The Dilemma

Let's be honest, Mets fans. Unless this team loses, and loses big time, Jerry Manuel will be your manager for the foreseeable future. It will take a catastrophic slide, a nightmare of epic proportions, a steep descent into baseball oblivion for the New York Metropolitans to actually make this seemingly obvious move.

In light of today's 10-4 victory in Milwaukee (which looks a lot more convincing than it really was) doomsday has subsided for an afternoon. Any time the Mets get a victory, the "Fire Jerry" crew (the entire Met fanbase aside from Mrs. Manuel) likely experiences the ultimate conflicted array of emotions. No Mets fan ever wants to see their team lose - but what if it were for the betterment of the franchise? As the Mets sit this late afternoon above .500 and a mere 3 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East, one thing is clear - that is a far too minimal and respectable gap for the Mets brass to fire Jerry Manuel.

What, exactly does that mean then? In simplest terms, it means that the organization - sure as hell not the fans - has become accustomed to, and accepting of mediocrity and some vague form of relevance and importance within the baseball world.

My point, Mets fans, is that if we do, in fact, have a team that is going to play .500 ball - regardless of how frustrating and inconsistent it may be - no changes are going to be made. That is, so long as the division and/or wild card are reasonably within reach - which, two months into the season they undoubtedly are.

If the franchise is going to start heading in the right direction again a lot of things have to change. I don't think the Mets are a playoff team as it is - and certainly not under Manuel or Omar Minaya. In reality, Minaya is the person responsible for all of these frustrations. He brought these players in. He brought his manager in.

That being said, no General Manager will ever take the fall before his manager does. When things go wrong, the manager is to blame.

Let's play hypotheticals and say the Mets end this season at 81-81, having played some meaningful games in early September before fading off. Does everybody stay? I honestly could not tell you.

One thing is clear though. If the Mets are in any way shape or form playing respectable, or even mediocre baseball, the brass of the organization doesn't have it in them to can Jerry. Simple as that.

So here's the dilemma: Win just enough with Manuel? Or lose, and move forward?


-Tom Greenhalgh (5/30/10)