Joe Espada And Matt Quatraro Offer Something Buck Showalter Never Can

The New York Mets have narrowed their managerial search to Joe Espada, Matt Quatraro, and Buck Showalter. By the end of this week, one of these men will be the new Mets manager.

Reading the tea leaves, Showalter is the odds-on favorite. He’s worked with current general manager Billy Eppler, and he’s seen as the favorite of Mets owner Steve Cohen.

As noted, Showalter carries risk. He’s had issues managing veteran teams like the Mets have, and he’s not analytically inclined. In fact, he’s shown skepticism. It’s also led to him making mistakes like not pitching Zack Britton.

Mistakes like this are one of the reasons Showalter has never won so much as a League Championship game in five postseason trips.

Conversely, in their roles as bench coaches, Espada and Quatraro have been a part of pennant winning teams. They were also part of some of the most analytically advanced teams in the game.

The Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays know how to apply analytics better than anyone. They use coaches like Espada and Quatraro to meld the analytics with performance.

More than that, they know all the things the Mets and other organizations don’t know. They know the data they’re getting, and they know what’s the really important data needed to help their teams win.

The institutional knowledge Espada and Quatraro have is of immense value. Teams who hire them aren’t just getting managers; they’re getting a wealth of information on how to transform and improve their organization.

That’s something Showalter just can’t bring or offer a team. He’s been out of baseball for three years, and he came from a Baltimore Orioles team who didn’t have an analytics department.

In the end, if the Mets hire Showalter, he better be THAT good that he can overtake what the Mets are passing up. To date, he hasn’t, and that’s why the Mets should be really looking towards hiring Espada or Quatraro.

28 Replies to “Joe Espada And Matt Quatraro Offer Something Buck Showalter Never Can”

  1. David Klein says:

    I’m fine with any of the three silly article.

    1. metsdaddy says:

      You were also fine with BVW and Jeff

  2. David Klein says:

    That’s a lie and you have somehow worse takes than Sal Licata. Did you get fired by MetsMerized again?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      You know I’m telling the truth, and I find it telling you listen to Licata.

  3. Bangledeah says:

    Why is Houston not promoting Espada ? How can you bash Buck about Britton yet pine for Willie back and he left in Heilamn instead of going to ” HOF” closer Billy Wagner ?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      Houston is not promoting Espada because they have Dusty.

      In terms of Willie, Wagner admitted he was shot, and he shouldn’t have been used there.

  4. David Klein says:

    No but I fall asleep with Sny on the tv and that psychopath ranting about the Mets you two have similar hot takes— though not sure he’s a Callaway shill like you were. I find it funny how you had two articles on mmo and disappeared fired again?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      Yes, you support the Wilpon owned network and willfully listen to Licata. I think that says all that needs to be said.

      Also, I’ll note I literally just published an article on MMN, but please, keep lying.

  5. David Klein says:

    How else do I watch Mets games bozo?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      I’ve watched nearly every game televised on SNY.

      Sal Licata appeared on exactly none of them

  6. Bangledeah says:

    Houston is one of the smartest organizations in the game. I know Dusty is there, but he won’t be there much longer. I read how Espada practically made all decisions. So why not promote him and keep around till Dusty is gone ? Dusty was able to adapt and fix Houston’s situation so much so after a World Series appearance they are sticking with the veteran manager instead of their own rookie prospect. If Dusty can adapt to the level so can Buck .

    1. metsdaddy says:

      Dusty has always showed the ability to adapt and learn.

      Buck has never shown that ability.

  7. Bangledeah says:

    I know Wagner shot. Big reason why I put HOF in quotes. He could never answer the call when the chips were down. I don’t know what’s worse his post season meltdown or the one game late in 07 in Philly. Couldn’t hold a 5 run lead with 5 outs. Out all his saves 56 percent were 2-3run leads , 45 percent were 1 leads. Anyway Willie got exposed and he teams underachieved and he never held himself accountable.

    1. metsdaddy says:

      I hate to tell you this, but Willie’s teams consistently overachieved.

      Go back through 2006 and look at the injuries that team sustained and the perpetual state of that rotation.

  8. Bangledeah says:

    If it was Espada or Dusty who would you pick ?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      I would probably pick Dusty because he’s a great manager, and he’s shown the ability to adapt and improve.

      However, that opinion changes depending on my team. If I’m rebuilding, Espada in a heartbeat.

  9. Bangledeah says:

    Well this team isn’t rebuild mode. Terry Collins came this organization with a worse reputation than Buck. He was able change , Tom Coughlin with Giants another example. This is very much a win now team that needs a veteran presence , just like Houston.

    1. metsdaddy says:

      If you’re a veteran team, Buck is not the right manager. It’s the reason he was fired by Arizona and Texas.

      Buck is the manager your hire to teach young players to play the right way.

      He’s not the manager to handle veterans or integrate data he has no interest in integrating.

  10. Bangledeah says:

    Clearly Espada isn’t ready for those duties either. Other wise Houston would be keeping him until Dusty is ready to leave. Which is going to be very soon.

    1. metsdaddy says:

      Houston can only keep Espada if they fire Dusty to keep Espada, and Dusty has only proven he should keep the job.

      Being a bench coach for a borderline Hall of Fame manager isn’t a disqualifier.

  11. Bangledeah says:

    Dusty is 72 years old, he’s not going to be managing forever. If they valued Espada like they say they do and he was instrumental to their success, why aren’t they grooming him to take over ?

    1. metsdaddy says:

      They are grooming him, but during that process, someone else might hire him.

  12. Bangledeah says:

    If they’re grooming and he’s so great, why would they risk losing him ? To let one of the hottest managerial prospects to just walk out the door when there is going to be an obvious opening eventually is strange to me. If he’s so great they should want to keep him .

    1. metsdaddy says:

      So, your solution is to get rid of the really good manager who just won a pennant?

      Please be serious.

  13. Bangledeah says:

    Where does it say get rid of Dusty ? I said he’s not going to be there much much longer.

    1. metsdaddy says:

      Your strawman arguments all say the Astros value Espada only if they fire Dusty to keep him

  14. Bangledeah says:

    I’m saying if they valued him as much as they do, they’d keep him for when Dusty retires. But obviously they don’t .

    1. metsdaddy says:

      They can’t bar him from interviewing for other manager jobs

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