Cuppa Joe

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

So if Mickey gets whacked as expected, occurred to me that there is a chance that he gets replaced by a Joe. But which one?



Assuming here that Madden gets whacked as well, and Houston's bench coach is the candidate the Post says he is.

[Lefty Specialist]

Super Joe would be cool.

[G-Fafif]

I don't know which among them is a McCarthy and which among them is a Frazier.



I kind of wanted Girardi when his name stirred at midseason, but if Maddon is dispatched, Girardi would seem bound to replace him.



McEwing is the sentimental favorite, but that makes me nervous.



Espada is the hot choice, that makes me more nervous.



Fuck Torre, by the way.

[Frayed Knot]

I think one thing that's become apparent over the last couple of years -- both with watching managerial hires and from listening to various talking heads opine about them -- is that

the era of the Six Million Dollar Man(ager) is over and, no, not just with the Wilpons. Not sure where that leaves guys like Girardi & Maddon who are/were used to paychecks with more

zeroes in them.

Girardi, Joe was making about $4 at the end of his NYY deal, which itself was a come down from the previous Joe (Torre) who was more like $6. Maddon, Joe looks like he's the

stereotyped 'Average Joe' among those two as he's listed at $5 plus post-season performance bonuses, a perk which he obviously won't be enjoying this year.

By contrast, Mickey is at 850K. Across town, Boone is taking in $1.15 Both obviously are first-timers so you'd need to go higher than that to snag either Girardi or Maddon, but

it's unclear how high anybody is willing to go in order to hire a guy whom you just want to take dictation from the front office anyway. Flying solo too often is apparently at least

part of what's going to end Maddon's tenure in Chicago despite that whole WS/108-year thingie.

[Edgy MD]

I'm putting the likelihood of Mickey being tossed over at about 35%. I don't know why I'm so bearish, but I kinda am.

[whippoorwill]

I voted Super Joe on the premise that we love him.

However we loved Buddy Harrelson too and as I recall that did not end well

[MFS62]

I would prefer Madden because:

1) he recently managed in the NL and still has double switch in his heart (if not his brain)

2) much of Girardi's success, like (fuck you Joe) Torre's stems from having the automatic closer.

As Ed Coleman said on WFAN this morning, this is a good clubhouse, with several good young leaders. So I don't think a "good communicator" is needed. So I don't think the need to go for an unproven manager is the right thing to do with this club.



What the team needs is a veteran manager who can make the right decisions (pitching changes, leaving the hot hitter in the lineup the next day, etc) that Mickey didn't (and had us screaming at the TV or radio).



Later

[Frayed Knot]

I never quite got the 'Super-Joe Love' thing.

Not that I disliked him or anything. But his supposed over-achieving was really only over-achieving when it was based on how folks imagined he would do based on his size and looks.

He had, at best, two 'good' seasons in his career. The first was his rookie year as a Cardinal which turned out to be the lone full season of his career. He finished 5th in ROY but even

that was good for just a 84 OPS+ while his defensive versatility, while nice, still kept him mostly out of the middle of the field. The second was his first year as a Met (maybe he simply

made good first impressions?): it was his only above-average OPS+ (107) but it came with less than 300 ABs. And even his supposed Randy Johnson 'domination' was based on a very

small sample size (like 10 ABs) which quickly reverted to where you'd think a bench player would hit vs Big Unit, even it few seemed to notice.



That said, his playing career shouldn't be used for or against his managerial candidacy. His name has been mentioned before and I believe he did get some interviews during the last

round of musical chairs so at least some people consider him worthy. I'm willing to go in that direction but not just for sentimental reasons, particularly because I don't understand

the sentiment.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: I never quite got the 'Super-Joe Love' thing....

Me neither. He was a fucking scrub. Plus, I had to sit there and watch eff Wilpon stare into the camera and tell me how McEwing was gonna make me forget Rickey Henderson.



What? Youse're shocked I wrote this post, right?

[kcmets]

I don't like Maddon, not one bit!

[Guest 41Forever]

I like Madden, but not interested in Girardi. I like McEwing, but I suspect they'll go looking for someone with more experience.

[Frayed Knot]

Maddon is goofy and funny and often a great quote.

But if youse guys think hiring him will be the end of banging your heads over bullpen moves, please review the films of the 2016 World Series.

[Gwreck]

Girardi had success with difficult management in Miami, has experience as an in-game tactician, and dealing with a large media market. He's the kind of manager I want to see running the club.



I'd accept other managerial choices too, but he seems to fit our needs pretty well.

[bmfc1]

The Mets should hire Girardi if only so we don't have to hear him do color on FOX anymore.

[Double Switch]

Because I still love baseball in spite of all the neverending disappointment, I have my personal reasons for favoring Joe Girardi. Which I do. Now I will refrain from commenting while the WCs duke it out for home field.

[Edgy MD]

McE went .250 / .244 / .432 // .676 vs. Randy in 46 plate appearances, easily the most times he faced any one pitcher in his career. Not particularly impressive, but a little better than his .251 / .302 / .355 // .657 career line, as well as better than the league's .221 / .297 / .353 // .650



He built his rep in 2000, his first year with the Mets, in which he went 4-for-8 with three doubles and a homer. Overall, not such a difference, but I get why managers may have thought it was a good day to get him in the lineup.

[Frayed Knot]

My trepidation about Girardi is his reputation as being a bit too tightly wound and that that gets transferred to the players. Now granted that's more likely to be a long-term problem

rather than an immediate one, but he and Maddon are probably polar opposites in that regard.

But, in general, aside from the fact that each time he ranted at the umps he projected an air of entitlement that the Yanx deserved EVERY call so how dare one go against them, I

rarely had a problem with his in-game managing.

[MFS62]

Seems like lotsa' candidates will be available:

https://sports.yahoo.com/joe-maddon-and-nine-other-mlb-managers-on-the-hot-seat-231631229.htmlhttps://sports.yahoo.com/joe-maddon-and-nine-other-mlb-managers-on-the-hot-seat-231631229.html



Later

[smg58]

Super Joe had a couple of good months with the bat in the summer of 2001, but was otherwise the poster boy for why a guy who plays multiple positions isn't all that valuable if he also hits worse than your pitchers. Plus he made the Mets think that Melvin Mora was expendable.



I'd be curious to know how Maddon and Chili Davis got along. At this point I'm inclined to think that they both were scapegoated for the troubles of a team that passed its peak.

[seawolf17]

I picked the wild card, Espada. I know we're not the Astros, but if he buys into what they do and can bring some of that logic here, then I'm all in.



I like Maddon, but I'll pass. I have fond memories of rooting for Scrappy White Guy Joe McEwing, and could be talked into rooting for him again. I have less than zero interest in Girardi.

[Edgy MD]

Second straight year Syndergaard gets Game #162.

[Frayed Knot]

And his name's not even Joe!

[bmfc1]

Maddon is out in Chicago. Clint Hurdle is out in Pittsburgh.



Mickey is driving home tonight instead of being told to stick around for "organizational meetings".

[Frayed Knot]

Ken Davidoff in the NYPost https://nypost.com/2019/10/04/why-joe-girardi-would-instantly-increase-mets-credibility/makes the case for Girardi

[Edgy MD]

My dark horse pick: Bret Boone.

[kcmets]

I saw a click-bait link today headlined 'Why the Mets Hiring Joe

Girardi Instantly Makes the Team Relevant Again.'



No clicks for you.

[kcmets]

Note: not Post column FK references on bottom of page 1.