The Jerry Manuel Era

Obviously, the Mets have played better since Willie Randolph’s firing, going 45-26 under Jerry Manuel. They were just 34-35 under Randolph. In general, I believe that a manager usually has a minimal impact on his team’s performance. He makes the lineup and pitching changes, but after that it’s pretty much up to the players. However, I tend to agree with John Harper of The Daily News when he writes:

“The bottom line is performance, and this is a team that suddenly seems to have big plans for October. Eleven weeks later, it's hard to imagine the Mets playing at this level if they hadn't changed managers.”

Is there any possible way the Mets would be where they are with Randolph still managing? Heck no. Enough has been written about the Randolph firing to fill a book, so I won’t cover it too much here. Suffice it to say that Randolph was never the right fit for the Mets, as his goal was to become the next Joe Torre: completely stoic, no fun, all business. That doesn’t work for the Mets or their fan base. Will Leitch touched on this nicely in an article from New York Magazine soon after the firing.

I also believe that winning produces a fun, relaxed clubhouse - not the other way around. So when people point to the “everyone loves each other” Mets clubhouse as a reason for the success, I have to say that if the Mets were losing, the clubhouse would not seem so jovial. Additionally, Dan Warthen deserves credit for the pitching staff’s improvement. Rick “15 Minutes” Peterson just wasn’t doing the job any longer.

What is the point of this post? It’s an excuse to put up some more statistics, this time showing the Mets’ pitching and hitting as a team before and after Randolph’s firing:

Pitching:
Willie's Mets: 4.14 ERA, 1.90 K/BB, 7.05 K/9 innings, 1.01 HR/Game
Jerry's Mets: 3.79 ERA, 2.18 K/BB, 7.42 K/9 innings, 1.04 HR/Game

Hitting:
Willie's Mets: .257/.333/.395, for a .728 OPS, 39.9 AB/HR
Jerry's Mets: .276/.346/.440, for a .786 OPS, 28.5 AB/HR