Candidates

[Guest Edgy DC]

Let's see how many we can line up here:

Candidate One: Clint Hurdle

Major League Experience: Colorado Rockies, 2002-2009

Major League Winning Percentage: .462

Post Season Experience: Wild Card, Pennant, 2007.

Other Experience: St. Lucie Mets (A+), 1988
Jackson Mets (AA), 1990-1991
Tidewater/Norfolk Tides (AAA), 1992-1993

Current Job: hitting coach, Texas Rangers (currently sixth of 14 teams in batting in the AL).

Mets Pedigree: 1983, 1985. Was the guy who swapped positions with Rusty Staub in that extra inning game.

Influences: Davey Johnson managed him in Tidewater in 1983 an convinced him to switch to third base and then catcher to keep his career going. He would play in the bigs under Davey in 1985. Hurdle also played under Whitey Herzog twice (in Kansas City as a budding start and in St. Louis as a versatile benchie), as well as Jim Frey and Russ Nixon. I'm going to guess Russ Nixon isn't his model. He also coached under Buddy Bell and replaced him. I think he strategizes like Frey but deals with his players like Johnson.

Profile as a Player: Like Jeff Francoeur, Hurdle was a Sports Illustrated cover boy who never got over the hump. After debuting at 19, by 25, he not only hadn't adequately succeeded Amos Otis, he was left to take a minor league contract with the Mets. Davey Johnson, needing no outfielders on a Tidewater team that had Terry Blocker, Ruusty Tillman, and Darryl Strawberry, convinced Clint first to try third base, and then catcher. Hurdle's career as a golden boy was over and his second career as versatile professional had begun, setting up his future as a manager.

Tendencies: Likeable buddy to the players. Picked fast guys with distressingly low OBPs to lead off in Colorado. Mostly a good developer, with Holliday and Hawpe and Tulowitski coming through under him. But there's been some regressions there also. Garret Atkins and Clint Barmes, like Tulo, were guys who came on like gangbusters and then regressed. Kaz Matsui seemed to find peace with himself and his limitations under Hurdle as Hurdle did under Johnson. His batters had a lot more strikeouts than his pitchers, but that probably was about the personnel he was provided with.

Human Interest Angle: Daughter has Prader-Willi Syndrome, but an awsome personality. Has also wrestled with alcohol issues and now declares himself to be sober as a judge.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is that Patrick Duffy on that SI cover?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Stop being clever and give me a Ken Oberkfell profile STAT!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

You know the Mets.

They'll name a caretaker like Bob Melvin and then make a show of interviewing lots of candidates after the year as if to prove they'd learned the lesson that interim managers should never be re-hired, finally settling on the Biggest Name available at their price, which would be Valentine if they have the $$ or Backman if the Cyclones win the NY Penn League.

[Gwreck]

Candidate Two: Alan Trammell

Major League Experience: Detroit Tigers, 2003-2005

Major League Winning Percentage: .383

Post Season Experience: N/A. Won a World Series in 1984; lost in LCS in 1987 as player.

Other Experience: Coach, Detroit, 1999
Coach, San Diego 2000-2002

Current Job: Bench Coach, Chicago Cubs, since 2007

Mets Pedigree: None

Influences: Sparky Anderson, his longtime manager in Detroit. Worked with Lou Piniella the past few years.

Profile as a Player: All-Star shortstop who was an outstanding fielder and was a better player than he seemingly gets credit for these days.

Managerial History: His first year as manager he inherited a truly awful team (they went 43-119) and then put up a 72-90 season the next year, and then 71-91 before getting fired. Tigers won the pennant the next year (2006).

I don't know a ton about Trammell as a manager but I'll throw him out as a candidate because I'd like to see the Mets go outside the organization for this next hire and he's already dealt with disastrously bad teams. I also think the bench-coach experience in the NL he has under Piniella will be useful.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Interesting.

[DocTee]

Candidate Tres:

Jose Oquendo.

