Sandy Alderson is someone who picks his words carefully and although he seemed more free and open answering to Steve Cohen, rather than Jeff Wilpon.
But Alderson is still careful with what he says and today with his end of the season presser, especially when it came to manger Luis Rojas.
“Decisions on the manager and coaches will be made after the season,” “My hope is as soon after the season as possible.”
He also said, although the players like Rojas, results to matter.
And that’s why, we may be seeing Rojas’s last days in the Mets dugout. I fully expect to see a release on Monday or Tuesday relieving Rojas of his duties and letting the next President of Baseball Operations come in with a clean slate.
Listen, we all the hopes everyone about Rojas’s chances after the Carlos Beltran fiasco, you have to feel, that he’s in over his head. Last year, he had a 60 game season and it felt like everyone made the playoffs but the Mets and now, he was in first place for 103 days and the Mets will end the season with a losing record.
At least Mickey Calloway had the team playing well in the second half of 2019, just don’t have him text you a picture.
Back to Rojas, though. Even with his extensive minor league experience, too many times there were head scratching decisions coming out of the dugout. Bullpen mismanagement or not doing the traditional strategy of walking a hot batter even though the pitching says otherwise.
And sure maybe it’s the analytics, but sometimes common sense should win out.
That’s not to say, Rojas won’t get another chance and another club will give him a shot at the bench. He comes from baseball royalty and he will land on his feet.
But short of making the playoffs and having an October run, you would figure Rojas’s days were numbered. A new front office will want to put their own man in the dugout, one who has the trust and loyalty of the President of Baseball Operations.
So this one is easy. The fact remains, even if he is liked by the players, the fact remains, his players took the last 45 days, put a stamp on it and dropped the season off at the US Post Office.
But Rojas didn’t seem to get angry or upset. Sometimes the situation merits a Terry Collins outburst to the media or a Lou Piniella overturning of the postgame repast.
Instead, we had an even keel.
Which toppled the ship.
And the Mets have been sinking ever since.
For the next guy hiring a manager here. Cohen doesn’t like anyone to learn on his dime. The Mets need to bring an experienced manager in, because New York isn’t a learn on the job kind of place.
You need to have a steel skin. Every move is scrutinized. The media is tough and there’s a lot of them. And let’s not get into social media. Reading Mets Twitter, can be amusing if you are not the manager of the club.
So yeah, everyone is an expert. This one though, is saying it’s time for a change in the dugout.
But I’m pretty sure, I’m not the only one.
There’s no need for Cohen or Alderson to give their new guy any holdovers.
It’s time for Rojas to go, along with his staff.
Monday at the soonest.
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