Mets shake up coaching staff after dismal season

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NEW YORK (AP)—After a miserable season full of baserunning blunders and fielding miscues, the New York Mets made several changes to their coaching staff Monday.

Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon also announced the club will alter its training practices for treating and preventing injuries, and the team’s payroll for 2010 should be similar to this year.

First base coach Luis Alicea was fired and third base coach Razor Shines will have a different role next season. Bench coach Sandy Alomar also lost his job, but will be offered another position in the organization, while son Sandy Alomar Jr.(notes) likely is headed for a promotion after serving as catching instructor this year.

New York’s first season at Citi Field was a mess, filled with injuries, mistakes and lackluster play. An April favorite for a deep postseason run, the Mets swept a three-game series from Houston last weekend to finish 70-92—their worst record since going 66-95 under Art Howe in 2003.

While general manager Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel will return next season, Wilpon made it clear that ownership expects a turnaround.

“We demand better and we expect better,” Wilpon said. “And to me, he and Omar deserve a chance to come back and right the ship. It’s a one-year thing.”

The Mets hit .270 this season, tying playoff-bound Los Angeles for the best average in the NL, and batted .276 with runners in scoring position, second in the league behind Atlanta. But they finished with only 671 runs, good for 12th in the National League.

Injuries robbed them of stars Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado(notes) and Carlos Beltran(notes) for long stretches, but Manuel and the front office decided to change the base coaches.

“The traffic that we had on the bases probably to a lot of degree was not properly managed as well as we would’ve liked to have seen,” Manuel said. “That was probably the biggest issue with us was one of the issue of baserunning. We didn’t seem to have that perform at the level that we thought we need to to be a championship club.”

Alomar’s dismissal was particularly painful for Manuel, who said they were such close friends that they used to ride to the ballpark together. Alomar, who turns 66 this month, could be back with the club next season depending on his personal situation and whether he can find a big league job with another club.

“Defensively, I thought we struggled and I think that we needed to get to another level,” Manuel said, citing the club’s 134 double plays—tied for 12th in the NL. “We have to do everything we can to be better defensively.”

Manuel, signed through next season with a club option for 2011, said Shines could be considered for the other coaching openings and Alomar Jr. could be in the mix at first.

Hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Dan Warthen and bullpen coach Randy Niemann will be back in the same roles next season. New York pitchers were plagued by control problems but Manuel said he thinks Warthen is the right person to help young starters John Maine(notes), Mike Pelfrey(notes) and Oliver Perez(notes) return to form.

A relatively healthy season would go a long way to helping the pitching staff and the rest of the team rebound next year.

New York used the disabled list 22 times in 2009 for 19 players, including eight former All-Stars. Mets players spent more than 1,480 days on the disabled list, more than any other major league team, according to STATS LLC.

The club announced Monday that Reyes will have surgery to clean up scar tissue around a tendon behind his right knee but will not need an operation to repair his torn right hamstring.

The date for the surgery hasn’t been set, but the team said Reyes is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for spring training.

New York’s medical staff will remain in place for 2010 but “we are changing our medical protocols to better treat and prevent injuries,” Wilpon said, declining to get into specifics. The son of owner Fred Wilpon also said he plans to take a more active role in how the club releases information about ailing players.

Injuries to Reyes, Beltran and Delgado became a season-long soap opera as they appeared to be close to playing again, only to remain sidelined. Beltran was the only one of the three who returned to the lineup.

Wilpon said part of the communication problems occurred when players were hurt on the road.

“We relied on (home) team doctors to diagnose,” he said. “When Jose had a hamstring tendon that was partially torn to begin with, the doctor in, I forget where it was, L.A., said it was his calf. Now the radiating pain was through his calf. It wasn’t really what happened.”

New York’s rough season was part of a tough stretch for the Wilpon family, whose members and companies lost millions in convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The owner’s losses don’t appear to have affected the team’s finances yet, with Jeff Wilpon saying Monday the 2010 payroll will be “what Omar needs.”

