Read the opposing arguments from Babe Ruthless and Bleacher Fan.
With the start of spring training comes hope for nearly every team. It is common to read a feel-good “fluff” story in many local newspapers about how this could be the year – You’ve read them. However, reality paints a different picture. The reality is that many of the teams are bad, and that have essentially no shot at winning. That, in turn, leads to job insecurity on the field, in the dugout, and in the front office. Today, The Sports Debates is going to take a look inside the dugout and try to decide who is on the hottest seat in terms of managers.
What manager is feeling the most heat to right the ship and turn the club around? That title belongs to New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel.
The Big Apple is essentially a New York Yankees city – Manuel himself has admitted as much. But that doesn’t mean that the Mets get a free pass from the New York City tabloids. Manuel has already been the target of much of their wrath, and part of me hates it for him because he seems like a good baseball man and a genuinely nice guy. But that and a box of crackerjacks will get you a pink slip if your team fails to produce on the field.
Last year the Mets did NOT produce on the field, finishing with an appalling record of 70-92.
Now, a lot of that can be attributed to injuries. In 2009, Mets players spent over 1,480 days on the disabled list, including extended injuries to Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Johann Santana. That is arguably the five best players on the team. But injuries are a part of the game and the buck stops with the manager in terms of on the field performance.
Personally, I think general manager Omar Minaya should be on the hot seat just as much as Manuel, if not more. In a previous debate about the New York Mets, I pointed out their on-field problems, highlighting the fundamental mistakes made by players (dropped pop-ups, missing third base, etc). I also put some of the heat on Minaya, and I have not changed my tune because he has done a poor job of building this team. He still has holes in the pitching rotation after Santana, a problem not really addressed during the offseason. Maybe he shouldn’t spend so much time getting into shouting matches with reporters!
No matter my feelings on Minaya, the heat falls on Manuel first. His team has to improve on the field, and I think they have to show drastic improvement. Manuel has a club option in his contract for next season, but if even he makes it that far I can’t imagine it being picked up unless the Mets are fighting for a playoff spot in September. Despite the spring training fluff you may be reading, it is not necessarily realistic. What is realistic is that Jerry Manuel is on the hot seat.
