With the World Series beginning tonight, Carlos Beltran and Curtis Granderson will be battling it out to win their first ever World Series ring. This could be the last chance either player gets to win that elusive ring.
Between the two, it certainly looks like this will be Beltran’s last chance. The 40 year old is coming off a season that saw him hit just .231/.283/.383 in 129 games. During the season, his teammates jokingly buried his glove. After the year, they may be cremating his bat as he has seen more and more of his at-bats go to Evan Gattis. Once considered a sure thing in the postseason, he’s just 3-17 in this postseason including going 1-12 in the ALCS.
As for Granderson, you don’t know. After just a dismal April, the slow starter began hitting again. From May 1st until he was traded to the Dodgers, he was playing about as well as anyone hitting .263/.383/.570. After becoming a Dodger, things were much different for Granderson. In 36 games for the Dodgers, he hit a paltry .161/.288/.366. In this postseason, he’s just 1-15 with an 0-7 in the NLCS. Things have gotten to the point with him that there are actually calls for him to be left off the World Series roster in favor of Charlie Culberson. Sure, this has something to do with Corey Seager‘s back injury, but still, many seem unaware of Granderson hitting three huge homers in the 2015 World Series.
Between the two, Beltran looks closer to the end than Granderson. Whereas the decision may be all but made for Beltran, it appears Granderson will get to make the choice himself. Still, as we know even if Granderson returns to play a 15th season at the age of 37, there is no guarantee he will ever get back to this point.
So this may very well be it for the both of them, and that’s a shame because both have been great players with Beltran likely being a future Hall of Famer. Both were great Mets as well. Beltran played at an MVP level for the Mets for many years, and he built his Hall of Fame case with the Mets. He will go down as the best centerfielder in Mets history.
As for Granderson, he will go down as not just a very good player, but one of the finest human beings to ever wear a Major League uniform. He’s the rare player that gets asked if he’s doing too much with his charitable endeavors. In some ways, he played the Keith Hernandez type role with this current Mets core helping teach them how to be winners.
They both deserve rings, but in the end only one of them will get them. All Mets fans should be thrilled for that player while feeling melancholy for the other. No matter what happens both will forever be Mets, and both should forever be remembered fondly by Mets fans.
With the Mets hiring Mickey Callaway, they have a manager with no managerial experience at any professional level. Sure, he’s a well respected pitching coach who has gotten the most of out young players and has helped rejuvenate careers. However, we have no idea how he will handle more than just a pitching staff. We don’t know how he will manage the dynamics in a clubhouse or how to manage playing time for everyone on the roster. Really, we don’t know how he will manage anything.
Having worked with Terry Francona sure helps, but ideally the Mets will need a respected veteran voice to help Callaway through the process. With the Nationals not bringing back Dusty Baker, the Mets should seriously consider him to be Callaway’s bench coach.
Now, we know the reasons why any organization, especially the Mets, would not want to bring Baker aboard. Baker railed against things like “clogging the bases,” and he has long been blamed for the injuries that would befall Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. His in-game strategy was always in question. For the longest time, many pointed to Baker’s decision to lift a cruising Russ Ortiz as the moment the Giants lost the 2002 World Series. While Baker has purportedly improved on the decision making front, including his use of Max Scherzer out of the bullpen in Game 5 of the NLDS, Baker was still the manager who not only kept Jayson Werth in the lineup, but also batted him second.
Behind that is a guy who has won everywhere. Over his 22 year managerial career, Baker has amassed a 1,863-1636 (.532) record, and he has a pennant to his resume. Remarkably, Baker has had 14 winning seasons in his resume. He has taken the Giants, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals to the postseason with him totaling nine trips to the postseason. One of the years his teams didn’t go to the postseason was in 1993 when his 103 loss Giants team was edged out by the Braves for the division on the last game of the season in the pre-Wild Card format.
Yes, we all know that rosters win games more than managers, but still Baker has typically done something right as a manager to get the most out of his talent. You need not look any further than how the Nationals fared under Baker as opposed to Matt Williams. While it may not show up anywhere tangible, Baker knows what he is doing, and he would serve as a fine mentor for a young manager like Callaway.
