I am not alone

This morning I wrote that I had never the mainstream media come crashing down on one team with such negativity before. Finally, I found someone that agrees with me.

Toasty Joe, from "Yes Joe, It's Toasted," puts it as perfectly as humanly possible:

But come the f*** on already. This hysterical outrage from the media is laughable. It's like they shot the man. "They owed him better than this"? Why? If anything he owed them after what happened last year. And was he delivering this season? F***, no. In fact, his players were lazy, sloppy, disinterested, undisciplined, and bickering. He deserved to get fired, and frankly, the more I thought about it, the less I gave a rat's ass that the man had to endure the indignity of a free, first-class plane trip to California to finally learn his fate.

Though I would've done it without profanity (though sometimes I wish I could use some curse words), this is pure genius. Well done sir.

Early Morning Madness: First day on the job

In the first minute of Jerry Manuel's coaching tenure with the Mets, he ran into a problem. Jose Reyes led off the game with a single, and while standing on first, began grabbing the back of his knee.

Manuel, along with the trainer came out to check on Reyes. Manuel did the right thing, and pulled Reyes from the game, replacing him with Damion Easley.

Reyes was none too pleased, huffing and puffing like a little kid and throwing his helmet to the ground as he entered the dugout, and eventually into the clubhouse.

Manuel handled it beautifully, following Reyes into the clubhouse to talk about the little incident that just occured. One can only speculate what was said, but Bart Hubbuch in the POST relays the post game quotes:

"Really, the behavior is pretty much unacceptable," Manuel said of Reyes' tantrum. "But the attitude is something that can help us win ballgames."

Reyes, who is expected back in the lineup tonight, apologized to Manuel in the next inning and said he understood his new manager's thinking.

"I want to play, but Jerry was just trying to take care of me," Reyes said. "He made the right decision, because it's a long season and I need to stay healthy the whole season."

Perfectly handled by Manuel, and a good reaction from Reyes. Manuel has to play with a heavy hand these first few games, to let the players know what he's going to be like the rest of the year. He cannot have players walking all over him, and he's doing his best to make sure that never happens.

Oh, and Reyes should be back in the lineup tonight. The injury was just a little tweak of the hamstring.

*****

Manuel's first day was excellent. He handled himself very well at the press conference, joking around and showing emotion. A novel idea.

His one drawback, if I must have one (and I do), is that Trot Nixon was not in the starting lineup. John Lackey is a righty, and Nixon is more capable in the outfield than Marlon Anderson. Nixon should have been in right field, with Endy Chavez in left.

It's not like Nixon has bad numbers against Lackey. He's a career .250 hitter (4-16), with a double, RBI, walk and strikeout.

Hopefully, Nixon is in the lineup tonight against Jon Garland, a pitcher he is also batting .250 lifetime against.

*****

I must say, I've never seen the media dish out such negative remarks towards one team in a one day period.

I've only seen a handful of articles from the mainstream that actually spell out that this might have been the right thing to do, and the time was unavoidable.

The best article of the day came from longtime Star-Ledger writer, Moss Klein: Mets GM Minaya has nothing on George Steinbrenner.

Finally, someone is talking some sense.

TSTDIA: Angels 6 -- Mets 1

The sentences that define it all: New manager, same Mets.

It's 3:11 a.m. Do you know where your manager is?

Jerry Manuel is still the manager of the New York Mets 24 hours later.

Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo are also still employed.

Just keeping you as updated as possible.

Let the Manuel Era begin

Good luck, Jerry Manuel.

Coaches shuffle

Jerry Manuel just announced his plans for the coaching staff.

Sandy Alomar Sr. will be the new bench coach.
Ken Oberkfell will be the first base coach.
Luis Aguayo is the third base coach.

As reported earlier, Dan Warthen will be the pitching coach.

I like these moves.

Alomar is more than fit to be the bench coach, in my opinion.

Oberkfell, possibly, is being groomed to take over next year. Omar Minaya likes to promote from within, so it's a definite possibility. Don't count out Howard Johnson for the spot.

Good luck at third base, Aguayo. Don't send Brian Schneider home on a strong arm. His feet are practically lead filled.

Well done, SNY

I have to hand it to SNY, they're doing a wonderful job covering this event. "Mets In Transition," they're calling it. A hand must go out to SNY for this coverage.

3:11 a.m.!?!? It makes perfect sense to me

You probably think this is one of those posts blasting Omar Minaya for firing Willie Randolph at some ridiculous hour.

Not so.

