7
2011
Bowa Isn’t Exactly Gushing With Enthusiasm For Mets Bench Coach Job
An article by 
Caught this on MetsBlog:
Chris Russo: “If the Mets or White Sox offer you the job to be the bench coach are you going to take it?”
Larry Bowa: “To be honest with you – and I’m not avoiding your question, you know I’ve been honest with you all year – I really, I haven’t even thought about that. But I do love baseball. I like the camaraderie, I like the competition. I would definitely talk to people but I’m telling you the truth, Chris, I have not talked to anybody yet. I’ve read the same stuff you’ve read and we’ll see what happens.”
Russo: “But if the Mets called you’d talk?”
Bowa: “I’m talking to anybody. But let me get it straight: I love what I’m doing now. I really do. I’m working with a bunch of great people here. Obviously there’s a ton of security here as far as you don’t have to worry about wins and losses. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff you’ve got to take into consideration here. You know, I don’t like losing, and I go to a team like New York or somebody that’s not committed to winning, I mean, I gotta really delve into that and say, ‘Is it going to get better?’ If it gets better, I like seeing teams get better. But if it’s going to stay the same, you know, I don’t like stuff like that. I like to compete. I like to have a chance, every time you go on the field I like to have a chance to win. … Let me tell you this: if I did get back in uniform – if I did – it’s not going to be to coach third [base], it’s going to be as bench coach.”
Bowa, who is now an analyst for the MLB Network, was a guest of Chris Russo on the SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio channel.
You know me… I love reading into things and do so all the time… But what was Bowa trying to say when he said:
You know, I don’t like losing, and I go to a team like New York or somebody that’s not committed to winning, I mean, I gotta really delve into that and say, ‘Is it going to get better?’
Not committed to winning? Where did that come from? Why would he phrase it like that?
It was a direct answer to a direct question about whether he would consider talking to the Mets. It doesn’t sound like someone waiting for his cell phone to read “Sandy Alderson”.
I noticed he said “you know” a couple of times during that particular exchange with Maddog… Know what?
I’m not so sure that Larry Bowa is actually down with the whole Mets Bench Coach thing… Ya know?
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Larry Bowa hit the nail on the head and it’s GREAT to hear it coming from him.
Sandy Alderson is NOT committed to winning. Last year the team was good enough to contend all it needed was a little SMART help regardless of budget and this year he spent the whole season practically just WAITING for the Mets to collapse so he can move Beltran and K-Rod. A little help from the beginning and a little help during the season sure could have changed things. But hey at least the Mets are saving money – whoo hoo!!!
And now don’t kid yourselves, he’s not gonna do the RIGHT thing and BEST thing for helping to turn this team into a contender for 2012 WHILE building the farm and sign Reyes and trade Wright.
He’s gonna let Reyes walk. I’d be shocked if Reyes is still here next season.
Three General Managers. THREE. And not committed to winning.
Thank you Larry Bowa.
The 2010 team WAS in contention and look at what we did the off season after all the injuries. 80M was committed that off season. 80 M to spend and what did we spend it on?
Frank Catolonotto, Mike Jacobs, Gary Matthews Jr., Alex Cora (and vesting option), Fernando Tatis, and Jason Bay (plus vesting option)
We did nothing about Maine and Perez except keep them BOTH in the rotation. Joel Pinero was a plan B free agent (no loss of draft choice) who signed a very reasonable 2/16 M dollar contract that would have compressed Maine and Perez into ONE spot in the rotation. Now Pinero is not the 2nd coming but he would have been more than adequate especially at Citi Field where no one would be able to lift one out and with such a dearth of starting pitching in our system and most importantly would have pigeonholed Maine and Perez into just one start every 5 days instead of two.
Now that team didn’t have their ace on the DL. That team could have used some help. Where was it? Bay? You gotta be ****** kidding me.
80M and all of it a bust.
Explain to me how the 3 general managers were not committed to winning. Please. You cannot give me some crap about budget stuff with Alderson, because the 2 GMs prior basically had blank checks and you’re saying those 2 weren’t committed to winning? And you continually pin-point Alderson on not being committed to winning, yet you refuse to accept the fact that it is Team Wilpon that is dropping financial restrictions on Sandy.
