18
2009
What The Hell Was Manuel Thinking??
An article by 
First, we should all be happy today because the Mets took three out of four games against the Giants, including a big win against Tim Lincecum and another win on a night that Johan Santana clearly didn’t have it.
With that said, I’m frustrated that we didn’t walk out of there with a four game sweep, just like the Phillies who got a four game sweep against the Nationals.
It’s losses like these that can drive somebody to drink. It’s decisions like the one Manuel made last night in the eighth inning that can have you screaming at the top of your lungs at the TV like a raving lunatic.
With the bases loaded and the Mets down by just two runs, I was feeling good knowing that Dan Murphy was up next against Giants lefty Jeremy Affeldt.
Normally in this kind of a situation, especially this late in the game, you might elect to pinch hit for the left handed Daniel Murphy, but Murphy is different in that he rakes against southpaws. Mind you, I said he rakes!
Daniel Murphy is hitting .357 against LHP this season, and .371 for his career.
So, here we go… game on the line… a victory clearly in our sights.. and what does Jerry Manuel elect to do?
He sends up the recently activated Angel Pagan to pinch hit for Daniel Murphy, and the dream scenario was suddenly transformed into a predictable inning ending double play. <insert expletive here>
You could almost hear Steve Phillips snickering as Pagan strides to the plate and Murphy put his bat back into the bat rack.
What in the world was Jerry thinking? How could he have possible screwed this up as badly as he did?
Angel Pagan had had just one freaking at-bat since May of 2008… ONE AT-BAT!
So what did Manuel have to say about it afterward?
“I don’t think Murphy is swinging quite as well now,” Manuel said. “I don’t see the quick hands.”
How in the world did he determine that Angel Pagan had quicker hands (as he put it) than Murphy, when Pagan has had just one previous at bat?
Chalk this up as the 5th loss of the season that had Jerry Manuel’s finger prints all over the murder weapon.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 19 | .578 | 0.5 |
| Mets | 24 | 20 | .545 | 2.0 |
| Marlins | 24 | 20 | .545 | 2.0 |
| Phillies | 22 | 23 | .489 | 4.5 |
Last updated: 05/24/2012
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I have to STRONGLY AGREE…..I was watching the game saw Murph swinging away in the batters box and i automatically though here we go tie game…..until i heard they announced that Murph was called back…..that moment i was what the f…….how the hell you do that with someone especially has only been around 1 game……even though we would not know the outcome of what Murph would have done, i have to say the chances of use sweeping was high until that moment….come on Jerry, get it together!
You messed up your title Joe. Thinking and Manuel should never be used in the same sentence. Seriously though, everything you said was right and it pains me to say that I totally agree with you. I guess it really does snow in hell occasionally.
This one stinks more than when he pinch hit Omir Santos for Ramon Castro. It cost us the game. Murphy may not have gotten a hit, but his out would have been productive like so many of them have been this season. Even if the Mets score one run, it would have given the Mets some momentum and we could have sent Castro to the plate next which was another great matchup.
Of course Murphy could have gotten a hit and the game would have been tied at the very least with a runners on first and second, one out, and Castro coming in to pinch hit.
Manuel blew the decision.
That was one of the most frustrating losses of the season for me. Manuel is making some outrageous calls this season. Thankfully, the Mets won 3 of 4 despits his meddling ways.
Yeah, that has to be among JMAN’s stupidest decisions to date. Pagan?!?!. I mean, WTF!!!
I get it, he’s been activated, he’s a part of the team, and you want to know what he can provide, but in that situation. No, No, and No.
Lately, I was feeling good about Manuel and thinking he’s made good decisions, but yesterday…just inexplicable.
If the Mets had a real leftfielder like Raul Ibanez, Manuel wouldn’t have had to make this decision. Dont blame Jerry, blame Omar!
Then maybe we could bring back Steve Phillips and all become Yankees clones, buying up everyone we could get our greedy little hands on. This IS the gangsta pullin’ another stupid Randolphian move. Our team insists on not always going with lefty-righty stats or just going against common sense like this boneheaded move. I will stick with him though at least he knows how to motivate the team.
I strongly agree too, that was a bonehead move. I would have taken my chances with Murphy. No way of knowing or assuming it would have changed anything but Murphy earned that chance.
