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Ex-Mets Archives
 Some things in life have no gray areas. You're either a Met fan or a Yankee fan. A Stones guy or a Beatles guy. You really like Willets Point or you don't. In Mets land, there are plenty of subsets. (Shea or Citi Field? Who was better: the '69 Mets or '86 Mets?) Growing up, I only knew "Keith" guys or "Carter" guys. Admittedly, I was a Keith guy. Gary Carter was too clean-cut, too chipper. Keith played with grit, he smoked in the dugout. We were both left-handed. And I was also a Stones guy so it was easier if all my idols were named Keith. But now that I'm older, I am learning life isn't all black and white. And lately, I am becoming a Carter guy too. I can't say exactly why but I guess I'm a big fan of folks who can't help themselves. In the past few weeks, Gary has been a bit kooky. First he admitted he wanted Willie's job and was going to call the Wilpons, which was cool except that Willie still had his job. Then Carter mocked Joe Girardi last week, assuming that the rookie manager must have produced blackmail photos of the Steinbrenners to win his job. But the best performance happened today. I n an interview with the New York Times, Carter discusses why he can't get a major league manager job, then blows up at the NYT reporter and storms off. Some of the highlights: There is no gilding the resentment toward Mets’ management, the incredulousness that others — including Joe Girardi and Willie Randolph — were hired as major league managers without a day’s experience at that job at any level, and the disbelief that his Cooperstown-worthy playing credentials do not count for more.
Though he contacted the Mets about replacing Randolph before he was fired, setting off a wave of criticism when he volunteered that information in a radio interview last month, Carter realizes that Citi Field is not going to be his future home.
“Now I’d love nothing more than to have an opportunity of managing a team and beat the heck out of them,” Carter said of the Mets.
The resentment stems from when Carter and the Mets parted after the 2006 season. Carter, after spending the first decade of retirement working as an announcer and on his golf game, turned back to baseball when his three children were out of the house.
After guiding the Mets’ rookie league team to the best record in the Gulf Coast League in 2005 and the Class A St. Lucie team to the Florida State League title the next season, Carter balked when he was offered the manager’s job with the Mets’ Class AA club in Binghamton, N.Y. He said he had already shown the Mets he could manage and did not want to stray far from his home near Palm Beach, Fla., without assurances he was “their guy.”
When that assurance did not come, he said no.
“Why would I want to put myself through six months of going to Binghamton?” Carter asked, dismissively using the term “armpit” to refer to the city.
Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, in an interview Wednesday night, defended the organization’s decision.
“How do you not take a promotion if you want to manage in the major leagues?” Minaya said. “We gave him an opportunity and we offered him more money and a more high-profile job and he turned it down. What more could we do?”
Carter said that Tony Bernazard, a team vice president, told him there were two reasons the club wanted Carter to go to Binghamton: to follow the players he had coached in Class A and to learn how to use the double switch, a move usually made when relievers enter a game.
“I said, ‘Tony, I played 18 years in the major leagues and you’re going to tell me I have to go to Double-A to learn how to do the double switch?’ ” Carter said. “I can do that in my sleep.
“That was the response I got,” Carter added. He said his commitment to making it as a major league manager could not be questioned, considering that he had managed in the low levels of the minors and was now working in an independent league.
“How many Hall of Famers do you know that would do that?” he asked.
After more overtures about going to Binghamton were rebuffed, Carter said he spoke to Jeff Wilpon, the Mets’ chief operating officer, who suggested that he look for work outside the organization. So he did.
Carter interviewed for the Dodgers’ Class A managing post in Las Vegas, but did not get it. Nor did he land the job of hitting coach with the Colorado Rockies.
After that, Carter said, the Mets did ask him to apply for the first-base coaching job. The other candidates were Ken Oberkfell, Bobby Meacham and Howard Johnson, Carter’s teammate on the Mets’ 1986 championship team, who eventually got the job.
Carter said Johnson was a deserving choice but that he himself was not a serious candidate. “Well, I knew they weren’t going to give it to me because I would have been a threat to Willie,” Carter said.
“That isn’t even close to true,” Minaya said.
Carter said he asked about being the Mets’ Class AAA hitting coach. Or going back to St. Lucie. Or being a roving instructor. Each time, he says, the answer was the same: We want you to go to Binghamton.