How could you rail on Sandy when he has financial restrictions? “Oh, Sandy is killing this team because he didn’t spend money on this guy or that guy…” If there is nothing in the bank account, how can he keep on spending. It’s not like he can bust out his AMEX or Visa or something and go “we’re soooooo close… I’ll just put 2 BP guys and a bench guy on the credit card. Fred will get me back, I’m sure…”
Be consistent, Holmes. It’s OK to be a malcontent, just do it else where.
He should have been able to use his ‘financial restrictions’ more smarter as some of us here have been trying to say. His off season signings were terrible and there were plenty of other guys that, if these guys were supposed to be as smart and such geniuses as the saber goons over at AA and here keep saying, we should been able to get within the same financial restrictions they used for the other players. And examples of those players like Harang, Choate, Colon, Jones and others (a lot of which I wasn’t even aware were available) were listed in several other posts all signed with other teams. They were ALL out there and these three guys should have been smart enough to secure much better talent than they did.
Add to that it was 3 General Managers who put their heads together to come up with the off season strategy they executed makes it even worse.
You can’t sit there and point out all the good high risk/reward guys and not list the bad ones. You are cherry picking the good ones that came through vs. the ones that sucked. No one picks winners on everyone they sign. It’s just a matter of fact.
You’re missing my point. There should have been a better and more concerted effort to try and get healthy pitching for the best cost possible instead of trying to find someone that they may think is worth the gamble and pay a certain cost.
There’s a difference. I would rather they have paid just a little bit more and try and get the healthy guy to try and win. And looking back in hind sight they would have been able to do that and be more successful. Instead they chose to play their hand close to the vest and I really, really don’t like that approach.
2 different approaches using the same resources is what I’m saying.
That’s just it. Alderson couldn’t pay more. I’m sure if he could, he would have.
no i’m not saying that either.
Again, it was about alotting the money differently and taking the risk to spend more on a starting pitcher who’s healthy. We don’t know the exact budget and we never will. Then later on suddenly money was emerging to sign the Brandon Nimmo’s of the world. Not saying he should not have done that just saying spending differently with a budget we knew was small but we don’t know how much for sure.
In fact i remember last year we were here saying how he can even defer 4 million to next year’s budget (cuz Beltran, Perez, Castillo or whoever) was coming off the books. That’s how some of us were saying how he could have retained Takahashi IN ADDITION to signing Cap & Young at the time.
And I’m not saying it should have been Taka but at least if he would have deferred some of it he could have gotten better healthy pitching and maybe not sign BOTH Cap and Young just one.
As as it turns out the defer strategy could have worked because you would have gotten a better roster, maybe save a LOT of that alleged 70 million that was lost because more fans would have been coming because the Mets could have been in the race longer.
Instead, Alderson and the Three Amigos chose a close-to-the-vest approach that proved to be a bust.
The screaming all winter was over Alderson signing injured pitchers and now he wanted us to go out and sign Colon.
This guy wanted us to sign Wong who made 9 starts and Garland who made another 9 (all for the bargain basement price of 5 M) and now he says we could have signed Colon.
Maybe we could have if we weren’t paying Bay, Castillo Gary Matthews Jr. and Perez 33 million dollars this year.
What a second guesser.
The perfect guy to have gotten was Joel Pinero in 2010 when we had plenty of money to spend. Reasonable price, low years 2/16, type B FA so he didn’t cost a draft choice and it would have kicked either Maine or Perez out of the rotation, or let them fight it out.
We had the money. Committed to spending 80 M that off season. Spent it on Bay, Catolonotto, Jacobs, Tatis, Cora, GMJ, Escobar and you complain now?
Obviously you are COMPLETELY CLUELESS about the point.
At least NJ stuck in TX understands the point the first time around. He doesn’t have to agree with me but at LEAST he understands the point.
three quarters of the dialog with you is first of all attempting to get on the same page in ORDER to have a debate.
We are talking about what we think what could have been done with the money we had and NOT the money we COULD have had. If that’s your approach to a debate than no wonder yours last for miles and miles of comments and miles and miles of long draw out posts.