That puts the pressure squarely back on Minaya, who said he will do anything to help the team rebound next year. He didn’t rule out adding former major league GMs Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi to the front office.

“I’m going to look at any way we can improve ourselves,” Minaya said. “There will be some personnel out there. Like every year, I look around and see how can we get better?”

Updated Oct 5, 4:49 pm EDT
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38 Comments

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  1. kinnywayne
    38. Posted by kinnywayne Tue Oct 6 8:07am EDT

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    As long as these updates continue to state that Omar Minaya still has a job...baseball is dead to me!
  2. MetFanAlltheWay
    37. Posted by MetFanAlltheWay Tue Oct 6 1:07am EDT

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    Mets will reassign Shines to 1st base coach and cause Reyes to have more caught stealing numbers than ever in his career. It will also cause him to re-injure himself and get Jerry fired. Manuel will be replaced by Shines, "Toothless Wonder" in June.
  3. <i>bklynboy555</i>
    36. Posted by bklynboy555 Mon Oct 5 7:06pm EDT

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    i hav prolly been a mets fan longer than you and i'm prolly younger than you and you guys are talking like babies. it was one year..suck it up
  4. John R
    35. Posted by John R Mon Oct 5 6:41pm EDT

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    What A Joke ! The Reyes Injury Misdiagnosed By A Dodger Medical Person . Please ! Razor Shines Still Staying With The Organization . He Must Have Pictures . Please ! Firing The 1st Base Coach Because Of Your Own Incompedence . Please ! No Fire , No Heart , No Pride . Please ! I'm Now A Red Sox Fan !!!!!!!!!
  5. <i>nettech_00</i>
    34. Posted by nettech_00 Mon Oct 5 5:24pm EDT

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    1st base coach Luis Alicea its his fault LMAO!!!! OMG start from the top and work your way down!! The Mets are just about as bad as POND SCUM!!
  6. ME
    33. Posted by ME Mon Oct 5 5:22pm EDT

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    How is Warthen still the pitching coach? Manuel is a jerk if he thinks he is the right guy for the job. Also Minaya needs to go hire Kevin Towers to be his adviser so when Minaya is fired he can take over the GM job. If I were the owner I would force Minaya to hire Towers. He is a great GM. Please don't get Ricciardi, he is as bad as Minaya and has made so many bad decisions. Just add Towers to the staff and he can tell Omar everything to do.
  7. pleaseremovecanuck
    32. Posted by pleaseremovecanuck Mon Oct 5 5:12pm EDT

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    Firing Willie Randolph did not solve the Mets problems did it?
  8. <i>nelsoneddie717</i>
    31. Posted by nelsoneddie717 Mon Oct 5 5:07pm EDT

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    Razor Shines. Still one of the greatest names in baseball history.
  9. Joe F
    30. Posted by Joe F Mon Oct 5 5:05pm EDT

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    Get some Caucasians in there, Mets! C'mon...it's ok to hire people who speak only English.
  10. Joe F
    29. Posted by Joe F Mon Oct 5 5:05pm EDT

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    Get some Caucasians in there, Mets! C'mon...it's ok to hire people who speak only English.
  11. Lind
    28. Posted by Lind Mon Oct 5 5:02pm EDT

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    Mets are a disgrace to the great citizens of the best city New York. They need to re name Citi Field to Bernie Madoff Field and the Mets need to get rid of the GM and medical staff. Wilpon is a a bozo who needs to sell the team ASAP.
  12. <i>xfranchiseballax</i>
    27. Posted by xfranchiseballax Mon Oct 5 4:55pm EDT

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    What does base coaches have to do with this miseable season?? Is it their fault Ryan Church missed base? HAHA WOW Only the Mets PLEASE SELL the METS to SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO WIN
  13. richard nixon
    26. Posted by richard nixon Mon Oct 5 4:42pm EDT

