Let me take you into a world away from baseball for a minute. You’re a manager for a company and one of your employees is underachieving. Their performance has been inconsistent for about 3 to 4 years. They are talented, no doubt, but continuously falls short in key areas that results in an overall subpar performance. As much as you love this employee your boss only can take “your word” so much. At some point either things change or both of you will face the proverbial ax. I am sure the managers in the audience know this scenario very well. I can tell you that I do.

That is why this scenario outlined by Matt Cerrone of Metsblog makes me think Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel played out that scene at Citi Field and are now tied at the hip :

The way I heard it, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel expressed confidence to Ownership in the current roster and coaching staff, with a belief that the team can and will get back on track – helped out by having six consecutive games in Citi Field this week and the potential for new talent at the Trade Deadline.

It sounds like Omar vouched for Jerry, the staff, and his ability to put a competitive product on the field. There are enough rumblings to indicate that jobs were saved as a result of this meeting. Joe Janish over at Mets Today believes Manuel and the coaching staff is still very much in jeopardy despite yesterday’s non move.

I always looked at Minaya and Manuel separately. First, Omar has a contract that runs through 2012 (including two club options after that). He also hasn’t done a terrible job during his tenure. He was able to land big fish like Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Jason Bay, and Billy Wagner. Before his arrival the Mets never seemed to be the favorite for a big name free agent, even if they had the money. Although his trading record is dubious, he was able to win a poker match with Bill Smith during the Johan Santana derby. That alone was probably worth his extension. Imagine this club without its ace? I also don’t like how his potential replacement, John Ricco, was described to NYBD. An NL source called Ricco a “mid market GM” to contributor Joe Demayo. Someone who is looking more for the next Church/Francoeur trade than going after Cliff Lee.

Manuel is a different story. He flew in on a magic carpet in 2008 and charmed us with his personality. Count me one who was fooled as I defended the late season losses and attributed it to a lousy bullpen. The pen was lousy, but the management of those individuals was no better. Two years into his tenure simple concepts such as lefty/righty matchups and defined roles seem to elude Manuel. Let’s not forget how he treated Ryan Church and John Maine. For as much good he’s done with the clubhouse, there are examples of personnel mismanagement. When this team needed a kick in the butt last week he stroked them for the second time this season. Personally, I am tired of the “let’s get them” speech. To paraphrase Ozzie Guillen in the MLB Network show “The Club,” “good teams are out on the field, bulls*** teams are in meetings.” I think we know which category the Mets fall into.

Those that want change may be eight weeks away from seeing the end of the Omar Minaya era. Maybe sooner, as the next 12 games will certainly determine the Mets season. I can’t see anything less than 7-5, preferably 8-4, keeping this team in Wild Card contention. The next road trip to Philadelphia and Atlanta will be a true character test.

I think this team is different than some of its recent editions. There seems to be more grit and fight in place of talent. Of course, that goes only so far and a team needs its leadership to complement it with the right pieces. The Mets failed to do that in January and, thus far, haven’t done it in July. Perhaps that’s a good thing because I still have fears of another 2004 this week and see Jenrry Mejia for Ted Lilly in my head. The only difference is I doubt Jeff Wilpon allows Minaya to do something that foolish. Part of me wonders if he’s setting him up to fail. Remember, Jeff wasn’t a proponent of bringing Omar back. All reports indicate his father was/is a bigger fan of Minaya.

The end is near for Omar Minaya as the bases are empty, two outs, and he is down by 3 runs. He chose Jerry Manuel to get the rally going. Can he do it? Hopefully, for Minaya’s sake, he can. If not then the real fun begins.

Tags: Jeff Wilpon, Jerry Manuel, New York Mets, Omar Minaya