For newer readers:
A Manager Watch means the sharks are circling.
A Manager Watch Watch Watch means that the articles have really heated up.
This is a Watch Watch Watch, which in hurricane terms, is like reporting on a coastal disturbance off the coast of Africa that could maybe turn into something but is nothing to worry about right now.
But this slide does warrant a looksie.
Now I have previously stated let’s just let Mendoza be manager for life. Sign hi to a lifetime deal. Players like him, media likes him, seems like a good dude, and he can handle NYC.
Furthermore, he’s not the idiot that didn’t sign enough organizational innings depth. That’s on David and the Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen….and I’ve been saying this is the team’s fatal flaw since February.
Anyway, Sean Fennessy of The Ringer has tweeted:
This will be an interesting stretch for Carlos Mendoza and David Stearns, leading up to the trade deadline. They have yet to face an old-school aggrieved Mets fan base dissecting every single decision all summer.
Both have done so much right so far, but there’s no denying how flawed this team is and how high expectations are given the payroll, Soto’s arrival, the perception of Stearns’ philosophy.
There won’t be any free passes despite last year’s magical run. They’re going to get roasted for the next couple weeks. A few injuries have revealed an absence of depth, a curious approach to free agency, an overconfidence in young players, and a major failure to develop starting pitching in the past decade.
It felt like an 86-win team to me in March and that’s roughly how they’ve looked in June—beating up on bad teams, outclassed by good ones. The exciting names in the farm system being slightly misaligned with the core group of talent, which is effectively in its late prime, is a riddle that I’m not sure Stearns can solve without a couple of dramatic changes we’re not considering. Will they happen? I’d guess they’ll stay the course this season. But maybe not…
And hey look – baseball is a lot easier when the schedule gives you a week of Rockies/White Sox/Rockies….and some A’s thrown in.
My take: There’s no reason to get rid of this guy, no hair apparent, and no obvious “veteran manager” solution so leave the guy alone and put the blame where it belongs: David, Steve and Alex.
This is Year 5 of Steve Cohen’s 3 to 5 year plan. No Excuses Steve. No Excuses. There are two scenarios: Ring or Failure.
And don’t “Wild Card” me. We didn’t get rid of the Wilpons to compete for the Wild Card.