So Carter sat out the 2007 season, then sent résumés to the other 29 major league clubs. Ten responded, all with a form letter. But now, at least, he appears to be with a team that him. The Flyers have the best record in the Golden League and his players talk about how interested he is in their lives. He fills up the refrigerator in the clubhouse with water and beer.
“You don’t expect that from a Hall of Famer,” said Matt Merricks, a pitcher for the Flyers.
Mostly, Carter encourages and teaches — something he says was not done as much as when he came up through the minors. He exchanges fist bumps with his players, chats up the opposing the third baseman from his spot in the coaching box and points to his eyes — a sign for “see the ball” — when Brian Rios swings and misses at back-to-back changeups.
Carter was asked if that same competitiveness that fueled his career still surfaces when he sees ex-teammates or contemporaries getting managing jobs.
“This whole game is not about what you know, it’s about who you know,” Carter said. “I discovered that a long time ago.”
It is clear now, some 25 minutes into an interview, that he is agitated. Then he is asked if he has any regrets about the radio interview he did last month in which he campaigned for a job Randolph still held. Carter protests that he was simply responding to a question: Would he be interested in managing the Mets? But actually he did more than that, saying in the interview that he had already contacted the Mets. He is then asked if he violated etiquette.
Carter says no, saying his only crime is that he is enthusiastic. But by then he has had enough questioning. Why, he wonders, does everyone want to take shots at him?
“I’ve always been accommodating and it’s hurt me because I’ve worn my heart on my sleeve,” Carter said, lacing his answers with expletives. “They throw me under the bus and two weeks later, he’s fired anyway. Yeah, so I’m the one to blame. If this is what it’s about, I don’t want you to print it.
“If I’m thrown under the bus because of my desires to one day manage in the major leagues, then every one of you guys don’t ever come to me again. Period. Am I clear?”
And with that Carter rose and walked back to the dugout — the Kid bidding adieu.
 What does Willie Randolph and Loge13 have in common?
At the moment, neither of us have seats in Citi Field next year.
Willie was fired early this morning in Anaheim, ending months of speculation. Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto also “have been relieved of their coaching duties,” according to the press release.
Was Willie the best field manager in Mets history or in baseball today? No. And we said back in March that Willie would be in serious trouble in May if this team got off to a bad start. Randolph is a baseball man. I’m sure he knew that too.
But my estimation of Willie Randolph will always be skewed due to the rotten way his departure was handled.
Go back to November 2007. After The Great Collapse, Omar Minaya called a press conference to say Willie wouldn’t be fired, and dragged the manager out in front of the cameras. There was no unconditional show of support for the manager, no definitive expression of loyalty. The event did nothing to help the manager in the esteem of the media or the players. This was not a smart press conference.
And it was just the first of many non-commital statements from Mets management and ownership. In the past two months, Willie’s job status buzzed over the team like a LaGuardia-bound 767 above Shea Stadium. Mets ownership could have grounded the noise at any time, by just saying, “Willie’s fired.” Or “Willie is our man in 2008.” Or even “Willie is our man until the All-Star break.” It’s a simple rule of managing people: always let employees know where they stand. It doesn’t matter if the employee is a manager, a ballplayer or a lowly Web editor. Letting Willie dangle could not have been good for team morale. It couldn’t have been good for Willie’s morale. So it had to affect his job performance.
But this is The Mets Treatment. In 103 days, The Mets play their last game at Shea Stadium. Thousands of loyal Mets partial-season ticket holders have still not been invited to renew their plans at the new ballpark. Up in the Bronx, partial season ticket holders are picking out new seats in Yankee Stadium. Is this how a franchise should treat fans who have been commited to their team for almost three decades? Is it smart business to leave customers clueless about their status? Apparently, that’s how business is conducted.
It is particularly troubling that the Mets waited until the team was in Anaheim, after beating the Angels before announcing the move. There can only be one reason: spin control. Do it early Tuesday morning NY time. That way, no local papers have the story. That way, Minaya can hold a press conference and get the “official story” out first. Classy.
Good luck to Jerry Manuel.
