Lennon: Will decision to let Manuel stay backfire?

ATLANTA

Too often, manager Jerry Manuel has made comments regarding "who" will be in the manager's office next season, "what" may happen during the winter and "when" the Mets might make their key personnel decisions regarding the team's future.

The bigger question left unsaid, however, is "why" the front office chose to stick with Manuel for the second half of this season, and presumably the final month.

That's not to say Manuel should have been replaced as soon as this team began its downfall with a 2-9 West Coast trip.

But as usual with the Mets, they find themselves caught between cleaning up the mess and taking productive steps toward fixing the problem - the latter involving the hiring of a new manager and evaluating what talent they do have on the roster.

In July, Mets ownership chose to stay with Manuel and keep the coaching staff intact in the belief that the team could rebound from that nightmare trip after the All-Star break. But when the Orioles and Mariners fired their managers, the climate began to feel right for a change, especially when Baltimore acted quickly to hire the established franchise-fixer, Buck Showalter.

The Mets still were not prepared to fire Manuel, according to a person familiar with the team's thinking, because the team was not considered in as bad a shape as either the Orioles or Mariners. That was true. Baltimore had the worst record in baseball (15-39) when Dave Trembley was fired on June 4 and replaced by interim manager Juan Samuel. A month later, Seattle, at 42-70, axed Don Wakamatsu.

The Mets were barely clinging to contention at the start of August, 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Braves, but it's been a relentless drop since.

Now, which team, in the final analysis, will be better off in the long run: the Orioles under Showalter or the Mets, who will have to begin their rebuilding in October?

When asked Wednesday what he needs to do in the last month, Manuel replied, "Win games." No argument there. That is the primary goal.

But now that the Mets' clubhouse is stocked with young players - many of whom have a shot at making the 2011 roster - Manuel's role is more of a caretaker than someone who could be more proactive in building for the future.

Before Wednesday's game, Manuel talked about how the Mets will need to counter the Braves' rising stars, namely Jason Heyward and new arrival Freddy Freeman, with their own prospects for the next decade.

"That's two tremendous young players that this franchise is going to be facing for how many years - or whomever is sitting in [my] seat," he said. "You got to be able to match that somehow."

But that no longer seems to be Manuel's concern. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Showalter already is at work shaping the Orioles for 2011 and beyond.

In talking last week about the team's goals moving forward, Showalter mentioned the benefits of taking over at midseason, even though he preferred to wait until the season was over. "I'm glad that I listened to them because they made some good points," he said. "I'd hate to be going into October/November not knowing what I know now.

"I'm completely on top of the 25 guys here and I try to get as much information as I can to make good decisions for the offseason. When my opinion is asked, I want to be ready."

Manuel's situation is quite different. When Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon traveled to Turner Field to watch Monday's game, his only interaction with Manuel was a passing handshake in the dugout. The only input the Mets are likely to seek from Manuel will be during his exit interview a day or two after the season finale at Citi Field.

Manuel will fill out the lineup card for the last 29 games, and although that is being done with an eye toward 2011, his influence on the future pretty much will end there.

The young players do have to be taught to play the game the right way, however. And if that can't be accomplished in the short time that's left, it's never too late to make a change.

"It's not a tryout camp," Showalter said of his second half with the Orioles. "I told the players that at some point, there will be somebody else that we want to see. So you better take advantage of these opportunities you're getting."