After losing five straight, and falling into last place in the National League East with a 130 million dollar payroll, New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and General Manager Omar Minaya traveled to Atlanta to meet with the team. Many though that a firing of Mets manager Jerry Manuel, but it seems a little unfair to blame this mess on Manuel alone. In fact it seems that Minaya has saddled his manger with a bunch of over paid talent that is not producing. In the end it seems the only logical thing to do is too clear out the entire front office, and then go to work on the coaching staff.
It is not news that the Mets, as an organization, are a complete mess. Oliver Perez has stolen every bit of his 36 million dollar deal he signed in 2009. It is that time for the Mets to recognize that he is never going to live up to that contract and designate him for assignment. While the Mets other problems IE John Maine, Frank Catalanotto, Gary Matthews, and David Wright may not be Manuel’s fault, that is simply not going to be a good enough excuse.
It is the manager’s job to raise the level of play on his club. Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers is constantly saddled with bad contracts for aging players and yet he is able to get the most of his squad. It is that time for Manuel to step up and improve the play of this team, or get fired along with a lot of the other responsible for creating this mess.
In the end the powers that be within the Mets organization have to ask themselves one question. Is Manuel the man that will lead this team to a World Series? If the answer is yes they have to give him more time. If the answer is no, then a firing should happen sooner rather than later.
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