ML Experience: None.
ML Winning Pct: N/A
Post Season Exp: N/A

Other Experience: Coach, St. Louis Cardinals, 1999-2009
Manager, WBC Puerto Rico, 2006, 2009
Manager, New Jersey Cardinals, 1998

Metly Connections: Signed with Mets as a fifteen-year old in 1979 and rose through the organization until traded in 1983.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Nicknamed "Cheito."

Come on. Let it all hang out.

[ashie62]

Chip Hale, he's there and seems to have some Wally Backman in him.

[DocTee]

Sorry, had hit submit by accident.

Omar likes his Latin peeps, too. (j/k)

[Guest Edgy DC]

No pro.

[DocTee]

Candidate 4: John "Bad Dude' Stearns

ML Experience: None
ML Winning Pct: N/A
Post Season: N/A

Other Experience: Coach, MFY (1989)...Baltimore (1998), Mets (1999-2000)

Manager, Knoxville (AA, 1990-91) Princeton (1994), Peoria (1995), Binghampton (2003), Norfolk (2004), Columbus (2007), Harrisburg (2009-10).

Current Position: Manager, Harrisburg (AA, DC affiliate)

Mets Pedigree: Player, Scout, Coach.

Influences: Bobby V.

Temperment: Fiery. Lots of success as a minor-league manager, knows the system and has the right attitude to light a fire under some of the underachievers.

[bmfc1]

Stearns "has the right attitude to light a fire under some of the underachievers"

He was the Commissioner of Fantasy Camp when I was there in '09 and your comment, at least for us, is accurate. I was impressed with his attitude and leadership. He was also in charge earlier this year so he still has some connection to the Mets organization.

[Benjamin Grimm]

You know, there's probably a very short list of candidates who would get me fired up if they were named Mets manager.

But I'd have to say that John Stearns is one of them.

[MFS62]

Candidate Two: Alan Trammell [Managerial History: His first year as manager he inherited a truly awful team (they went 43-119) and then put up a 72-90 season the next year, and then 71-91 before getting fired. Tigers won the pennant the next year (2006).

Since you mentioned a manager who had had his team win the year after they left, is anyone considering Buck Showalter?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Feel free to write up a profile.

I thiink the ability to led bmfc into the breach is definitely an asset.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Candidate Two: Alan Trammell [Managerial History: His first year as manager he inherited a truly awful team (they went 43-119) and then put up a 72-90 season the next year, and then 71-91 before getting fired. Tigers won the pennant the next year (2006). Since you mentioned a manager who had had his team win the year after they left, is anyone considering Buck Showalter? Later

So is the plan to hire one of these guys, fire them, and win the year after they leave? Scathingly brilliant.

[Gwreck]

MFS62 wrote: Since you mentioned a manager who had had his team win the year after they left, is anyone considering Buck Showalter?

Obviously that was not the reason I suggested him.

[MFS62]

Swan Swan H wrote: So is the plan to hire one of these guys, fire them, and win the year after they leave? Scathingly brilliant.

Sometimes you're the cute puppy. Sometimes you're the fire hydrant.
I get flashes like that every once in a while.
Thank you.

Later

[bmfc1]

Edgy DC wrote: I think the ability to led bmfc into the breach is definitely an asset.

I remember that during the championship game, he went back and forth to each bench to get us fired up. It was the last game and the next to last day of the 2d week of camp so he was a day from going home but I was impressed that he could still get so excited about a game between non-pros. He also spoke with the group every day and made a brief speech at the opening and closing dinners.

Having said that, it'll be Bob Melvin.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

About Melvin... he gets most of his daps for skippering the 2007 Diamondbacks, leading the team to a 90-72 record and the NLCS despite a run differential that predicted a 79-win season; he claimed Manager of the Year for his work in building a team that performed 11 wins above expectation.

