Mets Articles

Mets Managerial Search & Other Stuff

This Mets managerial search must be getting to me. I had a dream the other night — and I swear this is true — that the Mets named Walter Alston as their manager. And I just kept thinking, “He’s still alive?” No, Alston is not alive, and the two apparent front-runners for the job — Bob Melvin and Terry Collins — are not up to Alston’s standards, dead or alive.

In any case, Sandy Alderson announced down at the GM meetings in Orlando that he is done with the first round of interviews, and hopes to name a new manager by Thanksgiving. It’s not yet known who will get called back, but it looks like it will definitely be Melvin and Collins, and perhaps Wally Backman and Chip Hale.

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wrightJoel Sherman of the New York Post had an interesting article Tuesday that quoted David Wright complaining that there was “no discipline here whatsoever,” and bemoaning the lack of professionalism on the team. I don’t doubt any of that, but here’s my question: Why didn’t Wright do anything about it? As the second-longest tenured member of the team (Jose Reyes is number one), he has every right to stand in the middle of the clubhouse and lash out at his “unprofessional” teammates. Not only does he have the right, he has the obligation. He is supposed to be the leader of the Mets, and that’s what a leader does.

There has been talk over the years of Wright’s reluctance to take the leadership role, that it was difficult for him to do so with such strong-willed veterans as Carlos Delgado on the team. Well, Delgado was gone last year, and there should have been no one else to intimidate Wright out of doing it. But for some reason, Wright was apparently still reluctant. Maybe the Mets need to officially name him Captain — maybe that’s what is missing.

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The Marlins don’t mess around. Just a few days after contract talks broke down with Dan Uggla and the team said he was on the trading block, he was dealt to the Braves for Omar Infante and Mike Dunn. Infante and Dunn are good players, but I wonder if the Marlins could have gotten more for the slugging Uggla if they had waited. But I guess after turning down a four-year, $48 million offer from the Marlins, many teams might have been scared off. Reports say Uggla insisted on a five-year, $71 million deal.

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