31
2010
Omar and Mets Search For Leadership
An article by Former Writers
Is there any doubt that Omar Minaya is searching for leadership to help change the chemistry of his ballclub without gutting the “core” of this team?
The Jason Bay signing was not just to fulfill the need for power in the lineup, it was done also with the hope that Bay would help fill a void for leadership that exists.
I’m not trying to disparage any current member of the Mets. David Wright will eventually be the leader of this team. Carlos Delgado will not be brought back. The Mets have begun to develop younger players, and it won’t be too long until Wright finds a more forceful voice and wears the “C” on his uniform for this team.
Bay’s leadership skills are not of the vocal variety. Rather, Bay is the kind of guy that gives his best effort everyday. Bay is a “watch how I go about my business guy” and learn from me. He should never be confused with a Keith Hernandez as it pertains to leadership. Leaders like Keith come along once in a generation for a team. That’s not to say Bay won’t speak or dispense advice to younger players, it’s unfair to say that. It’s just that he’s a quieter guy.
Omar continues to search for leaders for this team. The rumors of his and the Mets interest in John Smoltz and his signing of Frank Catalanotto, (who is well respected as a smart baseball guy and good clubhouse guy) proves that he believes there is a leadership void on this team.
Smoltz would not only be pitching, but showing the other pitchers how to go about their business. He’d be brought in as much for his leadership as his pitching ability, which must be questioned at age 42.
The problem I have with Omar’s search is that guys like Catalanotto and Smoltz (if signed) may only be with the Mets briefly as their baseball skills have deteriorated to the point of ineffectiveness. Then where do you turn for leadership?
Many people say chemistry and leadership is overrated. I disagree. Look at the Mets teams that have won. In 1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, and 2006. Leaders abound on those teams. Look at our team today and point out which regular is a leader. Wright’s not ready for it yet. (he’s only 27 this year) Beltran’s hurt and isn’t’t vocal enough. Reyes doesn’t want it. That leaves Francoeur and Bay. Which one is going to help Wright be the leader of this team? Ray Knight helped lead with Hernandez in the ’86 season. Who on these current Mets can lead along with Wright? I just don’t know. Any ideas fans?
About the Author: Former Writers
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[...] original post here: Omar and Mets Search For Leadership | Mets Merized Online Posted in Uncategorized, keith hernandez | Tags: come-along, confused-with, dispense-advice, [...]
While not as talented, he’s def a superior leader to Beltran……..Tori Hunter. But it won’t happen so it’s really not worth debating.
But I agree this team needs a veteran leader in the worst way. And it needs to be an everyday player that is still good. the 3 that come to mind are Tori Hunter, Orlando Hudson, and A.J. Pierzynski.
How do you know orlando hudson is a leader??
I am sick and tired of hearing that Omar Hudson is a leader. Actually, leaders dont win baseball games if they do not have the talent to back it up. You can have all the loducas, alex coras, frank catalanotto, Jeff Francouer in the planet and if your team executes poorly, then you wont win.
I think this leadership stuff is overrated and instead of searching for who is the best leader and playing them 2million dollars for these so called leadership skills, you should focus on putting the best baseball team out there, leadership skills aside.
Everyone is and can be a leader.
Amen Brutha!!! The obsession with Orlando Hudson is bordering on sick……..what has he ever REALLY done?
Guys that want to win, they almost ‘will’ winning (Jeter, Pedroia, Youklis, Lowell,Puholz, Victorino, Werth, Utley, et cetera)); gritty guys who deliver in the clutch on a regular basis and who would crash through a wall to make a catch (Jeter, Damon, Victorino, Rollins, Chipper Jones).
Wright has it, i think, and will someday be that guy; Bay has it to a degree and will be a very welcome presence; Francouer may exhibit it more if his skill can rebound over a full year; Murphy may be a gritty guy, but he, obviously, still has a lot to prove. Johan, of the pitchers, surely. Maine, maybe, IF healthy.
The Mets are still a team in transition. We need to be healthy and get quality production from some surprising quarters to contend this year (as of today) from Bay, Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Francouer, and Murphy, from the everyday pitchers, and a vintage Johan year from Santana, and a good year from the likes of Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, Niese…if the core and the lineup produces and 2 of the five pitchers win 15 – 20 games each, we can win 82 – 87 games this year; if 3 of the 5 are solid..we can perhaps approach 90 wins and contend. In these scenarios, our sore guys and the regulars must produce.
