ATLANTA — For those of you scoring at home, give the Mets another error — and charge it to the team’s COO.
Jeff Wilpon goofed by making such a spectacle of his meeting with embattled manager Jerry Manuel on Monday, according to former Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who said Manuel will now have to deal with added weight on his shoulders.
Wilpon met behind a closed door in the manager’s office at Turner Field with Manuel and team executives for 90 minutes, during which time Mets players sat in the clubhouse curious about what was transpiring.
“The biggest problem that comes with something like that . . . it’s just not having the press conference and answering the questions of the media,” Valentine told The Post yesterday. “It’s answering the questions to your family, answering the guy who might pitch in the sixth inning with the frown on his face wondering what went on or the coach wondering if you get sent packing if he will be going with you.”
Wilpon convened with Manuel and team officials again yesterday, but this time kept it more low key — away from the ballpark. Before the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Braves last night, in which a David Wright throwing error allowed the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, Manuel said the latest discussions centered on the team’s roster.
“We’ve had discussions — [Monday] was pitching and today was position players and things,” Manuel said.
Wilpon is not scheduled to accompany the team to Washington for a two-game series that begins tonight and leads into this weekend’s Subway Series at Citi Field.
Valentine, now an analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight,” wondered why Wilpon couldn’t have conducted his business with Manuel in a more private setting.
“People say it doesn’t affect your situation, but it does because you don’t know how many times and to whom you have to prove or answer the question that you are OK,” Valentine said. “This type of situation comes with the territory, but it’s never a comfortable situation. . . . It’s kind of like walking through the woods and knowing that there’s ticks that might bite you and give you Lyme disease.”
Valentine’s concern would be that Manuel might start second-guessing himself in the middle of a game, making decisions more on how the press would react, instead of what’s best for the team.
“To think you are going to do something better or special because the owner is in town, I wouldn’t think that’s the case,” Valentine said. “In a negative sense what the manager could never do is worry about a good answer to the press after the game. Sometimes I heard guys get into that situation and they’d kick themselves after. That shouldn’t come with the manager’s cap — that sort of thought process shouldn’t come with it.”
Valentine, who was fired by the Mets in 2002 after taking the team to the World Series two years earlier, has been part of the speculation surrounding the current Mets manager. Valentine has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Manuel, but denies any interest in the position.
“I am really rather amazed in this area after being away for six years and it’s flattering to hear people talk about it,” Valentine said. “Somehow the 3,000 games that I have managed in baseball has left an impression in people’s minds.”