The Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks — the indie repository that from time to time has served as a baseball halfway house for legends including but not limited to John Rocker, Jose Offerman, Carl Everett and Pete Rose Jr.— are preparing for tomorrow night’s home opener with Southern Maryland, and what better way to stoke interest than by having the manager make what Chris Morris might call, ” a full and frank apology”? From Newsday’s Adam Ronis.
Gary Carter (above, left) received a lot of criticism for expressing his interest in the Mets managerial job last season when Willie Randolph still held the position. Almost a year later, Carter realizes he made a mistake.
“We all make mistakes in our lifetime,” said Carter at Ducks media day Wednesday. “With what happened, that politically incorrect statement what I said about my interest, then I would say yes it is a mistake. I wasn’t trying to step on anybody’s toes or undermine anybody. My intentions, I think, were sincere. They certainly were not malicious by any means. When it comes down to it, I’ve learned from that. It won’t happen again. I can tell you that.”
Carter said he spoke with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin in the offseason about managing the team, but Melvin had his candidates in line. Carter also spoke with Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik about that team’s opening, but Carter said that Zduriencik already had Don Wakamatsu in mind.
“It’s sometimes a chess game and just being in the right place at the right time,” Carter said.
I think I speak for many Mets bloggers fans when hoping-wishing-praying some sort of big league vacancy opens up in which the The Kid and Wally Backman are both candidates and end up openly campaigning against each other.
isn’t everyone forgetting he was the best catcher in the majors for a five, six year run? that might translate
he also did a pretty good job for the Mets’ GCL team, winning a title his first year, I believe. I have no desire to disparage Carter’s baseball credentials but he did turn down a chance to manage Binghamton and would probably be the skipper in Buffalo right now had the prior tenure gone well.
I suspect Carter’s failure to land a big league managing gig has less to do with any suspicion he doesn’t know the game but perhaps more to do with a rah-rah personality some people — ballplayers and media alike — find grating.
he was great in those soap commercials though.
Maybe this is because I was not born in this era but enough with the ’86 Mets bollocks! They were a team that should have won with a breeze, in fact they should have won more besides that WS than a division title. They underachieved but their guts and glory is celebrated throughout Metsland. Enough! Screw ’em all except Keith and Ron! If we need to look for a new manager, and sadly not a new GM, Omar should get away from the Mets/New York scope and go after somebody like a Jim Leyland with a proven record of winning and not taking any bull.
he’s also got a proven record of quitting on teams, too. And blaming it on Columbine.