Mets' brass vows improvements
Photo credit: Craig Ruttle | Mets general manager Omar Minaya, left, and Mets COO Jeff Wilpon promised improvements for next season at a press conference Monday afternoon. (October 5, 2009)
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At the end of a 92-loss season, one that Jeff Wilpon described as "totally unacceptable," the Mets staged a news conference Monday at Citi Field to promise sweeping changes and significant improvements for 2010.
But in the meantime, the only two people to take the fall for the 2009 debacle were Sandy Alomar Sr., the team's 66-year-old bench coach, and the relatively invisible first-base coach Luis Alicea.
The Mets announced that hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Dan Warthen and bullpen coach Randy Niemann would be retained for 2010. In a surprising move, they also kept third-base coach Razor Shines, but for a different role next season. Sandy Alomar Jr., formerly the catching instructor, also will be moved, possibly to first base or maybe even replace his dad as bench coach.
Just as the Wilpons had promised, Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya will return, but they do so without a safety net. Manuel is heading into the final season of his two-year, $1.5-million contract and Minaya, though just starting his three-year extension, has been put on notice as well.
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"We demand better, we expect better and our fans deserve better," Wilpon said. "Ownership is dedicated to delivering a championship-caliber team. It is our belief Omar and Jerry have the expertise and deserve the opportunity to help us get there. Once again, we'll be providing Omar with one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball to address our needs."
"We have significant challenges ahead. Omar and Jerry must step up, and we are confident they will."
Wilpon would not reveal what he planned to spend for 2010 and pledged to be a player in the pursuit of top free agents this season. The Bernie Madoff scandal has haunted the Mets ever since it was reported that Wilpons lost anywhere between $300-$700 million in the Ponzi scheme, but it is unclear how much that will be a factor as they try to clean up the 2009 mess.
"What the payroll is - we didn't necessarily spend well with $147 million this year, so I don't want to say what it's going to be," Wilpon said. "Last year we started the offseason with a $135 million payroll and it went up to $147 [million]. We didn't have that as a plan."
As for sticking with Manuel and Minaya, the Mets' COO dismissed 2009 as a "one-year thing." Wilpon also does not see a need to make any changes in the team's medical department, from the trainers to the doctors from the Hospital for Special Surgery.
At one point, the Mets had $88 million tied up in 13 players on the disabled list and six had season-ending surgery. Two members of the core - Carlos Delgado (hip) and Jose Reyes (hamstring) - never returned from early injuries.
"We are changing our medical protocols to better treat and prevent injuries," Wilpon said. "Injuries are not an excuse. In the past year we have done a poor job of communicating medical information to all of you in the press and our fans. I take responsibility for that and plan to oversee the improvement and communications going forward."
Wilpon deferred any questions about the front office to Minaya, who is planning more changes to his scouting department staff. The Mets' GM announced that Rafael Perez, the team's director of international player development, would be promoted to help fill the void left by the recent firing of Ramon Pena, a Minaya special assistant who was in charge of Latin America operations.
Minaya also was asked if he would consider two fired GMs - the Padres' Kevin Towers and the Blue Jays' J.P. Ricciardi - for roles in his front office.
"They're very good baseball people, but I'm going to be looking at all personnel for us to try and get better," Minaya said. "I'm going to look at any way we can improve ourselves."
As for the coaching staff, Manuel said he was unhappy with a number of areas. The team's defensive lapses in the infield - especially the lack of proficiency at double plays - led him to dismiss Alomar Sr. Manuel also explained that he had to dump Alicea and switch Shines because of their poor handling of baserunners.
When asked why he was allowed to return, however, Manuel picked a bad time to inject some comic relief into the news conference.
"Depending on how you feel about the mix that we had, some might say 70-92, I should be the Manager of the Year," Manuel said, laughing. "I'm just joking. But no, it was a failure. We didn't live up to expectations, period, and that's my responsibility."
>> Five biggest issues for the Mets this offseason