Hiring Baker serves another purpose as well. If the Mets want to get back to the postseason, they are going to have to go through the Nationals. It certainly wouldn’t hurt the Mets to have an insight into that Nationals team. Certainly, information like that could go far to helping the first time manager.
Overall, Baker may not have the one calling the shots with his somewhat antiquated worldview, but that’s why you hired Callaway. You want him to come to the job using an analytical approach to managing the game. For the rest, Baker’s knowledge is unparalleled and would go a long way to helping Callaway.
Mickey Callaway
Current Position: Indians Pitching Coach
Age: 05/13/1975 (42)
Managerial Experience: 2008 Texas A&M International University (Division II) 19-37
Like Alex Cora, Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway has emerged as one of the hot managerial candidates. Also like Cora, Callaway has no professional managerial experience.
Despite that many are believers in Callaway’s ability to manage a team including his manager Terry Francona. During last year’s World Series, Francona would say of his pitching coach, “Mickey has been beyond his years or beyond his experience,” Indians manager Terry Francona told MLB.com during last season’s World Series. “He’s so good. I mean, the game doesn’t go too fast for him. You look over at him in the dugout, and he’s got a great demeanor. I think if Mickey wants to manage, I think it’s just whenever.” (MLB.com).
The main basis why you’d hire Callaway is his work with Indians pitchers since 2010. His fingerprints are all over this team with him serving as a minor league pitching coach, minor league pitching coordinator, and finally the pitching coach. Over the past three years, the Indians have had a top two American League team ERA with Cleveland leading the majors in that catergory this year.
Overall, the Indians pitching has been so great that Fangraphs posited this season they could be the greatest staff ever.
As with most pitching coaches, it’s the talent on the staff that makes the pitching coach. The Mets need not look any further than Dan Warthen there. In 2015, he was a guru with a staff excelling using his “Warthen Slider.” This season, the Mets pitchers were injured and the pitchers here put up a historically bad season leading Warthen being reassigned in the organization.
As with any manager or coach, it’s talent. What separates Callaway from the pack is he seems adept at not only developing pitchers, but also rejuvenating careers. Aside from the work he’s done with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, we’ve seen him help Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir rejuvenate their careers.
As Callaway tells it, this is a byproduct of his empathy and experience saying, “You have all this knowledge from all these people and you’ve tried things out. Did they work? Did they not work? I think it’s a little bit easier when you’ve had that type of career.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer).
Other people in the Indians organization, including his manager and pitchers, point to Callaway being a communicator who deeply cares about his pitchers. Callaway works with pitchers to make methodical rather than radical changes, and he presents information to pitchers and decides with the pitcher where the focus should be.
Combine these traits with his learning under one of the best in future Hall of Famer Francona, you have the makings of a great manager.
However, this obfuscates the fact Callaway has no professional managerial experience and the fact many pitching coaches struggle to make the transition from pitching coach to manager. Put in another sport context, pitching coaches are routinely seen as great coordinators but lousy head coaches.
One of the reasons why is for the first time, that pitching coach is entrusted not just with half a team but a whole team. He is the one now making calls on in-game strategy and pitching changes. He’s got to work with pitchers and hitters. Some are never quite able to rise to that challenge.
What the Players Say:
Corey Kluber: “He doesn’t think he’s got all the answers. Whether it be a scout or front office, analytical guy, he’s open to anything and everything.”
Justin Masterson: “”Everyone wanted to say, ‘Do this. Do this. Do this.’ You have a guy who came in and said, ‘Tell me what you’re feeling. Tell me what’s going on. Now let’s see if we can work this in your terms of what you think is right and what you want to do.’ I think in the end, that’s what helped him.”
Cody Allen: “He understands that. He doesn’t want to be that overbearing guy that says, ‘Man, you have to do this. If you just did this, you would be able to do this.’ If there is something in there that you could possibly get more out of, then he may bring it up and leave it up to you. But he’s not going to say, ‘You need to do this.'”
Recommendation:
For those concerned about his being just a pitching coach, Joe Maddon went from Angels pitching coach to a three time Manager of the Year and World Series champion. It should be liter with him, he also served in other roles in that Angels staff including being Terry Collins bench coach.
Other examples of successful pitching coaches who became managers include Bud Black and John Farrell. Both should serve as informative for Callaway because he considers Black as a mentor, and Farrell was a former Francona pitching coach turned manager.
