I prefer having a manager who knows how to win games and how to put players in a position to succeed. But I don’t think Mets fans will get in Carlos Mendoza.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza did not put on a show in a similar vein to Angels manager Ron Washington in their respective introductory press conference. Washington spoke about the Angels’ plans to run the AL West down by announcing that his new team won’t be such a pushover for the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Seattle Mariners. Meanwhile, our guy Mendoza spoke about culture when introducing himself to the media and Mets fans.
Talk about the contrast between the new managers.
Washington seemed secure enough to be bold in what he said. He can feel that way after leading the Texas Rangers to two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011, even though they were denied a championship. Mendoza can’t sell what Washington is selling. I am not sure what he could sell out there. He could only offer blind faith and talk like Luis Rojas and Mickey Callaway.
This is not to say that the new Mets manager won or lost his press conference. Let’s face it: Mendoza was not going to be judged by the press conference. The Mets did not hire him to be a spokesman. He was hired to collaborate with Stearns, as in following his boss’s orders regarding lineups and using pitchers to pitch at specific games.
That was why Stearns didn’t bother hiring Washington and why Showalter was fired. The new Mets president of baseball operations will have plenty to say regarding what guys will be played. He will involve himself in every facet of the game, which Washington or Showalter would be reluctant to do. Why else would he hire a manager to manage in New York despite not working a day?
The Mets valued the Yankees bench coach so low that they only offered him $1.5 million annually to manage them. They paid him an entry-level salary rather than Showalter’s managerial salary. So, let’s face it: it’s clear this will be Stearns’ show, and Mendoza is a manager in name only. That’s how many of today’s baseball managers are regarded.
Mendoza will be tasked with playing Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, and Mark Vientos regularly to see often to see what they can do and if they will be core players under Stearns. If he can make them core players for the next few years, this would go a long way for him being successful as a Mets manager, not to mention being the right choice by Stearns.
No doubt Mendoza will be forced to use a six-man rotation or an opener since Kodai Senga is likely pitching once a week. If the Mets sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a free agent, a six-man rotation will happen, as Yamamoto will likely follow Senga’s schedule.
Mendoza will no doubt have his players apply all of the analytical information given to them. There’s also no doubt Stearns will have a say on what guys make the roster, even if Mendoza may disagree. In other words, the Mets manager should get used to having players be on the roster against his will. Whatever Stearns has to tell his players, the Mets manager must translate what he means about how they go about it.
The coaches that Mendoza will work with will be hired by Stearns rather than the manager finding his guys to work in his staff. It would be wise if the baseball operations president allowed Mendoza to hire Willie Randolph as his bench coach to help the manager navigate managing in New York with all the pressure. That is what we call standard procedure for most managers nowadays.
You hear “collaboration” and “front office” often regarding general sports managers. It’s more about everyone being on the same page, about what the general manager or the president of operations wants rather than for the common good of winning a championship. I don’t know if this works in sports or not. I prefer having a manager who knows how to win games and how to put players in a position to succeed. But that approach isn’t the norm anymore, ant that is because baseball is different from what it used to be.
Going into ’24, we can expect to get what Mendoza said at his introductory presser. He parroted Stearns, which is the stability the Mets’ president craves–a manager whose moves align with his preferences. That’s what Mendoza was hired to do, and for better or for worse, that is what Mets fans will get.