Do you write fantasy books for a living? This team was BARELY at.500 for about 5 mins and we got a HIGH CEILING pitching prospect for a guy that with bad legs, was walking at the end of the year and has Boras as agent, why is that so hard to grasph/
If you think for one minute this team would have done jack with both KROD and Beltran at the end of the year, I’m convinced you know nothing about the game, you know what you saw, but change the channel to baseball instead of cartoons, and you’ll actually see what REALLY is going on.
Sandy Alderson is not committed to winning, right, ok, whatever.
The Mets were OVER .500 and could have easily challenged for a playoff spot had they kept K-Rod and Beltran. The idea they wouldn’t have it ridiculous. Amazing how people are buying the BS from the organization. This team’s bullpen FELL APART right after the K-Rod trade. The offense went RIGHT DOWN THE TOILET after Beltran was traded.
Amazing how people are fooled by the media…SMH
It’s OK Larry it’s not like fans will be shedding tears if your not the bench coach in 2012… you know?
Screw him, who needs that doity bum! Never cared for Bowa anyways!
sorry u lost your job the other day mook.
Seems like a lot of teams’ fans are not shedding tears over not having Bowa.
Bowa is right. Wilpon is cutting payroll of a team that sucked.
Collins and Bowa = just way too much intensity. Maybe if they were a rugby team but in baseball…….Too much.
Let’s get something straight…
Larry Bowa is a hemorrhoid with feet. He never got over failing to make his high school baseball team. He’s the last guy I’d allow in a Mets dugout. Way too many Phillie roots, besides.
2-Cat
so bowa thinks freddye wilponzie is not committed to winning? maybe bowa thinks wilponzie hired cone headed geniusalderson to cut payroll and talk about spending money in the distant future.maybe bowa thinks the fact that season tickets were cut is a sign that jose reyes is history? maybe bowa thinks that the met job is akin to baseball oblivion? it just might be that bowa realizes that the wilponzie mob only lies when their collective lips are moving.the wilponzie crew make coach movement their big off season moves(MOOKIE WILSON).bowa stay away from cone head geniusalderson …your better than that.
i guess people are starting to come to my side.lol
Baby Al, where you been? How you doing?
I saw Freddie the other day. He was walking around with a funky hat on and a cardboard sign that said “Freddie sez” but when I tried to get him to speak he clammed up and said his attorney’s wouldn’t let him talk.
tagee was freddyes funky hat an old brooklyn dodger cap? i am sure you know freddye is a big brooklyn guy. i would like to know the last time wilpon went to his old stomping grounds. he should go to bedford avenue tonight and discuss the good old days.i am sure everyone would be thrilled to see him! freddye will learn quickly one can never go home!lol
Freddie hasn’t been back to the old homstead since he developed locust valley lock jaw and found more hospitable climate far from from the people he professes to love so much. The NY Met fan.
http://www.talkingchop.com/
registration is free and it’s filled with all kinds of players you LOVE and enjoy.
I think you’ll be happier there
All Bowa was saying is that there are huge question marks over the Mets. Most Mets fans know that. You can’t blame him for pointing out the obvious.
Right,
It’s obvious to people even at the professional ranks the Mets are not committed to winning. Alderson already proved that by his actions so far.
The only thing proven is that you know nothing. Actually Alderson HAS proven he’s committed to winning by his actions, you’d know that if you knew baseball.
Pretty terrible commitment now that he’s staring @ a 7th losing season in a row as a team’s GM……….
Cannot believe how short-sighted some Met fans can be.
I think we should trade David Wright to the Rockies for Drew Pomeranz & Rosario, their top pitching and catching prospect, respectively. Here;s a link for your edification…
http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2011/index.jsp?c_id=col#list=
I love Wright, but he’s not getting it done. We need pitching, defense & timely hitting.