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    if omar is really always thinking about how to make the mets better he would have stepped on the third rail in front of the number 7 train a long time ago.
  14. <i>fthaml</i>
    25. Posted by fthaml Mon Oct 5 4:31pm EDT

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    Manaya,Manual and every coach should be gone. The Wilpons should sell the team. They have mismanaged the organization from the beginning. A short underachieving period in the 80s and a short overachieving period from 1997 thru 2001 otherwise this team has been horrible. They have no sense of history in this organization. When they took over they forgot about the National League history the team represented and Frank Cashen wanted them to look like the Baltimore Orioles. The mismanagement of this team by the Wilpons has turned this town into a Yankee stronghold. Jackie Robinson's contributions to baseball can't be denied or diminished but he had nothing to do with the NY Mets. The Jackie Robinson rotunda is a mistake. At least they have cut back on the annoying music and have occasional live organ music. It wouldn't break the bank to hire a full time organist. in conclusion M. Donald Grant did a better job with this team then the Wilpons.
  15. <i>fthaml</i>
    24. Posted by fthaml Mon Oct 5 4:29pm EDT

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    Manaya,Manual and every coach should be gone. The Wilpons should sell the team. They have mismanaged the organization from the beginning. A short underachieving period in the 80s and a short overachieving period from 1997 thru 2001 otherwise this team has been horrible. They have no sense of history in this organization. When they took over they forgot about the National League history the team represented and Frank Cashen wanted them to look like the Baltimore Orioles. The mismanagement of this team by the Wilpons has turned this town into a Yankee stronghold. Jackie Robinson's contributions to baseball can't be denied or diminished but he had nothing to do with the NY Mets. The Jackie Robinson rotunda is a mistake. At least they have cut back on the annoying music and have occasional live organ music. It wouldn't break the bank to hire a full time organist. in conclusion M. Donald Grant did a better job with this team then the Wilpons.
  16. Vermont T
    23. Posted by Vermont T Mon Oct 5 4:27pm EDT

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    This was good.....as far as it went.....which wasn't far enough. I'm glad they retained Hojo. I agree that he wasn't a great average hitter as a player, but if you tie for the league lead in batting with the AAA lineup the Mets fielded for much of the year, you don't blame the hitting coach for the team's problems. Dumping Shines from third should have been done mid-season and any future job he might be assigned in the organization shouldn't depend upon interaction or communication with players, nor decision making. Perhaps the mailroom is in need of more agressive of mailing out season passes. Alamar, Sr. and Alicea needed to go as well. If Manuel is going to be back (and I'd have canned him already), he needs a bench coach that can do more than say "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" and remind Jerry of things like the hit and run, the straight steal, that Jeremy Reed ISN'T the kind of pinch hitter that strikes fear in the hearts of anyone, who Nick Evans is (nope Jerry, NOT the guy that puts the coldcuts out in the clubhouse), Sean Green can't get through an inning without a walk or wild pitch so a bases loaded situation with him is iffy, etc., etc., etc.

    Definately Manual should have been fired. Omar deserved to be fired as well. If for continuity's sake they kept one, I'd have kept Omar, though I can't stand what he's done to the organization. Worthen I'd have axed. What Met's pitcher made progress this year and can be considered "solid" for next year? Pelfrey, Perez, Maine were the number 2-4 starters with Hernandez at number 5. Did they pitch any better than Redding, Misch, Figgie did? There's also a couple of hurt starters with N's starting their last names - two more question marks. The pitching staff is Santana and pick four at the moment, though I'd pick Maine as my number 2 from that group. Green didn't develop, Putz was hurt, K-Rod didn't dazzle, Stokes and Parnell were inconsistent, Takahashi and Dessens were decent in limited work, but both are old. That leaves Feliciano as the second "dependable" pitcher on the team, and that's somewhat a leap of faith. What exactly did Worthen develop this year? The staff had poor control, and people switched roles and deliveries and we're still left with two pitchers and a bunch of question marks.

