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No "fertilizer" thread yet?

Kong76 Jun 23 2008 07:37 AM

Walking through the receptionist area I see it didn't take long for Jerry to step in it.

soupcan Jun 23 2008 07:42 AM

Really ridiculous. Especially after Jerry asked specifically that reporters please forget he said it and not do anything crazy with it.

AG/DC Jun 23 2008 07:45 AM

Eh... MANUEL LIKENS ANGRY METS FANS TO FERTILIZER NEW MANAGER PUTS FOOT IN MOUTH AGAIN By BART HUBBUCH New York (Com)Post DENVER - Angry Mets fans are a big pile of ... fertilizer? Manager Jerry Manuel apparently thinks so, at least when it comes to their harsh treatment of reliever Aaron Heilman at Shea Stadium this season. Adding to his fast-developing reputation for outrageous comments, the Mets' interim boss compared the atmosphere at home for Heilman with manure today. Asked how the struggling Heilman was holding up under constant booing at Shea this year, Manuel said: "It's very, very fertile ground for growth in Shea Stadium. It's fertile ground for a team's growth and development. Sometimes, fertile ground has fertilizer." Manuel, who already has put his foot in his mouth repeatedly since replacing Willie Randolph just six days ago, then tried to soften the metaphor. "Fertilizer is a good thing," Manuel said before the Mets' afternoon contest against the Rockies. "It's a good thing. You get the greatest results - get the most beautiful plants - when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That's what we have the opportunity to do." Manuel, who will make his first appearance at Shea Stadium as manager of the Mets tomorrow against Seattle, pleaded with reporters before and after the fertilizer reference not to blow it out of proportion or do "something crazy with this." Manuel, though, has been no stranger to crazy statements since taking over for Randolph. The AL Manager of the Year in 2000 with the White Sox, Manuel already has sounded at times as if he wants to be as opinionated and unpredictable as Ozzie Guillen, the manager who replaced him in Chicago. Shortstop Jose ReyesJose Reyes was the target of Manuel's first colorful outbursts this week. After Reyes threw a helmet-throwing tantrum last Tuesday night in Manuel's debut when Manuel pulled him in the first inning with a tight hamstring, Manuel jokingly threatened to knife Reyes if it happened again. "I told him the next time he does that, I'm going to get my blade out and cut him right on the field," Manuel said. "I'm a gangster." Manuel also invoked Bill Parcells' famous reference to Terry Glenn as "she" instead of "he" by doing the same thing to describe Reyes for his on-field fit. "She acted up with me, and she had a day off," Manuel said of Reyes. bhubbuch@nypost.com

bmfc1 Jun 23 2008 07:58 AM

Adam Rubin politely tells us that Hubbuch is a dope: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/ "Apparently managers can’t attempt to be intellectual without risk of someone trying to make a big deal about it. Trust me, Jerry Manuel wasn’t saying anything disparaging about fans when he used the word “fertilizer” before Sunday’s game." If I didn't like Phil Mushnick so much, I would ignore The [u:077b356776]NY Post [/u:077b356776]forever.

soupcan Jun 23 2008 08:00 AM

bmfc1 wrote: If I didn't like Phil Mushnick so much, I would ignore The NY Post forever. Word.

AG/DC Jun 23 2008 08:03 AM

Willie Randolph's legacy may be that by being a gentleman who was either zip-lipped the media or fed them zero-calorie quotes, he paved the way for the second black manager in New York to actually be a human being. If so, it may have been an un-necessary sacrifice, but so be it.

soupcan Jun 23 2008 08:06 AM

Do you know for certain that Manuel is African American? I assumed Latino because of his name and because this is the first time I've heard him being referenced as the second black NYC manager.

AG/DC Jun 23 2008 08:14 AM

He was born in Hahira, Georgia (hometown also of the Drews). He's been referred to as "black" in every source I've found. I also have no problem using "black" to refer to Afro-Latins in the same sense that we refer to African-Americans whose ancestry ties to Africa through the US.

Frayed Knot Jun 23 2008 08:16 AM

Not a Latino - according to everything I've heard It's MAN-you-al (as in labor) not man-WELL as is the Spanish name

soupcan Jun 23 2008 08:22 AM

AG/DC wrote: I also have no problem using "black" to refer to Afro-Latins in the same sense that we refer to African-Americans whose ancestry ties to Africa through the US. Nor do I - it just seems that baseball does. I always assumed 'black' was a color.