The word came out at roughly 3:11 a.m. that Randolph had been fired as manager of the Mets. If you take a step back from your emotions and look at the simple breakdown of the time frame, it makes perfect sense.

The game was slated for a 10:05 p.m. start, Eastern standard time. The game took approximately three hours and ten minutes.

That puts us at 1:15 a.m. EST. The post game locker room shuffle, with the usual talk with reporters probably takes somewhere from 20 to 35 minutes. Allow time for the man to change, and get on the bus to head back to the hotel, probably somewhere around 2 or 2:15 a.m. EST.

By the time they get back from the stadium, a meeting where the actual deed is done must commence. Let's say that meeting started somewhere around 2:45 a.m. EST. Don't forget that Minaya also had to meet with Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto to relieve them of their duties.

An estimate on how long the meeting with Willie Randolph would last, I would venture a guess at something near 10-15 minutes. By that time, the word is out. Give the PR staff a few minutes to do their job and bang out a release and send it through the appropriate channels, and by my watch, we land precisely at 3:11 a.m. EST.

Either way, because they're on the west coast, no story ever makes the papers the next day, not even a report of the game. Would you have rather had Minaya wait until morning, and fire Randolph over breakfast? The story still doesn't make the papers.

Either way, because they're on the west coast, any story from that night isn't going to hit the newsstands for another 24 hours.

My guess of the rundown of events (EST):

10:05 p.m.: First pitch from Jered Weaver to Jose Reyes.

1:15 a.m.: Game ends with Reyes turning an unassisted double play.

2:00 a.m.: Leave for hotel.

2:15 a.m.: Arrive at the hotel.

2:30 a.m.: First meeting is called.

2:32 a.m.: Nieto is relieved of his duties.

2:37 a.m.: Second meeting is called.

2:39 a.m.: Peterson is relieved of his duties.

2:50 a.m.: Third meeting is called.

2:54 a.m.: Randolph is fired.

3:10 a.m.: Word hits the wires.

Sounds about right to me.

Jerry Manuel profile

The new interim manager of the New York Mets, Jerry Manuel, was the subject of a New York Times back on February 24, 2007.

Ben Shpigel penned the column, and here's an excerpt:

As the manager of the White Sox, Manuel developed a reputation for being a fine communicator and motivator. “He’s one of the reasons why I signed with the Mets last year,” José Valentín said. “He knew what kind of player I was with Chicago, and he knew how to get the most out of me.”

Manuel has had baseball teachers, too. From [Felipe] Alou, he said, he learned to recognize the natural rhythms of baseball, and the importance of making correct decisions within those confines. From [Jim] Leyland, he said, he developed a feel — “a sixth sense,” he called it — on trusting his instincts and not necessarily the data from a computer.

Even now, during batting practice, Manuel will find a secluded spot on the field — usually behind second base — to watch. He will listen to the chatter and observe players, trying to pick up any nugget of information that might guide his hunches throughout a game. Manuel will also pore over pitching charts and study favorable counts to steal a base, but he will not let that define his philosophy.

For the rest of the profile, click here.

Manuel, though calm, seems to be able to relate to his players more than one would see on the surface. Good luck, Manuel. You're going to need it.

I am not embarrassed or ashamed to be a Mets fan

I expected the potshots from the media, as it is their job. But the bloggers and fans, who have been clamoring for this move for weeks, if not months.

When some fans finally get their wish, all I read and hear is about what a terrible move they made and how they went about doing it.

I am not embarrassed to be a Mets fan, as many people are. This is business as usual. The team obviously wasn't winning enough with Willie Randolph at helm, and though it may have been put into action poorly, it's simply business as usual.

The team needed a bump of some sort and this is the Mets best shot. They can't fire players for poor performance, so the scapegoat gets the ax.

Fans must look ahead to a new era, practically a new season. The team is 6.5 games out of first place, a task they could pull off. This team needs to rally together, away from the insanity of the media and negativity and start winning.

Last night was a good win against the best team in the AL. The bullpen did it's best to try and hand it away on a silver platter, but the team stuck through it for a nice W. Tonight, with all eyes on Jerry Manuel, the Mets must try and earn another win with their ace on the mound.

I am not ashamed of my Mets, only disappointed. It picked the wrong time and place to fire their manger, and they're catching a lot of flack for it. This should not make fans dislike the team and should not dissuade them from cheering on the players in tonight's game and through the rest of the season.

Remember: They're only a game under .500 with just over 90 games to play. There's still a long way to go.