“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 Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon are in meetings today assessing what went wrong on the trip to San Francisco, Arizona and Los Angeles. They could save a lot of time and only go over what went right.
Presumably, Manuel’s job is safe, but nobody else has security, perhaps least of all, hitting coach Howard Johnson. HoJo, it seems, is being lined up to take the hit after the disastrous trip that saw the Mets plummet from contending status to a lost-season state.
Funny, when the Mets were stinging the ball in June, nobody was lining up to give Johnson an extension or raise. Then again, it never works that way.
Pitching coach Dan Warthen is probably safe because the pitching has been decent much of the year. He can thank R.A. Dickey and Hisanori Takahashi for keeping the rotation afloat while John Maine and Oliver Perez struggled.
There is a lot of panic surrounding your Mets, and much of it stems from the fall after a blistering June that saw them climb 11 games over .500.
The Mets have had ten games shaved off their record and the day before the Cardinals come to town they stand one gave over .500. They are the picture of mediocrity.
It’s doubtful, but in their meetings today, I hope they discuss the real problem is that there’s little difference between today’s Mets and the team that finished 70-92 last season, 22 games under .500.
Jason Bay was added at the cost of $66 million, but his contributions have been minimal. … The rotation was not upgraded in the offseason, although Dickey was promoted and Takahashi used as a stop-gap only when Perez and Maine went south. … Carlos Beltran missed the first half and Jose Reyes missed a little more than a month.
The lack of run support has been significant for Johan Santana and Dickey, and now Mike Pelfrey has hit the skids. … David Wright’s numbers are up in comparison to last year, but he’s cold again. … Jeff Francoeur has been cold since late April and has settled back into becoming the player the Braves gave up on. … The Mets have lost 12 games in walk-off style, an indictment of the bullpen.
Yes, the panic comes when comparisons are made between the June and July Mets. But, you are what your record says you are, so the more accurate comparison should be between the team that limped home and last year’s team. When you view the Mets through those glasses and understand little improvement was made over the winter, you realize the Mets are lucky to be where they are, which is a .500 team.
You also realize, that sacking the hitting coach is not the answer for a team with a myriad of holes. The Mets are what they are, and that’s a mediocre baseball team.
John Delcos has covered Major League Baseball for over 20 years, including more than ten in New York on the Yankees and Mets beats. You can read more on his blog, New York Mets Report, where he hosts a chat room for each Mets game.
