“Removing the interim label from Mets manager Jerry Manuel was supposed to be a slam dunk this week, with a Shea Stadium news conference expected any day,” writes Newsday’s David Lennon, ” but that optimism has cooled and been replaced by a tougher negotiating stance on the Mets’ part after Manuel balked at the club’s initial two-year offer.” Apparently, one has to preside over two consecutive late season collapses to receive a lengthier contract extension from the Wilpons.
A person familiar with the .situation said the Mets were prepared to give Manuel a two-year deal worth roughly $1.5 million and that the team has indicated it’s not willing to move much off that figure. By comparison, Willie Randolph’s first contract with the Mets, signed in 2005, was a three-year deal worth $1.875 million.
Although the Mets definitely value what Manuel, 54, did to resuscitate their season, they do not see him as irreplaceable despite his popularity in the clubhouse and good relationship with the New York media horde — two things that worked to his advantage after taking over for the fired Randolph.
But if negotiations do fall through, one of the names that could surface again is Bobby Valentine. The club’s chilly relationship with Valentine has thawed during the past year, and the Mets’ job is one of the few that might prompt him to leave Japan. Having him return to open Citi Field next April would be like the franchise welcoming home a prodigal son.
As always, there are financial concerns as well. The Mets are paying Randolph $2.5 million not to manage next year, and that cycle has to be broken at some point. When Randolph was hired for the 2005 season, Art Howe still had two years and $4.7 million left on his contract.
(ADDENDUM : ESPN 1050’s Andrew Marchand quotes Bobby V. as being interested in the gig. Considering all the grief Gary Carter caught for openly campaigning for Willie Randolph’s job, what’s the difference here? Other than Manuel being out of contract?)
(ADDENDUM DOS : Mr. Lennon has followed his earlier report with an announcement the Mets and Manuel have come to terms on a two-year contract. The Bobby V. storyline can always be revived with the first long losing streak of Manuel’s tenure.)
To me, the differences are:
Gary was pretty un-classy the entire time. Didn’t he say he wouldn’t take one of the minor league coaching jobs unless he would be promised he was under consideration for the major league job? And Gary was calling reporters in the middle of the season when every other headline was WILLIE FIRED TOMORROW or something like that. The season is over, Jerry was always interim manager.
If the relationship with Bobby V. has thawed so much, why on earth was he not mentioned during Sunday’s closing ceremony, fwiw?
Caryn,
indeed, the season is over and no one can claim Bobby V. is a distraction to a sitting manager. But given the way the Mets have expressed interest in retaining Manuel, Valentine publicly coveting the job directly impacts Jerry’s bargaining power. That seems a little unfair to me, but so be it.
Re : Carter. I won’t argue the Kid’s comments were ill-advised but he deserves just a bit of credit. Carter managed the Mets’ Gulf Coast League team in 2005 and was skipper of the St. Lucie Mets in 2006. He was the Mets’ minor league catching instructor in 2004 and served as the organization’s roving instructor in 2003. It is true Carter turned down an offer to manage the Eastern League Binghamton Mets in 2007 (probably a mistake on his part compared to managing a team in the indie Golden League this season), but he has put in some time learning about managing (while working for peanuts). Are we certain Carter was calling reporters as opposed to his answering questions when they called him?
I’m not for a minute suggesting Carter would’ve been a viable replacement for Randolph, nor that his managerial resume is worth comparing to Manuel’s. But as much as I’d love to characterize him as a backstop-turned-bigshot, that’s just not the case. He’s hardly Stump Merrill but Carter’s paid a few dues. Maybe not enough, but some.
Bobby Valentine is to class as Asti Spumante is to champagne, though the masses may see it differently. My (way) older sister taught one of his kids in Ft. Worth (2nd grade), and if she (a “Republican” who has never voted in ANY ELECTION and she was born in 1942) says he’s a wonderful man, everything becomes suspect about him.
Not to mention every post All-Star Break fold the Rangers committed during his tenure.
They have shifted that fold forward to April! Hey, it’s progress to be able to definitively write a team off earlier!