Primary Young Pitchers: Pomeranz, Harvey, Wheeler, Familia, Mejia, Niese, Gee, Holt, etc…
I’d also like to trade for Baltimore’s ADAM JONES & have him patrol centerfield, Murphy at 3rd base, Reyes at short & Reese Havens at 2nd base and Ruben Tejada the backup middle infielder. Something like this:
ss – Reyes
rf – Pagan
3b – Murphy
cf – Jones
1b – Davis
lf – Bay/Duda
2b – Havens/Turner
c – Thole/Rosario
Pitcher: Santana, Pomeranz, Harvey, Wheeler, Mejia, Familia, Gee, Holt, Parnell, Dickey & Co…
Bench: Tejada, Thole/Rosario, Havens/Turner, Harris, Hairston
Our glass is more than half-full and will be brimming with talent sooner than you think…
Reasons to be cheerful!
You’re backing up Ruben Tejada for a guy you haven’t seen yet? For a guy who’s yet to play a complete AA season? For a guy that’s not good defensively and you want to pair him with Reyes?
You had my attention until you came up with that floperoo of an idea
Who says I haven’t seen Reese Havens play yet?
I have, have you? The key to Havens is similar to that of Reyes: Can he stay healthy?
Havens is a very, very competent 2nd baseman, an aggressive hitter. I think that paring him with Justin Turner – who is definitely a clutch player – is a solid strategy. Its likely that Turner, Havens & Reyes, who play the game with a certain gritty abandon, will wind up on the DL. Who better than Ruben Tejada to have ready at hand and jump into a starting role. And while we’re at it, let’s keep Murphy out of harms way and to a corner infield spot, where’s he’s shown some range and a good arm.
I really, really want to see Adam Jones in a Met uniform. He’s the closest thing to Agee I’ve seen in years. He’s clutch and don’t stand in his way. He’s really, really strong. As his career progresses, I can see him developing into a slugger similar to the way Jermaine Dye did. He’s just going to keep getting stronger.
Why would Baltimore want to trade Jones? And I’d assume they’d be looking for something special for him.
And don’t get me wrong, I certainly like Jones. He’s a solid player. A little streaky, but whatever, he’s got talent for sure. My concern is you can’t just get something for nothing. I’m sure they (Baltimore) would ask for Harvey or Havens or Familia or one of the upper picks for him.
But truly, the only way we’re going to rise to the top of the NL East is if we have hitters that can wear opposing pitchers down, develop a pitching staff stocked with young arms & maintain a team defense that is strong up the middle.
Pitchers ——-> Rosario/Thole (good, young catchers)
Reyes, Tejada, Reese, Turner ——> The first two simply spectacular, the latter two very competent and very gritty.
Murhpy (3b) —-> Davis (1b) – Excellent range at the corner infield positions. Very solid left-handed bats that you can trust in the clutch.
An outfield comprised of Bay, Duda, Jones, Pagan & Harris offers solid defense, power, hitting and speed. BTW, the two things that Bay did well last year was hitting lefties and playing solid defense. Why not pair him with Duda in left field and figure out who is better suited for centerfield, Jones or Pagan. Jones has an incredible arm, which may make him better suited for rightfield, if he’ll buy into that.
I’d also bring back Rick Peterson to work with the young pitching staff.
I know what to do with this team.
A sad truth is that we cannot carry both Wright & Bay and of the two, Wright is very, very marketable and can yield a small fortune of blue-chip prospects. David Wright is my sons’ favorite ballplayer – don’t want to trade him, but I want to win & he’s not delivering in the clutch. He’ll be better off in Colorado playing aside Tuluwitski.
Sadly, Bay is unmoveable – so make the best of it & craft a spot for him where he’ll succeed. He’s a great person, which doesn’t hurt.
Adam Jones is a key. His addition would elevate this team the way Gary Carter & Keith Hernandez did. I considered Andrew McCutcheon, but he doesn’t offer the same intimidation that Jones does and if our team needs anything, it needs an intimidator desperately.
Man, I could stay up all night. The Phillies lost (yessss!!!!) and the Eagles suck (yesss, yesss!!!)
2-Cat over&out.
you forgot to add the Yanks, Ivan.
whats a matter u.cheer for philly defeats…ya can’t cheer met wins cause there are none…son.
Well if your main focus and target is Salary Reduction not Wins then Bowa is correct your more committed to saving money than you are to winning!
