Joe Girardi does his homework. Whether he’s the right man to lead the New York Mets in the wake of Mickey Callaway’s firing will ultimately be decided by GM Brodie Van Wagenen and COO Jeff Wilpon, but one thing is for certain, Girardi will do his due diligence before officially throwing his hat in the ring.
Girardi began doing his research on the Mets a couple of weeks before Callaway was let go, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. His ability to co-exist with the front office was one of the driving factors of his dismissal as the manager of the New York Yankees, despite having managed them to a title in 2009. If he does return to the bench, whether that be in New York, Chicago, or elsewhere, the foundations of a solid working relationship with upper management will be an important box to check.
The Mets are investigating all of the big names out there on the open market, with Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon, and Buck Showalter surfacing alongside Girardi. Former players like David Cone and Carlos Beltran have also been linked with the position, though we’ve yet to reach the stage of real legitimacy in this search process. Remember, there are no bad ideas in brainstorming.
There are bad hiring decisions, however, and as he enters his second season on the job, this could be Van Wagenen’s one chance to find the right field manager. The Mets have a tall task ahead of them considering the relatively crowded field of contenders in the NL East. The Braves aren’t going anywhere, the Nationals have some free agency questions to answer, but they could very well return as good or better than they were in 2019, and Bryce Harper and the Phillies will enter 2020 with an increased level of urgency after fading in the second half.
Even the Marlins are building towards a future of some significance, though they remain a year or two away. Seeing Girardi helm the Mets for 19 games a season against Derek Jeter’s Marlins would certainly provide interesting opportunities for repartee between former colleagues. Furthering the fun, Miami manager Don Mattingly was under consideration for manager of the Yankees when the role ultimately went to Girardi.
It’s worth wondering whether Girardi’s straight-shooter style is too similar to the recently-departed Callaway, though Girardi’s open communication is perhaps a touch more sophisticated than Callaway, who famously lost his temper with a reporter while the team was in a skid. It’s clear Girardi wants to return to the dugout, and if there’s a spot for him, the Mets or Cubs seem like the most obvious landing spots due to his obvious connections to New York and Chicago, respectively.
Love Girardi. Hope he lands a job with the Mets or Cubs
Hopefully not the Mets.
Girardi is definitely heading to the Mets. And to all the Met haters out there, stop trolling.
Why don’t you give your source to MLBTR already then.
Hey Squeeky Danny—You need to get some WD-40. Here are the facts:
1-The Mets deserve all of the criticism that they get.
2-Yankee fans are praying that Girardi signs with the Mets. We definitely don’t miss the rigid style of play with Boone willing to mix things up.
3-Members of Fan Duel are salivating at the possibility of betting on how long before the Mets implode with the clashes between Commission Salesrep Brody, Girardi and the Wilson’s.
The yankees are garbage bro. Get off the Steinbrenner’s d!ck. They’re not winning a championship anytime soon.
Oh yea, when was the last time the yankees won a championship……………..that’s right, Girardi was managing them. Yankee fans are degenerate, ungrateful & pathetic losers.
You’re a fan of the perennial dumpster fire in Flushing, and you’re making fun of the Yankees?!?!?!
Yankees are playing right now and you are literally sitting here posting about the Mets open Manager position. Typical Yankee fan.
At least we don’t have countless steroid cheaters in our history. I prefer the Mets pure, clean history then the yankees steroid drivin success.
When the Mets finally win, it’s far more rewarding. Thank God I’m a Mets fan. I’d rather be a freaking Tigers or Reds fan over the stinking yankees.
@metsie1 Well said. Pathetic yankee fans are obsessed with Mets. Try cheering for your own team, encourage your ownership to stop hiring cheaters and while I’m at it, try serving some decent food in your ballpark.
Mike Piazza sends his regards, Dan!
I hate to say this MetsFanaticDanny, but i am not sure how much of a fanatic you are or just ignore facts.
I have been watching mets since the strawberry, doc, keith, tim teufel days (still hurts cone and doc got their nohitters with the yanks 🙁 ) and we have had our share of ped users including the only player that got the lifetime ban for ped use.
I do love your gusto but make sure you check facts beforehand we dont need more fake facts like the politicians are always throwing around.
the Wilsons? ohhhhh the wilpons gotcha
Ha, ha… ‘steroid driven success’ What a clown!
