In a post to his blog on ESPN New York, Adam Rubin wrote that even though Omar Minaya declared manager Jerry Manuel’s job safe at the start of the Dodger series, he would offer no such assurances for hitting coach Howard Johnson and the rest of Manuel’s staff on Sunday.
Asked specifically if the entire staff would be in their current roles when the Mets return to action Tuesday at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals, Minaya offered no guarantee.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Minaya said. “I feel everybody here is trying hard. I could tell you the staff is trying hard. If you ask me [about] the overall performance that has happened, of course I’m not happy. Nobody is happy.
Invited again to fully quash speculation regarding the coaching staff’s future, Minaya said: “That’s all I’m going to say.”
With the Mets finally completing what could only be described as a disastrous 2-9 road trip, and the prospects for a rebound and run for the division looking bleak, somebody has to pay the price.
The Mets have struggled tremendously at the plate and Rubin points out the current 16-inning scoreless drought, which comes after 24 and 17 inning scoreless ruts just on this West Coast road trip. They were shut out four times!
The Mets have averaged 2.1 runs per game on this trip and batted .196, and an even worse .103 average with runners in scoring position.
“We’re going to get back on the plane, me and Jerry, and talk some,” Minaya said. “Everything is fair when you have a trip like this. You have to sit down and assess how you’re going to get it right and what needs to be done to get it right. We’re just not going to sit back. All of us are going to work hard, and we are working hard to find a way how to get it straight.”
Obviously, Howard Johnson would be the primary target, but he may not be the only one. Manuel and Dan Warthen appear to be the only ones who are safe.
One thing to keep an eye on if HoJo does get fired, is how this will effect David Wright who is extremely close to him/
