i say thanks for everything and adios carlos.same goes for reyes.the problem is i don’t trust minaya to make these kind of moves.
  6. Taylor July 1, 2009 at 4:54 pm
    Fun with photoshop. I don’t think blaming the manager does any good. It isn’t Jerry’s fault any more than it was Willie’s fault last year (by the way the Mets have about the same record this year that they had last year at this time, probably not as good actually).
  7. wally July 1, 2009 at 8:11 pm
    Taylor, it ain’t about the blame. It’s about the fact that this moron is one day telling the media that his team stinks, the next day telling his team that, “hey, I know I said you guys stink, but you don’t stink enough that we can’t win the pennant, especially if we get lucky”.

    Complete lack of leadership skills from the guy who is supposed to be the leader.