I love how some are now trying to push the blame for this philosophy onto Wilpon when we all know there are quite a few people here who would insist on the same things if they were the owner and money would have nothing to do with it! How many posts have been made that say PlayerX isn’t worth paying XAmount, or note how teams with low Payroll are in the playoffs?
Most (StL the exception) were pretty awful from the years between 2000-2006 which allowed them to draft good players that would remain cheap and netted them guys like Verlander with the #2 pick in 2004 and granderson for Detroit. Fielder (7th Pick in 2002), Braun (5th pick in 2005) in Milwaukee.
You can make a good team with little salary no question!
The cost is quite a few WASTED years of miserable losing!
Thats what built the Atlanta Braves when they dominated.
What built the Phillies and got them what they had before they started buying Pitchers
its what built the Yankees of 95!
It even built the Mets of 1986!
Now if the end goal of the folks who think Low Salary is the way to go think that way because they think sucking LONG TERM so you can collect all the young talent you don’t have to pay much is the way to go then I would agree with what they think!
But it sure won’t fly here in NEW YORK CITY!
And if Sandy tries it he will be gone before even ONE of his picks makes it to the Majors!
When I say agree with what they think I mean agree with their conclusion and premise, but I sure wouldn’t go that way if I was trying to keep my job as GM!
Look at it this way… Think about Donnie Walsh and his work rebuilding the Knicks before Dolan forced him to gut the team and acquire Carmello Anthony prematurely.
The Knicks were definitely on the ascendency and were beginning to grow together.
The Mets are on the verge of doing the same with a groundswell of talent emerging from the minor leagues and other young talent available with one or two shrewd & potentially controversial moves.
There’s a lot to be said from building from within beyond saving millions. When you develop your own ballplayers and promote from within, it sends a message that reverberates from AAA to the rookie league, which is: “If you play hard and succeed, you will rewarded with a NY Met major league contract”. Its an invaluable internal incentive and also sends a message from the Mets to all potential draftees – if you sign with us, we’ll take care of you.
Perhaps us pre-free agent Met fans appreciate Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Gentry a little more than the average fan.
Oh, I meant Seaver, Koosman, RYAN, Matlack & Gentry.
For those who weren’t around, Gary Gentry was as talented at the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wasn’t available then.
We lost Nolan Ryan when management traded him to the Angels for Jim Fregosi, an aging former allstar 3rd baseman. I was ten years old then and cried. I saw Ryan throw a one-hitter at Shea against the Phillies where the first hitter got a hit and he shut them down the rest of the way.
We should focus on developing our own talent and add as needed when the youngins mature and our needs become more obvious and specific.
Well Tommy you are talking about a time when everyone had NO CHOICE but to build or trade since there was no Free Agency.
It was easier simply because no other team could come by a steal your developed talent with money!
We developed Reyes, Wright, Davis, Niese, Murphy, Turner, Tejada and Duda.
Is there a Seaver or Koosman there?
No, but then again there wasn’t 8 years of being the worst team in baseball that allows you to have first choice in the draft where you get those guys!
Which is the point I made in stating that you CAN build from within provided your ready to put up with a near decade of awful baseball to get there!
In the case of Seaver it was pure luck that we got him in the lottery.
Koosman was undrafted and almost cut!
Ryan, Matlack (4th overall) and Gentry were all Drafted players.
The point is if you suck for a long period of time you will get first crack in every round of the draft and as a result will get players you own a monopoly on and can keep the cost low.
But the winners keep those players and in this day and age you have to pay them to do that!
hell they got lucky and got seaver on a coin flip.
My God, does it get any WORSE than this example? The Knicks “gutted” their team? They acquire Chauncey Billups AND Carmelo Anthony, along with Balkman, Shelden Williams, Corey Williams, and Anthony Carter. How in God’s name did the Knicks “gut” their team when they acquired a Hall of Fame PG, the premier scoring small forward All-Star forward in the game for a bunch of stiffs/backup players.
Unbelievable…SMH. And if you don’t draft star players, no one cares if they came thru the system. Nobody cares about Bobby Parnell or Mike Pelfrey if they don’t improve their performance.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/carmelo_anthony_trade_to_knicks_2Jg35AjOFhPRSJso9BAjSN#ixzz1aOQwhvWi