The moral of the story is good communicators tend to make good managers. Smart baseball people who bring out the best in their players can become great managers. That’s what’s so enticing about Callaway.
In the end, of all the people the Mets have interviewed, Callaway is the highest risk, and he could be the highest reward.
Editor’s Note: This was first published on MMO.
Manny Acta
Current Position: Mariners Third Base Coach
Age: 1/11/1969 (48)
MLB Managerial Experience: 2007 – 2009 Washington Nationals 158 – 252 (.385); 2010 – 2012 Cleveland Indians 214-266 (.480)
One of the most respected coaches on Willie Randolph‘s staff was noticeably missing during the 2007 and 2008 collapses that doomed not just the Mets, but also Randolph. The person missing was third base coach Manny Acta.
Much like we saw with Alex Cora this season, Acta was a hot commodity back then because he was widely considered the next big manager. Acta was respected for his intelligence, baseball acumen, and his ability to communicate with players. That went double for young and Hispanic players. In fact, the Washington Nationals said of Acta, “Manny is so intelligent, and so articulate. And he’s very good with players. He’s very active. He was out there hitting fungos (while managing the Nationals). He has a lot going for him.” (Sports Illustrated). That’s a remarkable thing to say about a manager. It’s all the more incredible when you consider that was said when they fired him.
Because Acta is well respected and because people believe he’s an intelligent man who continues to educate himself, he keeps getting jobs. After failing with the Nationals, he was hired by the Indians. After failing with the Indians, he was hired by Baseball Tonight. After a well received Baseball Tonight stint, he was hired by the Mariners to serve as their third base coach, a position which he holds today.
Considering how well respected he is, it makes you question why he never worked out as a manager. For starters, he’s never really had good teams. When we thing of the current Nationals who are one of the best teams in baseball, you think of Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Ryan Zimmerman. In his Nationals tenure, Acta only got to manage a young Zimmerman.
In Cleveland, he had a difficult situation with the old players getting old fast, and the young players not being quite ready. Players like Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe were hanging on while Jason Kipnis and Corey Kluber weren’t what they are now. As many will note, even the best of managers cannot win without talent.
But with Acta, it might have been more than just a lack of talent. In a MASN article, Acta was described as being unable to relate to players. As bad as that might be, an AP article was even more damning of Acta as a manager with Indians players feeling as if Acta did not have their back. There were other reports suggesting Acta was rigid in his ways, and that he was unable to motivate his players. Put another way, Acta’s greatest weakness as manager might be his ability to handle a clubhouse.
What the Players Say:
Joe Smith: “Our team, for whatever reason, didn’t seem motivated to play. It’s sad when you say that about a bunch of guys that get paid to play a game. You shouldn’t need somebody else to motivate you to play this game. At the end of the day, it’s on us, but when it came that time to motivate us, there wasn’t a whole lot of it there.” (MLB.com)
Josh Tomlin: “He said that’s how he managed, that’s how he won in the Minor Leagues and that’s how he was going to win in the big leagues — by being himself. You have to respect a man for that, that he wasn’t going to change who he was.”
Recommendation:
It is interesting to see Mike Puma’s recent New York Post article on the subject of Acta’s candidacy. Ultimately, it highlighted the best points of Acta that leads to teams continuously trying to bring him into their organization. However, that same piece highlighted his weaknesses, notably his inability to “handle controversy.”
What we don’t know from with Acta is if he’s grown from the issues that held back his career in Washington and Cleveland. If he hasn’t then hiring him should prove to be a disaster much in the same way hiring Art Howe or Jeff Torborg was. The Puma article does little to quell those concerns.
However, if Acta has grown and has learned from his mistakes in the clubhouse like we have see from Terry Collins during his Mets managerial career, you will have a smart baseball person who is hard working. In life, you can never go wrong with smart and hard working.