Here is the official press release, from 3:18 AM EST this morning:
The New York Mets today named Jerry Manuel interim manager, replacing Willie Randolph. Manuel, in his fourth season with the Mets, had been bench coach since 2006. The Mets also named Ken Oberkfell, Luis Aguayo and Dan Warthen to the coaching staff. Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto have been relieved of their coaching duties.
Mets general manager Omar Minaya will hold a briefing with the media Tuesday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET) in the media room at Angel Stadium. Mets manager Jerry Manuel will meet with the media immediately thereafter.
The 54-year-old Manuel served as Mets first base and outfield coach in 2005. He was manager of the Chicago White Sox (1998-2003) and led them to an American League best record of 95-67 in 2000. He was named 2000 Major League Manager of the Year by Associated Press and American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America and the Sporting News. He previously was bench coach for the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins following six seasons as third base coach for the Montreal Expos.
Oberkfell was the manager of New Orleans Zephyrs of the Pacific Coast League, his fourth year managing the Mets Triple-A affiliate. He previously managed the Binghamton Mets (AA) of the Eastern League after leading the St. Lucie Mets (A) to the 2003 Florida State League championship in his second season in the Mets Minor League system.
Warthen returned to the organization this year joining Oberkfell as pitching coach in New Orleans following two seasons as the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a coach in the Mets Minor League system from 2003-2005. Warthen was pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers (1999-2002), San Diego Padres (1996-97), and Seattle Mariners (1992).
Aguayo, as Mets field coordinator, oversaw Spring Training for the Minor League teams, extended Spring Training, and the Mets' Fall Instructional League team. A 10-year Major League veteran, he played with the Cleveland Indians (1989), New York Yankees (1988), and Philadelphia Phillies (1980-88).
 As I said a month or two back, I was going to try not to post when the Mets are slumping. Each attempt to dissect another loss only made me relive those horrible games and besides, there's plenty other bloggers venting their spleens. The obvious problem: when one chooses not to blog about Mets losses, one is ignoring about 98 percent of what the 2008 Mets are about. So I'm coming out of self-censorship for the weekend, because it looks like the end is near for Willie. Lots of stories are popping up. Whether or not Willie is ultimately and exclusively to blame for the state of the Mets is a subject for another post. Here's the latest from Jon Heyman. All I can say is, Jerry Manuel gets you nothing. Better off bringing in fresh blood: Willie Randolph's status as Mets manager is extremely tenuous now.
General manager Omar Minaya is seriously considering changing managers
and at least a couple of the team's coaches, sources told SI.com. A
Mets official indicated that nothing was expected to be decided today
regarding Randolph's status. But that doesn't preclude something from
happening later this weekend. Front-office sources indicate his hold on
the job is shaky, at best. Should Randolph be fired, bench coach Jerry Manuel will take over, sources told SI.com. Minaya
and other club higher-ups met Thursday to discuss the deteriorating
fortunes of the team and what can be done about it. Minaya is
considered extremely loyal by co-workers and has been Randolph's
strongest supporter for weeks. As one Mets person put it, "Willie's his
guy.'' However, Randolph's detractors have become more vocal in recent
days, and there seems to be a general feeling that something major
needs to be done to reinvigorate the club, which trails the first-place
Phillies by 7 1/2 games and has lost lost six of seven after a brief
surge. Mets people believe they can't start completely anew and
would prefer to at least employ someone who's witnessed the first
portion of the schedule up close. Manuel, a former Manager of the Year
with the White Sox, would be given the rest of the season to turn things around. Minaya
is also weighing other changes, which could include removing hitting
coach Howard Johnson and pitching coach Rick Peterson, sources
indicate. Some organization people believe sweeping changes must be
tried. Triple-A New Orleans pitching coach Dan Warthen would be a candidate to take over for Peterson. Randolph's contract runs through 2009 and calls for him to be paid $2 million this year and $2.25 million next year. Foxsports.com reported yesterday that Randolph's status was "day-to-day."
 Mike Piazza made official today what everyone else already knew: it’s time to retire.
No team signed him after last season. He had been working out and was even rumored to consider a job in Japan.
But today Piazza put out a press release, officially ending his career. Some excerpts:
"After discussing my options with my wife, family and agent, I felt it was time to start a new chapter in my life. It has been an amazing journey ... So today, I walk away with no regrets.
