Today the Met ownership made official what most have suspected for weeks as they chose not to pick up the option on manager Jerry Manuel's contract and would be removing Omar Minaya from his role as General Manager (GM).
While I understand the decision to let both men go, I would have liked to have seen Jerry Manuel have a shot with a healthy team because he was able to get the team back in the race when he took over in 2008. When Manuel took over for Willie Randolph, who was fired in a most despicable fashion, the Mets were 7 games out in June 2008 and Manuel had them 3.5 games ahead with 17 to play when they again choked and lost on the last day of the season. In 2009 they suffered catastrophic injuries and all of the team's core players missed extensive time. This year they were within 2.5 games of first place at the all-star break all while Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes missed significant time again, but a 2-9 trip on the west coast to start the second half did them in. On that fateful trip out west, the team lost Jason Bay for the year due to a concussion, and even though he had underperformed all year the team still missed his presence in the lineup. Manuel also had to deal with operating shorthanded much of the year because of Minaya's two biggest mistakes as GM: Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. Perez pitched 7.2 innings in 7 appearances from July 21 until the end of the season and gave up 8 earned runs on 11 hits and 9 walks. Castillo has hit .245, .302, and .235 in each of the last 3 years and no longer possesses the speed and defensive range that made him a thorn in the Mets' side when he was a member of the Florida Marlins. While Minaya did change the Mets around immediately and he had them within 1 game of the World Series in 2006, he will ultimately be remembered for the epic collapse of 2007, the mini-collapse of 2008, two dreadful years in 2009 and 2010, and the awful signings of Perez and Castillo.
Jeff Wilpon, the team's COO, said that the organization would do an extensive search for a new GM and he hopes to have the new GM in place within 3 or 4 weeks. Wilpon further said that the GM will not come from within the organization, although current assistant GM John Ricco would have a role in the search, and that the new GM will be charged with the task of changing the culture of the team. Neither Jeff Wilpon, nor his father Fred, the team's CEO, seemed committed to a particular style of GM, a new school, statistically driven type or an old school type, but only to a GM who is going to put a winner on the field.
When the team negotiated with Minaya in September 2004 to bring him in as GM, one of the issues was that Minaya wanted complete autonomy in baseball operations and was not interested in sharing the GM duties with then-GM Jim Duquette, or anyone else. 6 years later the idea that the GM of the team does not have complete autonomy over the baseball operations is still an issue with the team, at least in the eyes of the fans and the media. During their press conference, both Wilpons said that this perception was not true, and, while the team has does have a budget, in the 30 years they have owned the team, they have always gone over budget. In addition, they stated that not once had Minaya come to ownership with a proposal that ownership rejected. Regarding this idea Jeff Wilpon was asked by Mike Francesa if Minaya had approached him about jettisoning the much maligned Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, and Wilpon said that this idea had not been broached by Minaya. Finally, in regard to selecting a new manager for the team Jeff Wilpon averred that the new GM will have the autonomy to select the new manager; however, ownership would reserve the right to ask the new GM to rethink his decision if ownership felt the manager was not a good fit.
Jeff Wilpon stated that team has not been rendered broke in the wake of the Madoff scandal and the team would have the ability to go out and sign free agents if the new GM wanted to pursue a player. Fred Wilpon stated that he was especially hurt by the Madoff scandal and it is a betrayal that he would take to his grave. It is not known, however, how much the Madoff scandal has cost the team, although there are reports suggesting that the team may have actually profited from the scandal. An account called Mets LP was on Madoff's books and that account deposited $520 million and withdrew $570 million.
NOT ME! - When Jerry Manuel brought in Oliver Perez in the 14th inning of Sunday's season finale against Washington it was not at all surprising that Perez hit a batter and walked 3 batters to force in the winning run. Nor was it surprising that Perez was booed loudly (well, as loudly as the few that were left at Citi Field could boo) when Manuel removed him for Pat Misch. However, as SNY went to a commercial break Gary Cohen, SNY's play-by-play man, said that he felt bad for Perez and that Perez was in an impossible spot. Normally Cohen is right on in his assessment of the team, but I could not disagree with him more here. Perez deserved nothing but the boos he received and it's only a shame that Citi Field was not full so he could have received more boos. Perez has done nothing but, essentially, steal $24 million over the past two years, and he still has one more year and $12 million left on his contract; he's 3-9 with a 6.80 ERA over the last two years. Instead of accepting the team's assignment to AAA Buffalo, he selfishly declined and decided he could work out his problems pitching from the bullpen, thereby costing a roster spot that could have been used by someone far more deserving. Perez [and Castillo] cannot be back next year if the Mets want to be taken seriously. Even if Perez goes on to become the next Sandy Koufax, the Mets have got to get rid of him because he is just not a fit on this team and he never will be.
IRONY? - One final thing, it did seem a bit ironic that Adam Rubin was at the press conference today. Rubin, a beat reporter, and Minaya, if you remember, had a heated discussion after assistant GM Tony Bernazard was fired after a report by Rubin and Minaya accused Rubin of angling for a position with the Mets. So, is Rubin going to be applying for Omar's old job?
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