ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Jerry Manuel received assurances from general manager Omar Minaya that he will be the Mets’ interim manager for at least the rest of the season.
Manuel already has a scheme for a longer tenure, jumping on Minaya’s comment that he fired Willie Randolph back at the team hotel because it would be “disrespectful” to fire a manager in uniform.
“He said he won’t fire anybody in uniform, so I’m going to stay in mine. Take mine right to the house,” Manuel said, chuckling.
He moves up from bench coach to replace Randolph, fired by Minaya after Monday night’s 9-6 victory over the Angels.
Manuel said he feels for Randolph, his good friend and jogging companion.
“I said to him, ‘Very few people know what you’re going through. I’m one of them,”’ said Manuel, named the AL manager of the year when he guided the Chicago White Sox to a league-best 95-67 record in 2000.
He was fired in the fall of 2003 after the White Sox had a late-season collapse, losing 10 of 15 after leading the AL Central by two games on Sept. 9. He was 500-471 with the White Sox.
The 54-year-old Manuel, in his fourth year with the Mets, said he learned a lot from his six years as the Chicago manager and hoped he would get another chance somewhere. The White Sox won one division title and finished second four times while he was there.
“It was a tremendous experience and I couldn’t wait to do it again,” he said. “Being asked to do this in New York, where I feel is the most passionate fan and very tough fan, who sometime can be very critical in a good way, I think that’s an opportunity that you cannot pass up.
“If you ever want to get back in the seat as the New York Met manager, you’d have to take that opportunity. I think if Willie were in my shoes, he would do the same thing.”
Manuel said his plans include giving some rest to the Mets’ regulars, making definite assignments regarding which relievers he’ll call on in the middle innings, and owning up to the fact that the Mets had a “catastrophic demise” when they slumped late last year.
“I would have used that as a springboard in spring training,” he said. “We’re going to have to live with that until we get back.”
Manuel said the Mets obviously have talent and he wants to be a role model.
“We have people that are capable of leading. If they have stepped into that role or not, I have to step into that role, I have to show them what leadership looks like in uniform,” he said. “Once that happens, it will flow down to the rest of the club.”
The players blamed themselves for Randolph’s firing, but the consensus in the clubhouse seemed to be that Manuel would be a good replacement.
“Jerry, being the bench coach, he knew the players and he communicated with us,” Carlos Beltran said. “So I think he will do a great job.
“He’s a guy that communicates a lot, always positive, always trying to get you to play the best that you can play. So hopefully, everything worked out good.”
Billy Wagner was pleased to know that Manuel will be the manager for the rest of the year, since the speculation about Randolph had been a distraction.
“You get a stability of this is who you have. He’s not left out there dangling to see who’s going to be the manager,” Wagner said. “We’ve got a good team, we’ve got the talent here.
“Now we just have to take a deep breath and go out there and win some baseball games.”
Add A Comment