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Mets Managers

Jerry Manuel

2 votes

Willie Randolph

4 votes

Art Howe

13 votes

Bobby Valentine

0 votes

Dallas Green

13 votes

Nymr83 Aug 03 2009 05:19 AM

Of the 5 most recent Mets managers, who did you like the least. As much as I don't like Jerry anymore, it occurs to me that I still like him better than any manager but Valentine that I've dealt with in my (relatively short) time as a fan.

Valadius Aug 03 2009 06:23 AM

Old, crotchety, washed-up, Bernazard-like baseball men are worse than the other options. Dallas Green it is.

Edgy DC Aug 03 2009 07:20 AM

Jeff Torborg demands respect. Wes Westrum also.

RealityChuck Aug 03 2009 07:21 AM

Green set the team back for years with his handling of young pitchers.

metirish Aug 03 2009 07:32 AM

] Of the 5 most recent Mets managers, who did you like the least. That's wide ranging I assume , Howe was dismal but a still likable person , stayed on until the even though he knew he was out . Seemed to be pretty good In Oakland though so maybe the team was just crap. All things considered I like Randolph the least , maybe he was desperate but using the race card towards the end was very unlikeable.

Edgy DC Aug 03 2009 07:43 AM

When does invoking race become using the race card? Just asking.

metirish Aug 03 2009 07:46 AM

I'm not getting into a silly back and forth with you edgy on this ] “Is it racial?” Randolph was quoted in the story. “Huh? It smells a little bit. … I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I think there’s something there.” take what you want form that , I did.

dgwphotography Aug 03 2009 07:51 AM

As Chuck said, Dallas Green set the team back years...

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 03 2009 07:57 AM

I don't think Green set the team back. He took over a lousy team and turned in an OK one. I also think the rush to blame Green for the injuries is a little over the top. Young pitchers get hurt all the time without Green's help.

Edgy DC Aug 03 2009 07:58 AM

]I'm not getting into a silly back and forth I really was just asking. I don't know quite when introduciing the subject takes on the cowardly, manipulative, and/or obfuscating characteristics that we mean when we say "playing the race card."

Fman99 Aug 03 2009 08:00 AM

Art Howe and his "battling" Mets. No thanks.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 03 2009 09:05 AM

In my head, Dallas and Artie are eternally sword-"battling" for this one while Jeff Torborg counsels them to play nice. Gun to head, I go Green.

Centerfield Aug 03 2009 09:44 AM

You ask two different questions. Art Howe was the worst manager. That's what I voted in the poll. He was a nice guy, but clearly clueless. I liked Willie Randolph the least. I was happy when he was gone. Dallas Green's tenure was the most disappointing, but I don't know if he can be blamed for the team's misfortunes during this time.

smg58 Aug 03 2009 10:00 AM

It's never easy to evaluate managers. The team was so nondescript in Green's tenure that it's tough to remember if there was anything he could have done differently. Valentine had the right personality for handling the public aspects of the job, which none of the others can come close to saying, but I don't know if that translated into more wins or if he benefited from a lineup that would have been great regardless of the manager. I won't say Howe was good, but he was put into a situation where success was impossible, and he really took more flak than he deserved. Randolph was both the beneficiary and victim of Minaya's personnel decisions, but he can't avoid answering for the team's apparent lack of motivation in September 07 or the first half of last year. The team played better for Manuel than for Randolph; maybe that's a fluke, but the difference in results was large. And other than overworking Putz early on, you can't blame Manuel for the ridiculous string of injuries. So I guess I have to go with Randolph.

Centerfield Aug 03 2009 10:24 AM

1999's lineup was pretty stacked. 2000, if I recall correctly, had Piazza, Alfonzo, then a bunch of guys who would fit right in on the 2009 squad.

sharpie Aug 03 2009 10:43 AM

I agree with Lunchbucket about Green. I never felt that we were being out-managed when he was on the bench. Which I did with both Randolph and, to a greater extent, Howe, who gets my vote. Torborg was worse than Howe.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 03 2009 10:53 AM

="sharpie"]I agree with Lunchbucket about Green. I never felt that we were being out-managed when he was on the bench. Which I did with both Randolph and, to a greater extent, Howe, who gets my vote. Torborg was worse than Howe. Agreed. Plus, Torborg achieved the rare triple: was bad in the dugout, weak in the clubhouse... AND he was condescending in terms of press/fan dealings to boot (personally, I prefer my a-holes overt). I got to meet him as a kid-- a hospital fundraiser in NJ before the '92 season. Dead-eyed grin the whole time, and he literally patted me on the head. I was 15 at the time.

holychicken Aug 03 2009 01:10 PM

In my mind, Howe was just sitting there for his entire tenure doing nothing but waiting to get fired. It is almost like he knew he didn't know what he was doing, so he did as little as possible in an attempt to fly under the radar for as long as possible. He got my vote. In all fairness, I don't remember Green all that much as I wasn't into baseball so much at that time and even if I had been, I probably would have been more clueless about baseball than I am now, so it is hard to compare against him.

G-Fafif Aug 03 2009 05:27 PM

Howe was hopeless but Green struck me as a coward, a front-runner and a bully. All but promised (if a manager could promise such things) that the healthy Gen K pitchers were good for 15 wins apiece in Spring Training '96. By August he was telling reporters he didn't think they should have started the season with the big club. Was very quick to bluster and point fingers. He steered the Mets through a few good stretches but left me with a bad taste.

Ashie62 Aug 03 2009 05:36 PM

Lest we have forgotten Wes Westrum & George Bamberger

cooby Aug 03 2009 06:30 PM

I voted for Torberg, even though his wife Suzie wrote to me once

Edgy DC Aug 03 2009 07:23 PM

I think one of the best things a manager can do is take heat off his players. I'd like to see one open his postgame comments each night by reviewing what he did wrong.

Ashie62 Aug 04 2009 12:53 PM

="Edgy DC":tsicgobk]I think one of the best things a manager can do is take heat off his players. I'd like to see one open his postgame comments each night by reviewing what he did wrong.[/quote:tsicgobk] Thats how the manager of the Indians did it in "Major League" I want my Valentine..schooled Showalter in the 99 Playoffs Edgy DC Aug 04 2009 09:02 PM I hate polls like this. But my finger twitched and --- what ho! --- I just voted for Jerry Manuel. PiggiesTomatoes Aug 05 2009 07:03 PM Howe was clearly in over his head. Nice guy but horrible manager.