On Wally: There’s no way Jerry Manuel will survive after this season. Whoever replaces him will have to be marketed to a disgruntled and discouraged fan base. The one guy who will work and won’t break the bank, and who has won at his level, but hasn’t managed on the major league level is Wally Backman. The Mets need to market fire and intensity, something that has been lacking, and Backman meets...
Read MoreThe Mets are 10 games behind Atlanta and below .500. They have an upcoming schedule at Houston – which is playing better since the Roy Oswalt trade – and Pittsburgh – which always plays them tough. This is their last chance to make up some ground and bring interest into September. Frankly, while I doubt they’ll make a real run, there could be some interesting ball ahead. Their pitching,...
Read MoreOK, fine, that was the turning point, but the real indictment of the Mets came in the eight other innings. Johan Santana was professional enough to keep the game close, but the Mets’ offense slumbered through what they called a critical game. It’s not the adversity, but how you respond that is critical, and the Mets responded like a .500 team. To a man, the Mets said they understood the...
Read More“When you have a trip like this, you have to sit down and assess how you’re going to get it right. We’re not going to sit back.’’ – Omar Minaya Today is not a good day if you’re a Mets coach. After a 2-9 trip in which the general manager gave a vote of confidence to no coach, it is a day as a coach when you hope the phone doesn’t ring. Word is Minaya, manager Jerry Manuel and Chief...
Read MoreWe might know more about one of the Mets’ key second-half questions tonight, which is: Who is the real Mike Pelfrey? At one time, Pelfrey was 9-1 and cruising toward the All-Star Game. All was right in his world and the Mets were making up ground on Atlanta. However, he has hit a rough five-game stretch since in which he’s gone 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA. That’s just the beginning of the bad numbers....
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