Ultimately, any decision on Acta should begin with long and honest conversations with David Wright and Asdrubal Cabrera. Both are veterans who Acta has coached/managed. If both endorse Acta, it’s possible he’s the right man for the job. That goes double when you consider most of the praise directed at Acta comes from front offices and not players. If Acta doesn’t receive glowing endorsements from Wright or Cabrera, it should be an easy decision to look in a different direction.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on MMO
Mets Hitting Coach Kevin Long
Current Position: Mets Hitting Coach (2015 – present)
Age: 12/30/66 (50)
Managerial Experience: 1998 Wilmington Blue Rocks (A) 6-1; Spokane Indians (A) 44-32 (League Champs)
After a dismal 2014 season, the Mets fired Dave Hudgens and brought Long aboard to serve as the team’s new hitting coach. Certainly, Long’s previous working experience with Curtis Granderson, and the Mets wanting to get the biggest free agent acquisition in the Sandy Alderson Era going didn’t hurt. In his time with the Mets, Long has certainly distinguished himself to the point where he’s actually been referred to as a “rock star.” (MLB.com).
To name a few, we have seen Granderson, Daniel Murphy, Yoenis Cespedes, Jay Bruce, and Neil Walker become better hitters under Long’s tutelage. Generally speaking, when Long’s message gets through, we see players both increase their OBP and their slugging. As noted in a New York Times article, 0ne of the reasons why Long is able to help players improve as hitters is they compile all the relevant data, they filter it down, and they convey that information to the players in the hopes they absorb it and to put it to good use.
In terms of not just the modern manager, but any manager, you are looking for an individual who not only has the ability to understand the data provided to him, but also the best way to convey that data to the players in a way that is effective. As noted with player like Murphy and Cespedes, it has worked. Conversely, we have also seen Long fail to help Travis d’Arnaud and Juan Lagares reach their offensive ceilings. That’s certainly something that has held the Mets back and forced the team to acquire some players over the past few seasons.
Another issue with Long is his lack of managerial experience. He has not managed anywhere since 1999, and he has not managed above short season Single-A ball. Accordingly, we really have no idea how he would handle being in charge of every aspect of a clubhouse, a pitching staff, personalities, and playing time.
To that end, it should be noted Long has a good relationship with former Yankees and Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland, who is noted for helping fix pitcher’s mechanics. After all the times the past few seasons we have heard Mets pitchers point to mechanical issues, the team could certainly use a pitching coach like Eiland to replace Dan Warthen.
Still, with Long, we have seen a coach that already has the respect of the players in the Mets clubhouse, and he has a report with the front office. We see someone who is a good communicator and someone who has the ability to understand and translate data. Ultimately, we may not know what type of manager he would become, but we do know he has the tools to succeed as a manager.
What The Players Say:
Granderson: “If that were to happen, obviously he’d be up for the challenge. He’s always energetic, he communicates, which I think is the biggest thing a manager needs to have . . . So many things can be resolved if people just communicate.” (Newsday).
Alex Rodriguez: “And that’s why I think Kevin Long could be a good manager. It’s more like a CEO of a public company. You’re basically getting information from your board and ownership and you’re transferring it to your shareholder which are the players.” (WFAN)
Recommendation:
Understandably, Mets fans probably want someone with more experience, and some want a completely new face. However, with the current front office going nowhere, you are going to need someone who you know has a good working relationship with the front office. It also helps that Long has a respect in the clubhouse, and the ability to communicate with this players.
Due to his strengths, Long would be a fine choice for manager with one caveat. With his lack of experience, Long is going to need a strong staff with an accomplished pitching coach and a veteran bench coach to help guide him. Short of that, and the Mets are really just setting up Long for failure.
Two years ago, the New York Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. Each and every Mets player played a part in the Mets reaching that moment, but perhaps none played a bigger role that Curtis Granderson. As a just reward, the native Chicagoan, who has contributed so much to his hometown, got to celebrate winning a pennant in his hometown.
With the Dodgers winning the NLCS last night, Granderson once again got to celebrate winning a pennant in a hometown. Coincidentally, since the inception of the divisional format in 1961, Granderson has celebrated more pennants at Wrigley Field than the entire Cubs franchise. The one thing the Cubs have that Granderson doesn’t is a World Series title.
Back in 2015, Granderson did all he could do to get that title. In that World Series, he was the best player on the field for either team. The three home runs he hit in that series gave the Mets the lead. Certainly, had things gone differently Granderson would have been named the World Series MVP. For faults that were not his own, the Mets didn’t win that World Series, and Granderson remains without a World Series title. Arguably, this is World Series is Granderson’s best chance to get that elusive World Series ring.