However, to say it made it the most frustrating loss of the year, I don’t agree, there were a few worse ones IMO. Oh yeah and its Omar’s fault……….again…….I can’t believe what a jerk he is, I mean really how dare he sign guys like Beltran, Santana etc…..
Yes J-Man has left a little to be desired with some of his decisions this year. I think he is over-analyzing situations and over-managing with trying to create these so-called match-ups. Not bent about them not sweeping, am concerned about being shutout after having the momentum for the entire series until Sunday. Cain is a quality pitcher, but he gave up 5 or 6 walks that the Mets did not take advantage of. Go Mets 2009!
Totally agreed and I hope big Pelf remembers how to stop with the brain farts on the mound.
As a previous poster has written – Manuel and ‘thinking’ don’t belong in the same sentence. It’s my opinion that Jerry Manuel has succumbed to that media fascination that says – Look at me – I’m on TV!! And of course there is the press scrum after every game where the reporters treat him as though he was President Obama (Ha, Ha).
Jerry has just about over stayed his time and his ability here in the Big Apple, his actions and comments of the past couple of weeks show that he is not the man to lead the Mets now.
Let me first say that I didn’t agree with the move, but…
When Jerry pinch hit for Castro a few weeks ago, yes, it cost us that one game. However, Castro tore it up after that, and the team as a whole went on a tear. Now, yes, the current situation is a bit different in that the team is ALREADY on a tear, but as many people have pointed out on this site before, Murphy has been an exception. If what Jerry did yesterday does for Murphy what it did for Castro, I’ll gladly trade yesterday’s loss for an explosive Murphy for a month. Yes, Murphy “rakes” against lefties. Yes, even this year he’s hitting .357 against southpaws. But let’s not conveniently forget that it’s the SAME Murphy who’s hitting just .179 in May. The SAME Murphy who’s last multi-hit game came on April 19th (15 games with at least 2 ABs and 3 plate appearances ago), and the SAME Murphy who was 0-for-2 with a walk in that game and just 1-for-5 in the series.
Was it a mistake? Yes. Should he have done it? No. Personally, I think we (meaning this board) are just going against Jerry when anything goes wrong. Daniel Murphy has been ripped before on this site, with cries that we should’ve had Ibanez or Manny or anyone in LF instead of him and that he has been terrible since the middle of April, but now that he’s pinch-hit for in a big situation, he’s suddenly one of our (meaning people on this board’s) favorites again.
Also, before we say that Murphy is “raking” against ANYBODY, let’s look at what he’s done since April ended. By the way, Daniel Murphy has ZERO (0) multi-hit games this year when the opposition has a southpaw starting the game. I didn’t check how many times a lefty has started against the Mets this year with Murphy in the starting lineup, but none of his (few) multi-hit games have come in those contests.
Bad move? Probably. If it were “Player X” and not “Daniel Murphy” who he pinch hit for, and “Player X” had the same numbers as “Daniel Murphy”, would we be saying the same thing? Probably not.
I hope that Jerry will get better as the season goes on. Do you think he will improve some?
I think that, for all of his questionable calls, he has us in 1st Place, and I can’t ask for more than that. I’d rather question every move he makes and win than have a predictable manager who goes only by the books and leaves us at .500. Sometimes, there are things that don’t make sense to us, because they’re a part of something bigger than we can see as fans. I have confidence enough in Jerry Manuel to give his moves more than 24 hours (or 2.4 hours as it was on this board) to think about the moves he makes. In a week’s time, maybe Daniel Murphy will be back to his early-April self, or maybe there’s something differently entirely that Jerry has planned. A move that seems so strange cannot be judged instantly, as we’ve seen (see: Ramon Castro).
But, to reiterate, let’s stop panicking and calling for Jerry’s head on a stake every time we lose. We’re in 1st Place, and while we shouldn’t get comfortable and stop trying to get further into 1st, EVERYBODY loses. Last I checked, no team went undefeated for an entire MLB season. Last I checked, no team has lost fewer than 45 games in an MLB season, and it’s rare for a team to lose fewer than 60 games in a season. Some of his moves don’t seem to make sense, but since when is pinch-hitting for a guy who’s .179 with NO multi-hit games for the month and 0-for-2 for the day a bad idea?