Jerry Manuel already has something Willie Randolph did not: a guarantee that he will be Mets manager for the rest of the season.
At today’s press conference, GM Omar Minaya said Manuel would remain manager for the rest of the 2008 season.
“Jerry is our interim manager and he will be our manager for the rest of the year,” Minaya said.
Manuel said he was not concerned at the part-time tag put on his title.
“The interim tag for me is not a problem,” said Manuel, who managed the White Sox from 1998-2003. “I am not concerned or worried about that. It is an opportunity for me and I have to make the most of that.”
After the Memorial Day meeting between Minaya, Randolph and owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon, no such guarantees were put in place for the recently fired manager.
“I couldn’t guarantee Willie was staying here because if we lost 15 in a row then he was not going to be the manager,” Minaya said.
Minaya later said, “Not knowing whether the guy was going to be there was going to hurt this team.”
Manuel won AL Manager of the Year in 2000. He was Randolph’s bench coach until today’s early-morning firing.
Manuel outlined several areas where the underachieving Mets can improve.
“We need to freshen up the everyday players. Now that is difficult to do when you have an urgency to win every night,” he said. “I think we are in good shape as far as starting pitching. We have to find definitive roles in the middle of that bullpen.”
Randolph’s job performance has been under scrutiny since last season’s collapse when the Amazin’s blew a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining to the Phillies. This year they find themselves 6 ½ games behind Philadelphia.
“I am not going to tell you Manuel has all the answers or he has a magic wand,” Minaya said. “But I do not regret at all bringing Willie Randolph back. I could not evaluate him over the last few weeks of last season.
“Believe me, I delayed the decision as long as possible because no one wanted to make this work more than Omar Minaya.”
Manuel was told of the decision right after Randolph was told his reign as Mets manager had ended. He said he would have handled the discussion of last year’s collapse differently than Randolph.
“I think would have used it as a motivation to get us to play at a different level,” Manuel said.
“It weighed on me throughout the winter, through spring training. It is something we are all hoping to have an opportunity to overcome. That was a catastrophic demise. It was a very difficult thing. We will carry that until we get back and hopefully that will strengthen us in what it takes for us to become a championship club.”