If Johan is the sole pitcher with significant production and there are issues with Beltran, Reyes, or Wright…fuhgeddaboudit….we are again a sub par team 77 – 80 wins, max.
Which will it be?
Here’s my predictions:
Johan: Similar to 2009. Don’t count on 30+ starts returning from a serious injury. He’ll be “good” most of the time, but not ace level.
Wright: Slightly better than 2009. He’ll hit for more power, but strike out just as much.
Reyes: 400 AB? Again, coming back from major leg issues, which is 95% of his game. We’ll be lucky to have him at 50% production.
Beltran: Out half the year, and best case, we get him back at 50% production level.
Rest of our SP: Mediocre.
Bay: Decent, solid.
Murphy: Worse than 2009.
Castillo: Worse than 2009.
Francouer: Same as 2009.
Given all the above, we’ll be lucky to hit .500. On days when Johan isn’t pitching, and our crap starting pitcher is getting hammered, we’re going to look pretty sad. There’s no punch in this lineup to save us when Ollie gives up 5 runs in the 1st inning.
I don’t mean to be negative, I just am not excited for April this year. We need a MAJOR overhaul at some point, by someone smart enough to pull it off.
Who pee’d in your fruity peebles………..its like you WANT the team to fail so you can say “nah nah nah nah I told you so”.
All those you named that will be worse in 09 – what are you going on?
Time for you to bandwagon somewhere else.
“bandwagon”? What planet do you live on? Yeah, I’m on the bandwagon for a team who hasn’t won the WS in 23 years, and was nowhere near 500 last year. We’re all front runners here.
And to answer your question, Wilpon and Omar peed in my cereal.
Bob, they do not need leadership to finish fourth. They have what they need. They have omar and jeffie.
Another armchair GM know it all pontificating……
I’m honestly sick of hearing about how “someday” Wright will be the leader. He’s 27. For comparison sake, Jeter was 26 in 2000, when he won his 4th World Series.
Wright had his chance in 2009, when all our other good players were out, and how did he perform? Terrible. Worst OPS of his career.
Wright is a good player, but overblown, and not mentally tough. He needs someone else to be “the man”, just like Beltran and Reyes.
The closest thing we have to a balls-out leader is Johan, but he only plays once every 5 days.
You have GOT to be kidding me. There is no player that would have been able to carry this team last year, no team in history of ANY sport had the amount of injuries that the Mets did, even other Managers are talking about never seeing the likes of it, and YOU think D Wright should have carried this team to a title?
Wright was the ONLY one playing, and yes his Ko’s were up and homeruns were down, but did you look at his other numbers? I’ll take a TERRIBLE .300 hitter and all those doubles any day.
Your comparision of Jeter and the mount of titles he had by the same age of Wright is like talking about apples and motor oil. NO sense whatsoever. While Jeter has indeed turned into a great leader, he was NOT the leader during those early titles so not sure why you even brought that up.
Get a clue – seriously
“Wright is a good player, but overblown, and not mentally tough.”
When he got beaned and insisted on coming right back to play, did you say he was not mentally tough?
Just as you say Wright is overblown, so is your comment. In some ways he is very mentally durable and tough. Perhaps you’re talking about only his leadership.
Yeah, I agree he toughed it out coming back from that beaning, when I wouldn’t have blamed him for sitting out.
I meant that in many crucial at bats last year, he looked like he didn’t have a clue at the plate.
And, you can’t be taken seriously as a team leader when you go from 30+ HR to 10 HR. No one has a clue what to expect out of this guy in 2010.