    Like I said, this was good as far as it went, but it shouldn't have stopped until Worthen, Manuel and Omar were included.
  17. A
    22. Posted by A Mon Oct 5 4:15pm EDT

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    I wonder if a Yankee gets hurt on the road, they're relying on the diagnosis of the visiting team's doctor?Are they telling me, that they can't fit a Met doctor on the plane with the team? Something about that sounds so bush league to me!!!!
  18. William S
    21. Posted by William S Mon Oct 5 3:46pm EDT

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    Just for the record - I am a Met fan - I'm of latin decent. And I couldn't agree with you more! Every word of it.

    You racist pig!! (That would be a joke)
  19. <i>pmlmotorsports</i>
    20. Posted by pmlmotorsports Mon Oct 5 3:34pm EDT

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    Its amazing..........absolutely AMAZING. We've gone through (4) 1st base coaches and (3) 3rd base coaches and the Wilpons continue to allow Minaya to place fault on these poor bastards as if they have something to do with the team's failure. Funny part about all this, it was Minaya who appointed the coaching staff. Now maybe I'm crazy, and I'm sure most of you consider me a racist, but how on God's earth can the person responsible for hiring these apparently problematic/inadequate coaches keep his job? In 1 breath he chooses the coach as the best option, a year later he removes the coach from that position and claims it, " a move to improve the team." What a joke!!!

    And here's the kicker.........Luis Alicea is the 1st Latin coach to get fired. Sandy Alomar and his son Sandy Jr. are still in the organization, although I couldn't tell you why. To me it's just more of Omar's misguided prioritization, placing ethnicity above ability, performance, and character. The bottomline, these moves do nothing, and the Alomar family is bringing in a cool mil "behind the scenes" while the team they "coach" has failed ever since their arrival. They are the ONLY survivors since 2004......and I'm sure it's just a coincidence they are Latino.


    I know, I know, I'm the racist......Pffft
  20. Boxarain
    19. Posted by Boxarain Mon Oct 5 2:06pm EDT

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    Thank God Omar figured out where the problem is. Alicea and those know nothing Alomars needed to go. The last thing we want is Alomar Jr. talking catching with our young catchers. Oh thats right, we have schneider.
  21. LITTLE BIRD industries
    18. Posted by LITTLE BIRD industries Mon Oct 5 2:05pm EDT

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    HOJO is by far my personal all time Met, with that said, he should not be a hitting coach. Third base mabey even bench coach. The Don Mattingly of the mets, but he was a avg hitter at best. He can lead as his history in management thus far has proven. We need a tech guy for Reyes, Murphy,. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE MEDICAL STAFF. For about six years now the tole put up to the DL is beyond anything ever scene leg problem after leg problem. Yes we have had and do have age not on our side, but it is and has been out of control for quite some time, address it.
  22. <i>assassinpc</i>
    17. Posted by assassinpc Mon Oct 5 1:58pm EDT

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    Fire Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya. Bring back Bobby Valentine and get a GM who actually knows how to distinguish between his a$$ and his elbow. Also get a competent medical and training staff.
  23. Tom
    16. Posted by Tom Mon Oct 5 1:43pm EDT

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    I love seeing these idiots continue to make bonehead moves and make fools out of themselves. Instead of addressing the GM, Manager, and Player needs, they decide to fire the 1st and 3rd base coaches and are considering changing their home uniforms! What a bunch of PATHETIC losers!
    Go Yankees!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  24. <i>nickcal2</i>
    15. Posted by nickcal2 Mon Oct 5 1:22pm EDT

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    Glad I moved to the West Coast. The stink from the Mets. organization was not too bad out here. I will however, still root them on.
  25. Mike C
    14. Posted by Mike C Mon Oct 5 1:21pm EDT

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    I'm happy about this annoucement, but then again, I'm a Phillies fan. I can understand how frustrating this is for the Met fans (believe me, we've seen plenty of bad teams put on the field by bad management). As a total outsider, I think maybe Manuel can get a one-year pass due to all of the injuries, but the fact that Minaya still has a job is a shock to me.
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