New York Mets
Bench coach Sandy Alomar Sr. and first base coach Luis Alicea will not return to the Mets’ big-league staff in 2010, the Mets have confirmed.
Hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Dan Warthen and bullpen coach Randy Niemann will remain in their roles. Third base coach Razor Shines will stay on the staff in another role, as will catching instructor Sandy Alomar Jr.
Alomar Sr. will be invited to stay with the organization in another capacity.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0T4XUPhWm
For four years running, the Mets and their support system have endured untold disappointment. Until the 2009 season, though, the disappointment was late developing and acute, caused by a final-day shortfall that undermined all that had been achieved previously and washed away almost all sense of accomplishment.
For four years running, the Mets and their support system have endured untold disappointment. Until the 2009 season, though, the disappointment was late developing and acute, caused by a final-day shortfall that undermined all that had been achieved previously and washed away almost all sense of accomplishment.
The 2009 season was quite different, disappointing in an alternate and sickening way. Long before Dukes dashed the Mets' 158th-game hope, any semblance of group accomplishment had been washed away by pile upon pile of adversity. Indifference had to be learned as a defense mechanism. Numbness was on the Mets' bench and their buses, beginning in June. It had a locker in their clubhouses for weeks. The Novocaine of regular defeat had anesthetized them.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091001&content_id=7272044&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym
There's no perfect elixir to what ails the Mets. They will have to fill significant holes at first base, catcher and left field. Though they have shown flashes, Daniel Murphy, Omir Santos, Josh Thole and Angel Pagan shouldn't be expected to carry the load at those respective positions if they want to be competitive. After a disappointing year by Mike Pelfrey, who looked downright lost at times, it's imperative that the Mets find a No. 2 starter.Not counting arbitration candidates (Francoeur, Pagan and Pedro Feliciano, among others) the club has roughly $105 million tied up in contract commitments for 2010. In this post-Madoff world, they will likely have somewhere in the vicinity of $20-25 million to improve. For an organization exposed as lacking in major-league ready prospects, it will be difficult to upgrade via trade.The injuries are a convenient excuse, but no manager who leads his team to a lifeless 20-48 stretch deserves to be considered "safe." That's why I expect and urge the team to replace Jerry Manuel before next season. In recent weeks, there's been a movement building for Bobby Valentine to return as manager in 2010. Nostalgia? Sure. But what it reveals is a longing among the fanbase. They want an overhaul. Not just someone who pitches every five days (Johan Santana) like after they collapsed in 2007; not just someone who pitches the ninth inning every couple of days (Francisco Rodriguez) like after they collapsed again last season. They want a change at the top. Valentine wouldn't be a long-term solution, mind you, but they could find a worse steward to change the culture of the clubhouse and restore some faith heading into an uncertain future. Fred Wilpon and company shouldn't expect fans to line up with the same leadership in place, no matter how much they cut ticket prices.
http://bases.nbcsports.com/2009/10/what-went-wrong-new-york-mets.html.php
Something extraordinary happened in the Mets’ clubhouse Friday afternoon. Jeff Francoeur was playing cards at a table with four teammates, and he stayed seated for five minutes. He resisted the urge to do what he normally does before games — buzz around the clubhouse yapping about fantasy football, sharing quirky stories and spreading good cheer while fist-bumping or slapping hands with anyone who walks past.
“Look at the guy — he’s always happy,” said Brian Schneider, nodding his head in the direction of a smiling Francoeur. “If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s been here for much longer than he has.”
Not even three months have passed since Francoeur, 25, joined the Mets in a July 10 trade with Atlanta that, in a season largely devoid of positive developments, Manager Jerry Manuel emphatically called “one of the best things that happened to us this year.” Francoeur’s influence stretches from the plate, where his renaissance has revived his confidence and recast him as a dangerous presence, to right field, which is suited for his range, strong arm and aggressive style.
As much as his teammates appreciate his superb defense and offensive consistency — he hit .313 with 10 homers and 41 runs batted in in his first 284 at-bats as a Met — they value his accountability more. He has insisted on finishing the season despite a torn ligament in his left thumb — “You see the faces he makes, and you can tell how bad he’s hurting,” Schneider said — and postponing surgery to play every day for a fourth-place team.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/ny_times_bubbly_francoeur_is_mets_only_reason_to_smile
Omar Minaya reached out to Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi over the weekend to express his support after the two were fired as general managers and also to lay the groundwork to speak to both soon about possible jobs in the Mets' organization, The Post has learned. Minaya views both as friends whose strength as talent evaluators would be assets at a time when the Mets are trying to improve both their roster and the process by which they judge players. It is an intriguing and potentially nervy move by Minaya. Towers with San Diego and Ricciardi in Toronto were long-serving GMs before being dismissed. If one or both come to the Mets, they would be arriving at a time when Minaya is not in an overly secure spot despite being about to start a three-year contract extension. Should the Mets fail to make the playoffs next year, Minaya's chance of being fired himself would be very likely. Thus, Minaya could potentially be putting his replacement into the organization. -- NY Post
One possibility for joining Jerry Manuel's staff is the former closer John Franco, who has maintained a relationship with the organization, serving as a guest instructor at spring training. But Franco has no experience that would qualify him to be the pitching coach, particularly of a staff loaded with uncertainties like Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez. Should the Mets decide not to retain the bullpen coach Randy Niemann, Franco may be a more appropriate fit in that role. -- NY Times
Mets Alumni:
Brewers GM Doug Melvin decided not to offer contracts to interim pitching coach Chris Bosio and bullpen coach Stan Kyles. Melvin said he would consider them for positions in the organization, including their current roles. Because he plans to make significant changes to a pitching staff that ranked at or near the bottom in the National League in many categories, Melvin said his first priority for the off-season is hiring a pitching coach. In fact, instead of attending the Brewers' season finale against St. Louis, Melvin departed to begin that search. The search is expected to focus on Rick Peterson, who served as pitching coach for Macha in Oakland and Randolph with the New York Mets. Peterson was fired along with Randolph by the Mets in June 2008. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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