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October 06, 2002
Let's start from the top and try to get some sanity into what makes teams wind up last.....like the New York Mets just did. Lead-off man, Roger Cedeno batted about .258, but not as good as his .293 and 55 stolen bases with Detroit in 2001. Then there's Jeromy Burnitz who struck out too frequently and wound up with a .215 batting average, as compared with his respectable .251, 34 homeruns, and 100 runs batted in with Milwaukee last year.
Go down to Mike Piazza, dropping way below his .300 batting average, and hurt on many occasions because he is trapped as a catcher. And how about Roberto Alomar, destined for the Hall of Fame, sinking to the .280's instead of doing as least as good as his 2001 average of .336, not to mention his sub-par fielding record. How about Mo Vaughn who was out of baseball last year and came roaring back with a meager.258 average, doing well only in the stretch when there was nothing to fight for?
The pitching was also disappointing, headed by Al Leiter who managed a respectable 13-13 record. Had the rules of baseball forbidden the Players Association and the Owners from bargaining during the season, Leiter would have done far better. He was a player rep, engaging in alleged labor problems when he was signed specifically to keep his mind on pitching and nothing else. Then there's Rey Ordonez, mouthing off that the fans are stupid and he doesn't want to play another game for the Mets. That's not Rey talking. It's really his $6,000,000 guarantee that's behind it all. Can you imagine a guy with a batting average of peanuts talking like that if he had just a few years experience and a minimum contract? NEVER.
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What was the solution to all this? Simple. They fired the manager, Bobby Valentine. Was he responsible for what took place on the field? Ask each of the above-named players, and then some, and the same answer will come forth from each:
"I had an off-year. I can't explain it."
This remark is 100% legitimate. They just couldn't understand what created the off-year. Did they blame it on the manager? No.
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I can't understand how a manager can honestly survive when the general manager, through an owner, doesn't consult with the guy who knows best....the field manager. Valentine once had his coaching staff fired without his knowledge. And I don't care how incompetent or competent the GM is, like Steve Phillips. He worked independently without regard to the baseball experience of Valentine, engineering the player transactions that took place. The case of Mo Vaughn, who should have been signed for only one year, is a perfect example. Piazza would have been playing first base by late July, but Vaughn has to be paid. That acquisition wasn't the choice of Valentine.
I have a simple solution for all this. The job of General Manager should be eliminated. No GM makes a major dollar decision without the owner's permission. The GM certainly can't understand what's going out on the field unless he coaches third base.
Here's what should be done. The field manager should not only be permitted to name his coaching staff, he should be permitted to create a special committee of possibly 2 more, to sit with him and review player transactions.
Those 2 men, while the field manager is busy on the field, will reflect the manager's suggestions, and sit with the owner to go over every transaction contemplated. The owner would then represent the final word, if he so chooses.
The General Manager is an in-between guy. That job is useless and creates venom, as we can learn from the New York Mets dilemma. The Phillips-Valentine situation is not a new one. Get rid of the GM.
A few weeks ago I wrote that there was a clear possibility that the New York Yankees, with their $150 million payroll, could very easily get destroyed by either the Anaheim Angels or the Minnesota Twins. This is just a short note to point out that the Angels, with a tiny payroll, beat the rich Yankees. The Players Association will NOT tolerate teams, in unison, limiting their payroll. Well..........The Angels did, and so did the Twins. And one of them will play in the World Series, both with their own payroll "caps".
I'm not anti-Yankee. I am anti-spending if that's what any business wants to keep doing, baseball or boat building. Take my word for it, George Steinbrenner, eager for every team to spend tons of money, will soon cut his own payroll where ever he can. Teams like the Angels and Twins can be setting a new role in watching their payroll dollars, and getting away with it!!!