"I knew this day was coming and over the last two years, I started to make my peace with it. I gave it my all and left everything on the field.”
Mike made a point of thanking fans, and especially New York Met fans.
"But I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful."
"Within the eight years I spent in New York, I was able to take a different look at the game of baseball. I wasn't just a young kid that was wet behind the ears anymore -- I was learning from other veteran guys like Johnny Franco, who taught me how to deal with the pressures of playing in New York, and Al Leiter, who knew what it took to win a world championship."
Piazza ends his career with a .308 career average, 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs. He is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013. If Clemens never plays again, (assuming he doesn’t go to jail, or spontaneously explode in a steroid accident), he will also be eligible for the Hall of Fame the same year. That’s one induction ceremony I’d like to attend.
Congrats on a fantastic career, Mike. Piazza was one of the greatest to ever play in Shea Stadium. His arrival transformed this team in the 90’s. And he truly dug New York and understood how to play here.
One of my favorite memories of Piazza is actually when he was no longer a Met. When the Padres came to town in 2006, my kids and I were at Shea Stadium early. It was a day game after a night game, so there was no batting practice. We were out at the outskirts of the Loge section, watching Glavine throw in the bullpen. Both teams were warming up but Piazza (who wasn’t playing that day) arrived late (which you can do when you’re Mike Piazza). It was a travel day and Piazza walked into Shea through the back gate, near where the player’s parking lot is, wheeling in his own luggage. He stopped to say hi to some of the Shea custodial staff. There were only a few of us up in Loge but we yelled to him and Piazza stopped and acknowledged us, smiling and waving to everyone. It was a small gesture but it meant alot to my small kids, who admired Piazza and were still too young to understand how a ball player can play for another team.
Maybe Piazza’ll be moving back to NY permanently. He did christen his baby daughter out this way earlier in the year. We may be seeing more of Piazza now.
 Today is the 39th anniversary of one of the greatest baseball moments in Mets history: the Agee home run. Last summer, we took this photo of the marker up in the UpperDeck, Section 48, that commemorates the event. On April 10, 1969 Tommie Agee hit a tremendous home run halfway up
in the left field upper deck at Shea Stadium. That hit is still the
highest hit ball in Shea Stadium history. This painting was installed
to recognize the feat. Wanna know how far that is: here is the view from the marker on Opening Day 2008: 
Only 8,608 fans were in attendance on April 10, 1969 to witness the home run and see
the Mets beat the Expos 4-2. Agee actually hit two home runs that day,
off the starting -- and losing -- pitcher Larry Jaster. Gary Gentry got
the win, giving up 7 hits and striking out 4 over 8.2 innings of work.
In 1969, Agee scored 97 runs and won a second Gold Glove. In the
1969 World Series, he was instrumental in the Mets' victory in Game 3,
in which he hit a home run and made two incredible catches that saved
five runs.
The Bobster also memorialized Tommie Agee in an earlier post, (sadly the video of the 1969 catch was removed by MLB).
Bobster wrote: Who was the greatest center fielder in Mets history?
My vote goes to Tommie Agee, even though he only played a few years for them in the late '60s and early '70s.
This
clip from Game 3 of the 1969 World Series shows why......it came at a
crucial moment, with the Mets leading 4-0 but the bases loaded for the
Baltimore Orioles in the 7th inning. If this wasn't caught by Agee,
the score probably would have been 4-3 and the whole momentum of the
game and the series could have shifted to the Orioles. What made this
catch so phenomenal wasn't just the distance Agee covered to make it,
but the fact that this was Agee's SECOND circus catch of the game! The
Mets went on to win this game 5-0, and two days later they were World
Series champs.
A promising young fireballer named Nolan Ryan is pitching in relief for the Mets.
This is also the last anniversary of the Agee marker. There will be no more Shea Stadium in a year so no marker necessary. I doubt the Mets will try to save this chunk of cinder block...but if they are considering it, I volunteer to have it hauled to my back yard. I'm sure my neighbors won't mind. RIP Tommie Agee.
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What a classless organization the Mets are!!! No matter where you stand on Willie, this was the worst way to handle it. As was the Art Howe episode. We seem to be taking lessons from Cablevision!