Joe Girardi is enjoying life in Philadelphia and it looks like Astros owner and now general manager Jim Crane will be looking for an experienced manager to clean up the mess that is the Houston Astros.
So now that the help wanted sign is hanging up on the Citi Field door again, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen needs to be quick and smart when it comes to this hiring, because after the Beltran debacle, this Met team better be winning or Steve Cohen could come in and clean house.
So, Van Wagenen needs to be smart, quick and nimble and unlike three months ago, he can’t have round after round of interviews, or the Mets would be left holding the bag.
Unless he is going to promote from within and give the job to either Luis Rojas or Hensley Meulens, he needs to get a manager that’s a known commodity. Frankly, though, going the internal route would put undue pressure on a rookie manager, no matter how highly regarded Rojas is or Meulens experience as a bench coach.
And as much as I like the idea of Joe McEwing taking over this club, he didn’t interview this time around with Van Wagenen and would be still a risk coming into this situation.
No, you need a manager with experience and success. Someone who would come in and immediately set an agenda, because he has done it before. Showalter, John Gibbons, or Dusty Baker fit the bill, so much so that two of them could be taking the Houston and Boston jobs.
Which is why you need to call all the guys with the successful and long resumes. A shell-shocked club needs to have someone take command, laugh off the controversy and just roll with the punches that comes with the job.
Personally, the Wilpons should reach out to some other candidates, like Bruce Bochy or Mike Scioscia, even if they weren’t interested.
When Leo Durocher was suspended for the 1947 season and Branch Rickey was just bringing up Jackie Robinson, he turned to Burt Shotton, who managed the Phillies and the Reds back in the early 1930s. But his old-time touch worked for those Brooklyn Dodgers.
The Mets need that now.
It’s not time for experiments and not time for analytics, the Mets need a manager who can captain this ship. The roster looks good and Van Wagenen has a team that can contend, but the Mets need someone who can command the club in 2020.
With a very competitive NL East, there won’t be much room for a learning curve. Although the Braves, Nationals and Phillies look real good right now, there are still flaws with each club and the Mets can be right in there with all three.
Tomorrow, you make your calls and the meetings need to start on Monday. There shouldn’t be rounds here. Each candidate needs to meet with Fred, Jeff and their general manager together and when one grabs all threes attention, drop a contract.
The Mets need swift and decisive thinking here, which generally goes against their norm, but with the right experienced manager, they can put this debacle quickly behind them.
About the Author
