The Mets playing out the string gives all the pundits plenty of time to speculate about what comes next. The word on the “street” is the Wilpon’s will finally be making moves to clean up their management team this winter. That includes Jerry Manuel, whose daily interaction with the press has become a combination of embarrassing and sad.

Everyone seems to have their guy when it comes to the next Mets manager. Early names include Bobby Valentine, Joe Torre, Wally Backman, Tim Teufel, and Ken Oberkfell. We can debate about who is right or wrong for the job, everyone knows where I stand, but the one consistent everyone should be unified about is the players shouldn’t be taken into consideration. I have heard some suggest that certain individuals wouldn’t work well with this group. Bob Klapisch questioned back in the spring whether an 86′ alumni could connect with this Mets team. Yesterday, Matt Cerrone of Metsblog said he would like to “pick a manager who will work well with the talent on the roster.” I have to respectfully disagree because this group had plenty of chances to do things their way.

The reason Jerry Manuel was given too much credit (guilty as charged here) upon taking over was his ability to connect with the roster. Instead of the dour, paranoid, and controlling Willie Randolph, Manuel was hip, cool, and relaxed a tense team. It worked in the summer of 2008 as they stormed to a 3.5 game lead, only to blow it down the stretch. The last two years the same manager has been unable to sustain those results. Sure, there are issues with roster construction and injuries, and yes his ability to communicate is a problem on a consistent basis. However, the fact remains this team has failed to step up, demonstrate leadership, and self police itself in any way. I believe the statements like “picking a manager who works well with the talent on the roster” are buzzwords for let’s make these guys happy. Nonsense, these guys haven’t made ownership, management, or the fans happy for nearly four years. I don’t care about their comfort, or well being.

Ownership needs to pick a manager who will set the right tone for the type of club they want to have. That needs to start in the front office and trickle its way down to the field. When Bobby Valentine took over in 1996, he didn’t care if he didn’t work well with players. If Valentine and said player couldn’t coexist, it was the player, not Valentine, that lost such a battle. That needs to happen with the next Mets manager, even if the core stars- Wright and Reyes – are unhappy. Ultimately winning is what will make everyone work well together.

So we can debate who is a right or wrong managerial fit for this team based on the type of individual one prefers. The area I won’t debate, nor care about, is how he will work with the players. It’s time the players adjust to the leader in the manager’s office, not the other way around.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

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Tags: Jerry Manuel, New York Mets, Wally Backman