If Girardi is doing due diligence, then he will wisely walk away.
lordd99, truer words have never been posted.
MLBTR: Joe Girardi Doing His Due Diligence On Mets
Brodie Van Wagenen: “Oh, no…”
Stop trolling Met haters. Mets job is a great job and the best one for Girardi.
We don’t troll Met’s fans, the Wilpons do!
Can’t argue that one. The Wilpon’s troll MLB.
He’s not wise—he’s now desperate.
Don’t know that it matters a bit, but Girardi has all the personality of a pet rock.
I bet you can count your friends starting at 0, and going all the way up to 0.
Pope-it’s dangerous time be looking in the mirror as you dictate to Siri about your own friends count.
Just so your not in the count mama’s boy.
@acm, LMAO,
Also, known as Binder Boy, he needs a locker just for his pens, pencils and binders
Just think, with all his paraphernalia, lol he still has no one bunt!!
Dusty Baker? Hahahahahahahaha.
Yeah, he’s not a good in-game tactician and he plays the declining veterans over the rising kids. But he does lead players and handles the media well. He’s had success everywhere he’s managed and if he did well in the postseason (which he hasn’t), he’d be in the HOF. He’d probably take a cheap one year deal to get back in the dugout. Dusty could be a good fit for the Mets as would Girardi and Showalter. Stranger things have happened.
How do you define success?
He’s made the postseason with each team he has managed. People laugh at Dusty because he is an “old” manager but no one should say he has not been successful.
Sweet baby Jesus I hope so. Just for the entertainment value alone, and to further cement his legacy of postseason choking, and being outmanaged in every aspect of the game.
I don’t understand the feeling that Girardi lost his job because of a lack of communication with the front office. How bout the fact he won 1 Championship in 10 years. Yankees have grown to expect more than that from their managers.
it wasn’t due to Joe. He was a good manager. Bad luck and fading stars had more to do with it.
I don’t understand people who shortchange Joe for what he did as the manager in NY, and especially Miami. The job he did in 2016-17 was way more than anyone could’ve expected, and then to not renew him was complete BS.
Bad Luck and fading stars? 10 years and 1 title and all the $$$ spent? Many managers would love to have that bad luck and won a heck of a lot more.
Girardi 1 than Buck. I also think Beltran should be a coach before ever jumping into managing plus Cone should be a pitching coach too, I think the Mets have an opening there for Coney lol
If Girardi lands with the Mets there is no “game of chess” between him and Jeter. Jeter would be irrelevant. Mattingly is the manager.
yes this piece does read a bit off.. also missing are, you know, “quotes”, which are something you’d like to get from the individual you’ve featured
Yes. That kind of stuff is just media hyperbole. Means little to nothing to a professional once the game starts. They have much bigger objectives, like winning.
I loved Girardi with the Marlins, and was very upset when it fell apart. I think Cubs are a better fit than Mets, but he will improve the record if he goes there.
If Brodie was wise, he’d hire a manager with a resume like Girardi or Showalter and not the inexperienced guy. Brodie’s seat is already getting warm and if there’s another manager like Callway and the team gets off to a bad start, his seat is only going to get warmer. If he takes the experienced guy, that will take some of the pressure off Brodie.
Love joe but he had some big flaws
.he tended to leave guys in one or two batters too long or even longer
.his constant persistence to run out scrubs like Sergio mitre (probably his all time favorite scrub affair) no matter how many times he failed. You can’t fix bad players joe
.he rested guys too much, especially while they were hot. We almost lost the division one year (2012 I think) because he took things for granted
TL;DR version:
Girardi is greatly overrated:
Full screed below:
Girardi was supposedly not renewed by the Yanks for a lot of good reasons.
He was volatile in the clubhouse with the players, prone to fits of anger.
He didn’t want to implement shifts or lineups or use his pen the way the analytics guys wanted and he wanted autonomy.
His relationship with Cashman was tense due to the above reasons and maybe others.
He just finished a 4 year $16 million contract. Like Torre, he probably expected a raise. Why? they could find a much cheaper manager to make mistakes in the post season…
The game passed Girardi by. He managed like guys did in the 70’s and 80’s. He didn’t make decisions based on advanced data and rigidly held his pen to set roles among a lot of other stupid decisions.
It baffles me why anyone would want him or Maddon or Buck. These guys are dinosaurs and their egos outweigh any experience they bring with them.
