And the Binghamton manager is...

[Guest SI Metman]

Juan Samuel

Recent Met John Valentin is his hitting coach.

Insert Dykstra trade jokes here.

[Frayed Knot]

Wow!
Whoda thunk it?

[DocTee]

Why the surprise. He is a Latino, after all.

[seawolf17]

I think the surprise is because he sucked.

[metirish]

]Why the surprise. He is a Latino, after all.

This is becoming an issue for peeps, M&MD were yapping the other day about how the Mets roster has way more Latino players than other teams, I think they mentioned the Mets have 15 while most others have 8 to 10,I have no idea what the average is.

[Guest Edgy DC]

He had a better career than Oberkfell had.

Or countless other successful managers.

[seawolf17]

I know, I know. Some of the best managers had mediocre major league careers, if they made it to the show at all. I'm assuming that fan hatred of Juan Samuel runs far deeper than any organizational animosity (of which there appears to be none whatsoever.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, I guess that's usual. Not that different than fan animosity toward the Yankees running deeper for the Mets fans than for former Mets looking for jobs.

The question is how much do they really owe such fans in that regard? I hope they don't think they owe that much, unless you believe Samuel willfully sabotaged the team or something. Why play hands-off with him and not with Frank Cashen who traded for him or Davey Johnson who gave the deal his OK before Cashen pulled the trigger?

I know there's the notion that athletic players don't translate well into managers the way players who make it on guile or pluck or something do, but that just eventually leads to favoring white guys over players of color. To say the obvious, athletic guys can be bright and knowledgeable also, and white ballplayers are often good athletes (and players of color often plucky athletes).

The projected roster I'm working with has 13 guys born in the Latin American world, 12 if Tike Redman beats out Endy Chavez.

Martinez
Zambrano
Julio
Padilla
Sanchez
Castro
Delgado
Franco
Reyes
Valentin
Beltran
Chavez
Diaz

I don't know what box Xavier Nady checks, but he was US born. Victor Diaz was Dominican born but US raised, I gatther.

Who is this an issue with and what is the issue?

[Elster88]

seawolf17 wrote: I'm assuming that fan hatred of Juan Samuel runs far deeper than any organizational animosity (of which there appears to be none whatsoever.

I will always hate Juan Samuel. And not for anything the poor bastard did.

[metirish]

Well it's not an issue for me, but you can read here some references to Omar and Latino players and hear on the radio that Omar likes Latino players too much...certainly some people seem to have an issue.

[Elster88]

I'd advise not to worry too much about what the call-in radio folk worry about. I might have missed something, but the time I heard them discussing it M&MD were just commenting on the oddity, not concluding Omar had an agenda.

[nymr83]

Elster88 wrote: I'd advise not to worry too much about what the call-in radio folk worry about. I might have missed something, but the time I heard them discussing it M&MD were just commenting on the oddity, not concluding Omar had an agenda.

i'm NOT saying there is an agenda...but the coincidences are fun to joke about... and even if there was an agenda Mike and the Angry Puppy would never make that accusation...they wouldn't want to suddenly get no interviews with Omar, Willie, and possibly other GMs/Coaches who don't like those words flowing around.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Elster88 wrote: I will always hate Juan Samuel. And not for anything the poor bastard did.

Is this the same man who said that hating the thought of Piazza as a MFY was the most childish thing he ever heard of?

[Elster88]

Haha. Eating my words is always fun. In my defense, I was a child when my hate began.
_______________
This post had the designation 75)Frank Viola

[Elster88]

Nymr83 wrote: ="Elster88"]I'd advise not to worry too much about what the call-in radio folk worry about. I might have missed something, but the time I heard them discussing it M&MD were just commenting on the oddity, not concluding Omar had an agenda. i'm NOT saying there is an agenda...but the coincidences are fun to joke about... and even if there was an agenda Mike and the Angry Puppy would never make that accusation...they wouldn't want to suddenly get no interviews with Omar, Willie, and possibly other GMs/Coaches who don't like those words flowing around.

I didn't say you said there was an agenda. Watch out about the jokes you make though. If they're expected they're not really funny.

[nymr83]

wayyyyy off topic here but i think there are times when a joke can be funny because it is expected.

[DocTee]

Nymr is Kristin today--

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Elster88 wrote: In my defense, I was a child when my hate began. _______________ This post had the designation 75)Frank Viola

Well, some of us never bothered to grow up. So there!

[Zvon]

I found this move rather surprising, being that it reminded me of the bad taste I have in my mouth to this day when I hear the guys name.

Somethings are better left forgotten.

I read up on him tho.
He seems to have paid his dues.

[metirish]

Right on cue Bob Raisssman talks about Omar and Latin players...



Minaya talk is cheap

[Guest Edgy DC]

He describes counting Latinos as "tired," then closes the column by counting?

[metirish]

Yeah is was a badly written article by him, not that I'm an expert( I'm not) but it was just blah.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I thought it was a pretty good article, and needed to be said.

One of the benefits of losing Howard Stern is that I no longer carry around my little radio all day and have been liberated from idiotic sports talk for a while.

The point he didn't get to, but was made pretty well in that New York magazine article last year IIRC, concerns the idea that a diverse workplace can and does foster actual bidniss advantages as the Mets reach out for fans, and labor, in a competitive marketplace. Now, I believe Omar when he says his primary objective is to get the best team available, but who's ignorant enough to be threatened by the positive byproducts?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Irish, I counted as well, so I'm not kicking, it was just a funny juxtaposition.

It's probably just tabloid editing as much as anything, where columns are often cut haphazardly --- sometimes like news stories, pretty much at the point the editor runs out of space.

[Elster88]

]The lunacy started last March when a few sports radio talkies, and their first-time-long-time disciples, began foaming at the mouth over a Mets radio commercial.

Is Raismann the guy who is always bashing M&MD?

[Elster88]

]In the spot, John Leguizamo, the actor, left a message on GM Omar Minaya's answering machine requesting tickets. Leguizamo also congratulated Minaya for signing "Pedro (Martinez) and Carlos (Beltran)" before joyfully proclaiming "Latins in the hooooooooouse!" WFAN's Richard Neer said the commercial was "over the top." Many callers agreed. What they meant to say was this: How dare the Mets cater to anyone other than their white suburbanite fan base.

Or maybe, just maybe, they only meant the commercial was over the top. Not everyone has a hidden agenda. Crazy idea, I know.

Sounds like it was over the top.

Of course, I'm white and I only want 25 clones of David Wight, er Wright, on my team.