Why You Care: In the early part of the MLB season, much talk revolved around several teams carrying high expectations and large payrolls without winning many games.The Toronto Blue Jays started slowly and haven’t really kicked into a higher gear — the team is six games under .500 and 10.5 games out of first place in the AL East.
Two other teams that fit the bill decided not to wait. The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies both moved on from their managers before the end of April in hopes of getting their seasons back on track. In-season firings of managers are usually moves of desperation that don't significantly swing a team's fortunes. That's the case in Boston, where Alex Cora was replaced by Chad Tracy; the team has a losing record under each skipper and is still in last place.
The Phillies nailed their move. Bringing in Don Mattingly for Rob Thomson has resulted in a team that started the season 9-19 going 38-18 since. Philly has closed the gap between it and Atlanta to just three games in the NL East and is destined for another postseason trip.
The day Philly dismissed Thomson, the Phillies and Mets were tied for the worst record in all of MLB. But while Philly acted, the Mets stood pat. Their faith in Carlos Mendoza, the manager who had led the team to a trip to the NLCS in his first campaign and a playoff-less second-place finish last season, wasn't shaken.
By Friday, it shook. New York’s turnaround never came, and after an error-filled, four-game sweep by the Cubs in which the Mets surrendered 33 runs and committed six errors in a single game, Mendoza was shown the door. The move reeks of “too little, too late.”
There is plenty of blame to go around for this Mets season, starting with David Stearns' roster-building decisions. But when a team underperforms, it's always the manager who pays first. But do Stearns and owner Steve Cohen really expect interim manager Andy Green to turn this thing around in July? Per FanGraphs, the Mets have a 4.7% chance of making the playoffs. Out-OMGing the OMG Mets of 2024 isn't happening.
The time to make this move was either back in April, or after the season. We already know Andy Green isn't auditioning for the role permanently, meaning the Mets are simply running out the clock on almost half the season. Waiting to be bold in June isn't bold enough. New York could've learned something from its counterpart in the NL East. Instead, it's white flag time in Flushing. |
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