We’ve also seen experience is most likely a detriment in a manager. There are so many younger guys who are open to having a collaborative relationship with the rocket scientists that now run the most successful teams.
To bring up being 4 games under .500 with the Marlins as a high point in Joe G’s career is absurd, That was a lifetime ago compared to what the game is today.
I never got the sense that Girardi was anti-analytics. If anything I remember a lot of Yankees fans on twitter, deadspin, here and Fark making fun of his “binder” and over reliance on that stuff.
I got the sense that his firing had more to do with the personality stuff.
Col-chestbridge
The binder was mostly how guys matched up against certain pitchers. A lot of sss stuff and what is now considered “basic” data of dubious value.
Girardi pushed back against the game plan the analytics the wanted to run the last few seasons.
Last year the Yanks shifted a ton more under Boone, the pen was used more thoughtfully in terms of leverage and matchups vs. set roles and the lineups seemed straight out of some algorithm the rocket scientists came up with.
You nailed it. All those guy’s egos outweigh their ability to manage and adjust to today’s game. I think the media holds these guys up as well. My guess is because they either worked in the media at one point (Buck and Girardi) or bc they are a “free spirit” d bag (Maddon).
Jb19
Yeah it’s interesting that many in the media still see value in these older managers.
Maybe it’s familiarity and a bit of looking in the mirror for the older spirts writers. They see value in their own “experience” and project it onto guys like G, Buck and Maddon?
I think Girardi’s last year, the team underperformed the pythag by 9 games. His non challenge against the Indians in the ALDS was unconscionable.
He is a rigid, hardwired guy. I’d rather have a guy like Meulens or another younger guy who has been working in the trenches with a progressive organization.
What about Jason giambi?
Ozzie Guileen – he as a ring
The stealth move would be Jeremy…
If he does his due diligence he will run away as fast as he can from the Mets.
It is amazing reading some of the comments.
On one side are people who say the manager must have experience and then mention Beltran or Cone as potentials.
Another says old school managers are dinosaurs and vetos Joe Madden, probably the one manager that has used analytics more than anyone.
Yet others say the manager has to be game knowledgeable but not overly demanding in the clubhouse.
Others say that you can’t put on a happy face in interviews, I assume they are suggesting that you have to hold players responsible for their play. But you can’t be volatile in the clubhouse.
The new manager must have every one agree with their every move, and if they don’t they are a bad manager.
They must be able to be available to the press and answer every question about their decision. If the answer they give is not universally recognized as being correct they must be ready to have the media castigate him. ( especially talk radio )
Is it really any wonder why many successful managers have no desire to manage in NY.
I remember what these loud mouths said about Joe Torre when first hired by the Yankees. Glueless Joe comes to mind. I quess these experts didn’t realize that he checked off every box no matter how opposite.
Finally NY regards learning and growing on the job to be good only for other cities, after all we are entitled to win every year, dammed be the process.
Very well said. The same people claiming that these managerial candidate’s egos are too big are the ones that would be screaming if they seemed to be the puppet of the office. If I’m being held accountable for the teams performance, I’d want control too.
The fan base that wants Girardi the most is Philadelphia.
LOL. Phillies haven’t fired the current Manager yet.
The smart hire for the Mets would be Buck Showalter. He’d instantly garner respect in that clubhouse, and he got an awful lot out of some good, but not great Oriole teams. Another potential perk to hiring Buck is if there is indeed interest in bringing Beltran back to Queens, you could groom him a bit for an eventual managerial gig by having him coach under Buck for a few seasons.
Girardi going to manage the Mets I can see that – but, being a Padres fan I would prefer to see him in San Diego if the Padres go outside their current fill in manager.
Mickey Callway was not a straight shooter though??
The whole analytics thing hurts my head. Even if you knew the probability of every outcome, you still have to roll the dice. You’re not going to “get it right every time”. In fact if you’re team loses a third of its games, presumably because of bad decisions, you’re still the best team in baseball. So the manager who follows EVERY piece of analytic information is still going to fail. That’s the game of baseball. Further, let’s say you make a slightly sub-optimal decision. Is that stupid? What works in the 5th inning and what is available by the 8th inning are different things and need to be considered. In other words, macro versus micro decisions. Honestly, back off on the analytics and learn baseball. BTW, I’m an actuary, I know analytics.
That pic isn’t creepy at all