Mets Don’t Take Losing Personally
By Mike Silva ~ July 22nd, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva, New York Mets.
When the Mets were losing earlier in the year I had a conversation with a baseball person who was familiar with the team. I knew the Mets had holes, but they were underachieving even in relation to their talent level. “This team (Mets) doesn’t take losing personally,” I was told.
What does this mean? The person wasn’t suggesting they don’t care, lack effort, or don’t want to win. Rather, this team doesn’t get bothered by losing as much as they should. Great teams of the past- 86’ Mets, 98’ Yankees- would take losing so personally they would aim to knock the block off the opposition the next night. This Mets team doesn’t have that characteristic and it clearly has manifested itself during this current stretch in the form of a dead team. I don’t think they are as embarrassed losing to the D-Back as the media and mans are. That shouldn’t be the case.
A couple of nice stretches put the Mets in a race for the division title. Even so, I felt they had underachieved and should have been in first place at the All Star Break. That continues to be an indictment on the manager who nearly lost the team in late May. If not for David Wright calling a team meeting before the first Subway Series this group could have shut down before Memorial Day. Yesterday a player told Kevin Kernan of the post “they are slipping back into old habits.” That is disturbing and I am not sure there is any way to save the season now.
Should this be a surprise? Outside of the short stretch after Willie Randolph’s firing the Mets haven’t exceeded expectations under Manuel. Last year they quit in late June and Manuel gave them the opening saying “they didn’t have enough to win.” Even though that was true you shouldn’t say that to your group. This week he holds a team meeting telling the players to “stay on course.” No raised voices, no mirror pointed to the players faces, no sense of urgency. In San Francisco he even played the “woe is me” card telling the press he “might be out on the street soon.” That is not the tact I would have taken. They were about to get swept by a team with one of the worst bullpens in the history of the game. “Staying the course” is like me telling them to “breath in and breath out” it’s a pointless bromide when they need a swift kick in you know what. Do you honestly believe the team has faith in Jerry? Do you get the sense there is the right sort of anger that should accompany losing to mediocrity?
I keep going back to that quote: “this team (Mets) doesn’t take losing personally.” That’s not going to change with the coaching staff currently in place. I don’t know things will under the direction of Omar Minaya either. Maybe nothing can be done now, but until this team’s culture is addressed no moves, big or small, will change things very much. It starts at the top and it’s time to begin the process of a regime change. They can’t move forward without it.
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:46 am
The players are taking their que from management as the owner has not countered the claims that the team has money trouble. When players see Ollie Perez come back just as bad as when he left and know the only reason he’s here is the money he’s due. Same with Castillo. Now the team has 3 catchers on the roster as no one will pull the plug on Rod Barajas with either a trade or his release. Same with Jeff Francouer. Then you have Alex Cora who for all his “leadership” qualities produces next to nothing on the field.
Same reason Jerry Manuel still has a job the Wilpons would rather lose and pay a manager than try to win with a new manager while paying his replacement.
The fans are on to this con set by the Wilpon’s no wonder they were firends with someone like Bernie Maddoff.
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:59 pm
I disagree that the team is underachieving. I contend that given the ongoing health issues of some players and the tragic flaws of some of the healthy ones the roster just isn’t that good. A roughly .500 out-of-contention team is what I expected in 2010 barring significant roster upgrades which haven’t happened and based on past history are unlikely to happen in-season. Omar Minaya has failed to adequately surround his core players with appropriate supporting players during the vast majority of his tenure.
So I do agree that regime change is necessary but I submit that it must come at the highest levels of the organization. Just swapping field managers is not going to fix what ails the New York Mets.