Mex, if u truly had the baseball insight your name indicates, you’d be aware that one of Wright’s outstanding abilities is his ability to morph his swing to accomodate a specific requirement. Unfortunately, he’s yet to master an ability to do so on the fly/game 2 game; but he’s only 27. Few yrs ago he chose to enter the HR hitting contest taking his avg. swing up against prodigeous HR compilers throughout both leagues. In lieu of being laughed out of the contest as many abticipated, he lasted until the final round finishing second. morphing back to a useful in-game swing took more time than many fans were comfortable; but it’s obvious to me that a decision was made prior to ’09 season that upon looking at the new field’s dimensions as well as the anticipated lineup relying on Delgado & Beltran for needed HR pop, David’s role should be more RBI/gap dominant. Peparations were made, injuries occured the players around & especially in front of him weren’t thought of more than twice prior to Aptil,’09 & David was abandoned sans support, reliant upon his newly designed swing for Citi’s vastness(a swing emphasizing waiting for pitches to be very deep in zone prior to contact & esp due to Citi RCF alley depth the best contact, the other way, would be as a 2 iron tee shot on a decent par 5. the winter of our discontent nearly over, I anticipate a remorphing to, what citi’s already proven a whore for, the PULL SHOT! aka opposite approach to RCF alley. I fully anticipate that the BA will drop to .280-.285 level, HR back to 25+ & with his full compliment of support teammates, rbi bet 100-115 unfortunately the need to swing/guess early will maintain his current strikeout level for ’10 and beyond, in other words, a return of “OUR” DAVID WRIGHT! Certainly some of this is positive thinking/wishing; but I contend it’s foundatrion is more concrete than clouds.
Sorry; but this leadership void scenerio is just plain, “WHAT MAKES THE GRASS GROW IN TEXAS” look at your candidates, why is it that on a predominantly HISPANIC speaking team each & everyone of your top candidates is ANGLO?
Why does everyone assume there isn’t leadership? because the Anglo press & Anglo analysts say it’s so? BS!BS!BS!
It certainly never ceases to amaze me how Delgado is dismissed as a leader because the press says it’s so, while Jerry & Hojo tell an opposite tale. How does this description;”Rather, Bay is the kind of guy that gives his best effort everyday. Bay is a “watch how I go about my business guy” and learn from me” vary greatly from that of Delgado & Beltran?
Perhaps that strong vocal encouragement is being spoken in SPANISH. a LANGUAGE, THEDOMINANT MEDIA FINDS INCOMPREHENSIBLE? What’s being said in the Spanish papers/media? Do they speculate Wright,Bay,Francouer are the GREAT WHITE HOPES needed? Someone/Anyone please take that Bay,Delgado,Beltran Quiet, by example definition, and explain to me what Jeter is doing differently? besides winning with a 200M payroll team surrounding him? PLEASE!
Reyes doesn’t want it? based on all the criticism he’s received for his attempts to ramp up everyones’s enthusiasm, I’m thinking, no one knows what the HELL they’re talking about. perhaps, due to the predominantly different culture in our clubhouse, this CAVALRY IS COMING! RAMBOISH STYLE doesn’t play well.
Mex’s leadership? may I point out that while this franchise was completing it’s greatest comeback ever, Keith was smoking & drinking a beer looking for the luckiest chair in the clubhouse(not on the bench making his presence felt directly doling out advice to say Kevin Mitchell for the upcoming AB from the rook. I take nothing from his “on Field” presence; but wasn’t that more evident because of his position? what similar effect could that style have produced if he’d been a CFer? Imagine, calling time for a mound visit fron CF?
Can we put aside all the legendary myths and understand the leadership everyone’s speaking about comes more from the right batter at the plate at the right time facing the right pitcher at the right moment of the game!
I realize this goes against the mantra of this site – but there was some good news with Reyes running at full speed today and no pain, I guess if its not negative about the Mets its not fit to print.
Buddy, I believe, u’ll find inflamatory, negative commentary tends to create more buzz, if someone agrees, they’ll add to the misery, if not, ehaust themselves, as I often do, highlighting what I see as the cause BTW with the mention of Jose’s great news, there was a tainting by Putz, I’d tackle that one by asking a simple quetion, IF U WERE TRADING CARS WITH SOMEONE, WHEN IS IT U WOULDN’T REQUIRE A MECHANIC’S EXAMINATION OF THE CAR U ARE RECEIVING? ANSWER: WHEN U DON’T WANT YOUR TRADE PARTNER TO EXAMINE YOURS. N.B. NEITH PUTZ NOR CHAVEZ FINISHED OUT THE SEASON!
Just a hunch. immoral, yes by both parties. Re4minds me a lot of, one of the darkest days in NYM trade history. TUG McGRAW(whom drs. thought may have a cancerous condition developing in his L arm) dealt to PHL for John Stearns & a pitcher, (M. Scarce?). After it was discovered, M.Donald Grant ordered team docs not to inform Tug of their findings, fearful he’d let it out. In my opinion the fact that Grant was Team President means Jeff is safe from ever being known as the worst TOP frontoffice executive in franchise history.