Certainly, you can argue Granderson deserves that ring because he has been a very good player over his 14 year career. More than that, Granderson deserves that ring because he his as a good a human being as has ever put on a Major League uniform. He’s actually the rare athlete where teams question if he’s tiring himself out by spending some much time doing charitable work. (New York Times). That’s a rare and admirable trait to see an an individual, let alone a professional athlete.
After his stint with the Dodgers, it seems more likely than ever Granderson is near the end of his career. He’s been a good player and an even better person. This may very well be his last and perhaps his best chance to win a World Series. Here’s hoping he gets it.
As the Mets embark on their managerial search, it’s interesting to note that of the Mets 20 managers only eight have been hired for another job. For some, there were extenuating circumstances. Casey Stengel broke a hip. Gil Hodges passed away. Terry Collins is retiring or being forced into retirement depending upon your point of view.
With that said, for the most part, managing the Mets is typically a final step in a manager’s career. As noted there were eight exceptions. Can you name them? Good luck!
Salty Parker Wes Westrum Joe Torre Yogi Berra George Bamberger Davey Johnson Jeff Torborg Bobby Valentine
Recent reports indicate Robin Ventura and Brad Ausmus are not interested in the Mets managerial job. For Ventura’s part, it seems he’s just not interested in managing again. With respect to Ausmus, he’s interested in managing again, but he doesn’t want the Mets job. Ausmus is interested in the Red Sox job.
There are also reports other managers with managerial experience were out of the running as well. Specifically, Bob Geren and Chip Hale will not be reuniting with the Mets. Both were assumed to be well respected by the organization, but for unspecified reasons, neither is a candidate for the Mets managerial opening. With respect to these two, it should be noted, it was not known if they took themselves out of the running, or the Mets decided to go in another direction.
Really, the only manager with prior experience who is a candidate for the job is Manny Acta, who due to poor stints in Washington and Cleveland, probably won’t be a candidate for many managerial positions. Unless Acta gets the job, the Mets are going to hire a first time manager, and the top managerial candidate on the market, Alex Cora, appears destined to go to the Red Sox.
It really makes you question why there isn’t greater interest in the Mets managerial position? There may be a number of viable reasons why, but let’s not overlook the fact the Mets managerial position is somewhat of a dead-end job.
Since the Wilpons assumed team control in 2003, the team has gone through four managers. That’s five if you include Bobby Valentine who was fired after the 2002 season. Of those five managers, Valentine was the only one who would ever get another managerial job, and that was only after he first went to Japan, worked as an analyst on Baseball Tonight, and got the opportunity from a Red Sox ownership group eager to hire him. Otherwise, Valentine likely never gets another job. It is likely that whatever the outcome, he would still need help with his resume from sites like https://www.arcresumes.com/local/texas/. You are never too clever to have help writing your resume, after all, it has to be perfect. Anyhow, Valentine is a lucky guy.
There are several reasons why these managers never got another job. With respect to Terry Collins, he will turn 69 early in the 2018 season, and there were rumors before the announcement the Mets were reassigning him in the organization, Collins was going to retire anyway. Still, that didn’t prevent the Mets from trashing him on the way out.
It’s quite possible the scathing analysis of Collins as detailed in Marc Carig’s Newsday article was the Mets masterpiece. It may well be the result of all the practice they’ve had.
In a New York Daily News feature after it was announced Art Howe would finish out the season before being fired, Howe was characterized as soft, uninspiring, weak, and lacking credibility with players.
His replacement, Willie Randolph, was treated just as poorly on the way out. In addition to being fired after winning the first game of a West Coast trip, the Mets would again go to assassinate their manager’s character. As detailed by Bill Maddon of the New York Daily News, the Mets let it be known they had their reservations about even hiring Randolph and insisted the team won in spite of him. As if that wasn’t enough, the report stated the team believed Randolph, “lacked fire; the players, especially the Latino players, had tuned him out; he was too sensitive to criticism; he was overly defensive; he didn’t communicate with his coaches.”
Is there any wonder why a manager with a 302-253 (.544) record never got another job? The same manager who deftly handled the development of David Wright and Jose Reyes never got another opportunity.
Yes, there were other reasons why Randolph never got another job, but in the end, the character assassination levied upon him was a great disservice, and it played an important role in his never getting another job. Same went for Valentine and Howe.