What's hyped less is that he did the same thing two years earlier, albeit for a middling 2nd-place team in a terrible NL West. His teams have underperformed almost twice as much as they've overperformed (including his first Mariners squad, a somewhat-loaded team he inherited from Lou Pinella)... but when they overshoot, they do overshoot.

2003 Mariners-- 93-69 (795/637, 97-65)-- -4
2004 Mariners-- 63-99 (698/823, 69-93)-- -6
2005 D' backs-- 77-85 (696/856, 66-96)-- +11
2006 D' backs-- 76-86 (773/788, 80-82)-- -4
2007 D' backs-- 90-72 (712/732, 79-83)-- +11
2008 D' backs-- 82-80 (720/706, 82-80)-- 0
2009 D' backs-- 12-17* (105/127, 13-16)-- -1 (Pace for -6)

That said, the main reason he's the supposed frontrunner to replace a fired Manuel is that-- in addition to his "success" (he's 16 games under .500 for his career) and "experience"-- he's generally perceived as more receptive to suggestions from upper-management than most managers, most beat/baseball writers imply.

[HahnSolo]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: he's generally perceived as more receptive to suggestions from upper-management than most managers, most beat/baseball writers imply.

Not sure that's such a good thing with our upper management.

[ashie62]

My 2 bucks is still on an interim Chip Hale

[Guest Swan Swan H]

A $2 Chip gets you a seat at the table with the bus tour from the senior center and the guy with the powder-blue sportcoat and the Giuliani combover.

[G-Fafif]

Dark Horse I

John Gibbons, currently bench coach of the Kansas City Royals reasonably successful (finished ahead of the Red Sox when the Red Sox fell apart in 2006; lifetime .500 record) former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. Got in some players' faces. If he hadn't gotten hurt early in 1984, he might have been the Catcher of the Future instead of Mike Fitzgerald and we never would have gotten Gary Carter. Or he might have been traded for Carter instead of Fitzgerald. At any rate, a true blue and orange Met bloodline (1984-1986) and vouched for by former Tidemate Steve Springer in 2007 when "Spring" told FAFIF:

�If you don't get along with Gibby, trust me you're the idiot. He's the best. He's gold.�

Dark Horse II

Edgar Alfonzo's been managing and coaching in the Mets' system for a decade. Maybe he's picked up something along the way. He's put in the hours and he can speak a couple of languages. Brought the first Brooklyn Cyclones team home with a co-championship. Part of the Met family.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

HahnSolo wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: he's generally perceived as more receptive to suggestions from upper-management than most managers, most beat/baseball writers imply. Not sure that's such a good thing with our upper management.

The heavy implication from those same reporters has been that a Wilpon-led organization doesn't smile on wild-cards or speaking-truth-to-power types. Those who-- like me-- are wishing/hoping/thinking/praying for a Bobby V reunion should remember and note that Bobby Valentine's ouster was the first major change in the organization chart, post-Doubleday buyout. That is to say, given the choice between the guy who that year reacquired Cedeno, moved Reed for Lawton, tried to move Jose Reyes and David Wright for shit, and acquired at significant cost Vaughn and Zombie Roberto Alomar (not to mention the sexual harassment suit and allegedly playing grab-ass throughout the organization)... and the guy who got 76 wins out of these guys, Edgardo and Piazza... they went for the first guy. (For a little while longer, at least.)

[MFS62]

Here's a thought.
The next manager?
C'mon, think of it.
Who is the ex-Met player who everyone agreed had the highest "baseball I.Q."?
The guy who did everything right, both the big and the little things.
The guy who everybody liked, media, players and fans.
The guy who still has roots in New York and has always said he wants to return.

Ladies and gentlemen, I nominate Edgardo Alfonzo.



Later

[Gwreck]

A note from Buster Olney's ESPN column today:

By the way: If the Mets do make a change at manager, I think Jerry Manuel's replacement is going to be Terry Collins rather than Bob Melvin. We'll see.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Now that's interesting.

[TransMonk]

Yuck. Isn't he the guy who's players petitioned for his firing and then he quit?