Willets Point Jun 23 2008 08:27 AM

soupcan wrote: I always assumed 'black' was a color. ...of my true love's hair.

batmagadanleadoff Jun 23 2008 08:30 AM

AG/DC wrote: Willie Randolph's legacy may be that by being a gentleman.... I believe that as the spectre of Randolph distances itself from the Mets with time, a number of Mets will come out of the woodworks to bash Randolph, perhaps demonstrating that he was not as liked as the media would suggest. And it won't only be usual suspects like Billy Wagner dissing the former manager. I have nothing but my own personal hunches on which to base this opinion but Randolph had many of the characteristics of a disliked person: he was a stubborn man in charge of things, and not entirely competent.

metirish Jun 23 2008 08:33 AM

This is a shit story , enough of this crap.

bmfc1 Jun 23 2008 08:37 AM

="soupcan"]Do you know for certain that Manuel is African American? I assumed Latino because of his name and because this is the first time I've heard him being referenced as the second black NYC manager. From what I understand, he's as Hispanic as the Phillies manager.

AG/DC Jun 23 2008 08:37 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 23 2008 11:16 AM

I'm not meaning to suggest Randolph was universally or broadly liked or beyond repute, only that he had a sense of decorum and discretion and of what could and should be said in public. I meant the desription only for what it was worth in these terms. I think we all know folks who could be characterized as gentlemen who were repugnant.

Vince Coleman Firecracker Jun 23 2008 09:02 AM

Meh, I'm having a tough time getting worked up by this. If Jerry keeps winning series with replacement level production from his first baseman and corner outfielders, he can say whatever he wants.

Kong76 Jun 23 2008 10:56 AM

To be clear, I hadn't and still haven't read anything about this. My post was more of a, "welcome to NY, and watch everything that comes out of your mouth" kinda thought. One day they help you on the bus, next they might run ya over with it just to get something for the back page.

G-Fafif Jun 23 2008 11:25 AM

Jerry is obviously channeling Chance the Gardener (aka Chauncey Gardener) from Being There. ]As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden... In the garden, growth has its seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again. Hubbuch, based on what little I've read from him, is an idiot. He got under my skin in spring training for this in the Post: ]The Mets for the first time were charging fans $2 to watch practice (they donated the proceeds to local charities), but that experiment ended after just two days because of numerous complaints. Fans will be asked to make a donation instead. My question: Who can’t spare two bucks? What a bunch of cheapskates. Didn't occur to Bart that it was the principle of the thing, that the Mets for years allowed free admission and were now, without notice, squeezing their patrons for one more thing, even if it was just for two bucks, even if it was for charity? As one fan said in the St. Lucie paper, "I don't mind donating, but when they say you have to..." What the Mets were doing to save face, a suggested donation, is no different from what the Met does, or any museum. I'm off on a four-month-old tangent here, but the point is Hubbuch immediately struck me as a football-writing lunkhead who couldn't be bothered to think things through. Plus he works for the Post.

bmfc1 Jun 25 2008 05:05 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 25 2008 05:18 AM

Moron Hubbuch is not backing down even in the face of national ridicule. He goes after Olbermann (par for the course at The Post) and then Adam Rubin. Must have been an interesting night in the Shea press box: http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets/archives/2008/06/im_only_the_thi.html#more "Here's the bottom line for Olbermann, the radio and blogger blowhards, one of my gutless, sycophantic counterparts (yeah, I'm talking about you, Adam) and all the cranks that have been filling my inbox with e-mails I never read and automatically delete...."

metirish Jun 25 2008 05:10 AM

In typical Post/Murdoch fashion they won't let this go, morons.

AG/DC Jun 25 2008 06:30 AM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jun 25 2008 06:37 AM

]Here's the bottom line for Olbermann, the radio and blogger blowhards, one of my gutless, sycophantic counterparts (yeah, I'm talking about you, Adam) and all the cranks that have been filling my inbox with e-mails I never read and automatically delete: First, maintaining and displaying an e-mail address only to delete what is sent is desperately unprofessional. Nat Hentoff let's his address run in the phone book. Second, how is that relevant to Olbermann and Rubin, whose criticism you did read? Third, of course, you're wrong.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 25 2008 06:35 AM

The lesson to be learned from this is, when you're wrong, and everyone knows you're wrong, and you secretly also realize that you were wrong, the best way to handle the situation is to get belligerent.

Frayed Knot Jun 25 2008 06:45 AM

"one of my gutless, sycophantic counterparts (yeah, I'm talking about you, Adam)" Wow! I don't think I've ever read that sort of thing in print before. Olberman's one thing. He's a TV guy who is so used to both receiving and sending verbal bombs (mostly with/at O'Reilly) that it's not a big deal. But between guys who at least occasionally have to share the same room it's not your everyday thing. Now I have no idea who this guy is but I'll assume he's more of an occasional baseball writer dropping in for the BIG story of manager changing rather than an everyday beat guy. All of which means that we probably shouldn't waste our time scanning the press box tonight looking for fist fights amongst lap-top toting scribes. Although if it does occur I hope Gary gives us some good play-by-play.

Centerfield Jun 25 2008 12:34 PM

Awesome. I hope Adam Rubin kicks the shit out of him. This is fantastic.

AG/DC Jun 25 2008 12:38 PM