Knowing how the Mets handle the firings of their managers, and knowing how their managers never get another job, why would a top candidate ever consider taking this job?
When the Mets collapsed in 2007 and 2008, one person that was conspicuously absent was third base coach Manny Acta. In his time serving that role with the Mets, he had become known as an intelligent forward thinking baseball man, who showed an ability to connect with the players on the team.
Those traits led to Acta being a hot managerial candidate that offseason not too dissimilar to what we see with Alex Cora right now. Coincidentally, many of the positive things said about Cora now were said about Acta after the 2006 season.
Acta would get hired after the 2006 season as the Nationals manager. This would begin an interesting six year managerial career split between the Nationals and the Indians. He would have go 158-252 (.385) with the Nationals, and 214-266 (.446) with the Indians.
One of the reasons for the struggles with the Nationals was talent. The team had just parted ways with talented players including Alfonso Soriano. Of the famed group of Nationals who are part of the core of the current Nationals team that won multiple division titles, he would only get to manage Ryan Zimmerman.
It was a similar issue with the Indians. It was a team in transition after Cliff Lee was traded mid-season the year prior to his arrival. Acta would lead the team to a surprise second place finish in 2011 increasing expectations for 2012. That team had underperforming veterans like Derek Lowe, Ubaldo Jimenez, Casey Kotchman, and Johnny Damon didn’t produce, and young players like Corey Kluber, Cody Allen, and Jason Kipnis who were not quite ready.
Overall, Acta was well considered in baseball circles. Its why when he was fired by the Nationals they said, “Manny is so intelligent, and so articulate. And he’s very good with players. He’s very active. He was out there hitting fungos (while managing the Nationals). He has a lot going for him.” (Sports Illustrated).
It’s why Acta only had to wait a season between managerial jobs. That is the case when he has two top five Manager of the Year finishes under his belt. After his managerial stint was over, Acta was hired by ESPN where he would work for Baseball Tonight. For the past two seasons, he served as the Mariners third base coach. When he was hired, Mariners manger Scott Servais said, “I believe Manny will be a great addition to our staff. I’ve known him for over 25 years, since we were teammates in 1989. His experience as a Major League third-base coach and manager, paired with his extensive player-development background, will be very valuable to me, and to our players, as we move forward.” (MLB.com).
Between his tenure with the Nationals and the Indians, we began to get a picture of who Acta was as a manager. Generally speaking, he was seen as a smart baseball man who had an analytical approach to the game. Whereas some managers use instincts and a gunslinger mentality, Acta was a tactician who relied on the data. For many, this would invoke comparisons to Joe Girardi, which depending on your point of view, could be seen as a positive or a negative.
In terms of the clubhouse, Acta had a mixed reputation like many managers do. For one player, he was seen as someone who didn’t keep a tight reign on this players. For others, he was a manager who respected the veterans and let them control the clubhouse. For many, this would invoke comparisons to Terry Collins, which again depending on your view, could be seen as a positive or a negative.
Really, throughout his two tenures as manger, the only real pure negative thing anyone had to say about him was he was a poor motivator, and he was rigid in his ways. As then Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin said of Acta, “He said that’s how he managed, that’s how he won in the Minor Leagues and that’s how he was going to win in the big leagues — by being himself. You have to respect a man for that, that he wasn’t going to change who he was.” (MLB.com).
As for his ability to motivate Joe Smith said, “Our team, for whatever reason, didn’t seem motivated to play. It’s sad when you say that about a bunch of guys that get paid to play a game. You shouldn’t need somebody else to motivate you to play this game. At the end of the day, it’s on us, but when it came that time to motivate us, there wasn’t a whole lot of it there.”
Overall, Acta is well considered to be a good and smart baseball man. It is why he continues to get jobs. It is also why you do see a positive impact on whatever team he joins. Still, between his record and the specific criticism of being rigid in how he manages and his inability to motive, you do question if he’s well suited to be a manager.” Then again, those things only to be raised as issues when someone is fired.
In the end, we still probably don’t know what Acta is as a manager because he’s never quite had sufficient talent to manage. Considering the current composition of the Mets roster, this would make Acta a risky bet for this Mets team. Then again, so would Cora or anyone else the Mets are considering.