Three Managerial “Musts”
By Mike Silva ~ September 28th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
I advocated firing Jerry Manuel earlier today. Jim Baumbach of Newsday and I discussed this during last night’s edition of NYBD radio. Outside of Bobby Valentine there doesn’t appear to be many big name managers available. Do the Mets really need a big name? How about bringing in someone that can handle the situation this team is in. Of course, the expectations that come with playing in New York has to be factored into the equation.
Over the weekend I tweeted that there are three managerial “musts” that I deem important to running a successful team. They are in no particular order of importance:
1) Handling the media.
2) Managing a pitching staff.
3) Communication with your players.
Notice I didn’t mention anything about the X’s and O’s of the game. The old adage is that a manager doesn’t impact a team more than 5 games either way. Some have recently commented on this site that a manager doesn’t have any impact at all. Let’s say the X’s and O’s all come out in the wash over 162 games.
Handling the media is important especially in New York. Look at what happened in 2008 when Joe Girardi got prickly with the press and even resorted to lying. It wound up causing him problems with specific players, namely veterans, in the long run. Handling the media horde of New York is a necessary evil of the job. You can’t afford to have someone like Jeff Torborg running your team.
Proper utilization of your pitching staff might be the most important. You can’t win in today’s game if you don’t know how to manage a bullpen (see Willie Randolph). This will be Joe Torre’s big test this postseason. Many of his bullpen blunders were hidden during the dynasty years thanks to obvious setup choices (Stanton/Nelson) and the best closer of all time. One of my concerns with Gary Carter is that I don’t get a sense he has a great feel for his current pitching staff with the Long Island Ducks. How can I hand him over millions of dollars in arms and feel comfortable? Maybe you can hire a pitching coach like Dave Duncan, but in the end the skipper is the one that makes the call. You need to know that he can manage innings limitations, pitch counts, and situational matchups appropriately. We have learned that being around the game as a long time player and coach doesn’t always translate into understanding this concept.
Finally communication is key. Jerry Manuel ruined two players this spring: Ramon Castro and Ryan Church. He never seemed to be on the same page with either and contradicted himself on the topic with the media. Mike Buddie appeared on my show back in June. Although his job on the 98′ Yankees was to be the “Columbus shuttle” pitcher he knew his role. When the team was short on arms he was going to be asked to start in a pinch or eat innings in the middle of the game. Although this wasn’t going to lead to a permanent big league job, he appreciated the honesty from Joe Torre. That alleviated frustration and gave him confidence in his role. If there was a role model for success in this area Torre would be the guy. This is often overlooked by fans, but it can help get 25 players on the same page.
These are three areas that I believe Jerry Manuel has failed at this year. He may have handled the media well, but the way he used them to motivate his players was curious at best. Are there candidates out there that can fit this criterion? I personally would hire Wally Backman to manage the Mets, but I know that many would question his personal history and making the jump from the independent Northern League to New York. Whoever manages this team, including Jerry Manuel, must take a long look at these three areas and make strides. It’s imperative to a successful 2010.
