Results tagged “jerrymanuel”

Apparently the Mets are not content to only embarrass themselves on the field, they need to do it off the field as well. According to the Daily News, VP for Player Development Tony Bernazard challenged the Binghamton Mets to a fight and called one player “a slang term associated with a woman’s anatomy.” At least Bernazard had the sense to take his shirt off first, no sense getting that ripped. Mets GM Omar Minaya told the News that Bernazard "spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that." It's believed that underage drinking and the poor play by the B-Mets (they're 37-58 and in last place in the Northern Division) were causes for the "stern" talk. While it has been reported that Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel are safe for the season, one has to wonder if this will be the end for Bernazard. Challenging the players to fight is bad, but the lack of prospects in the farm system is worse.

Two days after agreeing to a contract extension with the Mets, Omar Minaya has removed the "interim" from Jerry Manuel's manager title. The Mets and Manuel agreed to a two-year deal with a club option for a third. The team was 55-38 under Manuel's stint as manager. Guess this means no return for Bobby Valentine and post-ejection mustache disguise.

As the Mets continue contract talks with manager Jerry Manuel, former manager Bobby Valentine told ESPN 1050 he'd be open to coaching the Mets again. In an e-mail, Valentine, who is coaching the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, wrote, "I love it here, but I am an American and love great challenges. I was a in a Met uniform in the '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000, and would love to be there in the next decade." Valentine's name had been mentioned earlier this year when Willie Randolph was in the hot set.

New York may be going through its first October without baseball since 1994, but that isn’t stopping the local teams from handing out deals to their GM’s. Yesterday, the Yankees brought back Brian Cashman. Today, the Mets announced that they have extended Omar Minaya’s deal for three years through 2012. Minaya, who was signed through 2009 already, could be with the club though 2014 if two club options are picked up.

But, the Mets were not done. They scored a single run in the seventh and then two in the eighth with a two-out rally to tie the game. Jose Reyes led off the ninth with a single, but Daniel Murphy struck out trying to bunt him to second and David Wright struck out. Reyes stole second on the play and the Cubs chose to intentionally walk Carlos Delgado. That brought Beltran to the plate and after taking two pitches, he lashed the game-winning hit off the first baseman's glove.

Don’t blame the bullpen. They held the Mets in the game inning after inning, it was the offense that blew this one. Time after time, the Mets couldn’t get the big hit, no more so than the bottom of the ninth. David Murphy led off the inning with a triple, putting the team 90 feet from victory. But, David Wright struck out and after intentional walks to Delgado and Beltran, Ryan Church grounded into a force out at home. Ramon Castro struck out to end the inning and the Mets never threatened again.

Maybe Mets’ ownership is taking lessons from the Knicks? How else do you explain the news that Omar Minaya is getting a four-year contract extension with the season hanging in the balance? Minaya has done a solid job while running the Mets, but if they do not make the playoffs this year he will have presided over two September collapses. Doesn’t that warrant waiting on a new deal until the season ends? And, if Minaya is getting an extension how come Jerry Manuel is still only the “interim” manager? If you are going to hand out rewards a week early, you should be consistent. Didn’t they learn anything last year from the playoff seat debacle?

• Mets 3 Colorado 0: Finally this team is playing the way the fans expected. Make it eight-straight after Saturday’s victory and even Pedro’s early exit couldn’t dampen the mood at Shea. The Rockies only managed one hit against four Mets’ pitchers and every regular in the lineup got a hit.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Up To Eight"

According to sources on the Mets' flight to St. Louis, shortstop Jose Reyes confronted beloved former player Keith Hernandez over remarks Hernandez made on SNY about Reyes.

• Mets 8 Seattle 2: New York came out angry and scored early as they romped to a sweep-avoiding victory. Maybe it was Jerry Manuel’s decision to change the team's warmup routine, maybe it was the thought of being swept by the worst team in the American League. Whatever the reason, the Mets showed some fire Wednesday night.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: A Big Rebound"

Some say that Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolph are too similar, but somehow we can't envision Randolph, the former Mets manager saying what Manuel did on Tuesday night, even jokingly. When Jose Reyes was removed from the game after he experienced tightness in his hamstring, he had a helmet throwing-hissy-fit. Reyes later apologized to Manuel, but the new manager cracked to Reyes:

"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."

The Mets' midnight firing of manager Willie Randolph and two other coaches continues to piss off various parties. The Post uses a little bit of Photoshop magic to place a knife in new manager Jerry Manuel's hand--aimed right at Randolph's back--for today's back cover.

• Yankees 8 Padres 5: Is it a coincidence that the Yankees have gone 19-9 since A-Rod returned to the lineup? You certainly have to give Posada some credit too, but the lineup is scoring again and the Yankees have been able to overcome some rough pitching, especially from their bullpen.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Twice The Fun"

The rumors swirled viciously before the game. Willie Randolph was safe for at least the week, but some of his coaches would be fired shortly. Randolph and some of the coaches were about to be axed. There were even erroneous reports that Rick Peterson had been fired.

All signs point to this being a critical weekend for Willie Randolph if he wants to keep his job. Ownership is clearly peeved at him, refusing to return his apology phone call and having Omar Minaya do it. The fans are filling the talk radio airwaves with anti-Willie diatribes and the team is not playing well. In fact, they have essentially played .500 ball for over a season. If you go back to May 19th, 2007, the Mets were 28-14, since then they are 82-83. Clearly, this is a team that needs something to change because they are too talented to play at that mediocre level.