Rex Ryan’s Learning Experience
The collapse of this season’s Jets finds it’s root in last season when then Jets coach Sal Alosi tripped an opposing player on the sideline. Only two conclusions could have been drawn from that incident. Either Rex Ryan had advocated his coaches in taking cheap shots or Ryan was not as close to his staff (and by extension players) as he believed.
In Ryan’s three years as Jets coach player personnel has changed at an alarming rate. Much has been made of quarterback Mark Sanchez‘s chemistry with tight end Dustin Keller but that could e that Keller is the longest running starter at the offensive “skilled positions” for the Jets. In other words in only his third year Sanchez has worked with keller the longest. You could argue that the Jets have gotten better at wide receiver with the types of players they’ve acquired at that position over the last couple of years but at what price? It’s hard for a team to gel when players keep getting shuffled in and out.
Another sign of the Jets eventual demise was their attitude when they were winning. When questioned about a particular failing in a game the Jets won we’ve heard coach Ryan say time and again that it doesn’t matter as long as we won the game. This answer has been echoed by players, coaches and even team management. This answer totally ignores what makes winning teams win more. Even the most lopsided wins show areas to improve in. You always have to be looking to make a good thing even better. (Ironically this is how the Jets defend their turn over of offensive personnel.)
Watching Rex Ryan after the season ended and hearing the things he’s said makes me think he’s learned from this experience and that it’ll make him a better coach going forward. Only time will tell if my thinking is, indeed true.
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Schottenheimer Out, Sanchez Still In
There’s been a lot of talk about Mark Sanchez since the Jets season ended. Some bad, some supportive but very little actual good. Most of the talk is finger pointing by current (some anonymous, some not) and former teammates. I admit that I haven’t read all of what’s been said (it’s a very sad situation right now) but there are some points I’ve made in conversation since the middle of last season that bear repeating here.
When the Jets appeared on the HBO series Hard Knocks there was a segment in which Brian Schottenheimer, the Jets offensive coordinator, was meeting with Sanchez. I don’t remember the exact content of the conversation but I remember feeling very worried as a result of it. Schottenheimer was trying to make Sanchez understand something about the playbook and Sanchez was behaving like he was a grade school kid being scolded for not doing his math homework. This, of course, has nothing to do with Sanchez’s work ethic but it had me questioning whether or not he was up for the job of NFL quarterback. Not that I doubted he’d do the film study and the work but I doubted his maturity.
From all reports Sanchez does the things NFL QBs need to do. His offensive line believes in him. He works hard in game preperation. He even organizes a minicamp in southern California during the offseason. But that itself will not win games if his in game decision making is poor.
We’ve seen time and again where Sanchez throws an ill advised pass for an interception when he should hold the ball and take the sack. Or when he throws the ill advised pass instead of throwing the ball out of bounds. Or when he tries to be too fine with the throw into traffic. Even sliding head first instead of feet first after a run. (That’s very tough but not too smart.) Bad decision making is a sign of immaturity in the quarterback.
For his part Schottenheimer is not without blame. Without being in the lockerroom and team meatings it’s hard to say exactly what was wrong with Schottenheimer’s treatment of Sanchez but he’s been accused of coddling his quarterback instead of challenging him and his play calling was always under scrutiny even before Sanchez. Could this be the case of the coach not handling his quarterback well?
I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that perhaps Schottenheimer’s not the right coach for a young QB. Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers when they drafted (or, depending on how you look at it, traded for) Phillip Rivers. In my opinion Rivers was a better QB with better tools at the time he was drafted than Sanchez was. But look at Rivers now. He has never lived up to his potential and threw 20 interceptions this year. That’s two strikes. If I were looking for an offensive coordinator right now I’d only consider Schottenheimer if I had an established QB.
All is not lost for Sanchez. Perhaps this is more a case of an underdeveloped quarterback than anything else. Tom Landry used to say it takes 5 years to develop a quarterback. By that count Sanchez still has time left. With Schottenheimer out and the offensive coaching staff undegoing an overhaul (including the hiring of Tony Sparano as the new offensive coordinator) maybe Sanchezz can start to progress again after a season of regression.
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Bullpen Stronger, Leadoff Still Weak
The Mets made a flurry of moves last night in the aftermath of Jose Reyes‘s departure. The truth is that these are moves that would likely have been made anyway but as Mets fans the Reyes parting is the watershed event of this offseason. Everything the Mets do now will be compared (by most, anyway) to the tough loss of Reyes at the top of the lineup.
In this flurry of moves the Mets strengthened their bullpen by signing Frank Francisco & Jon Rauch and acquiring Ramon Ramirez from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Angel Pagan. The Mets also acquired outfielder Andres Torres in the trade with the Giants.
I have no problem with the bullpen restructuring. As the 2011 season went on, and certainly after Francisco Rodriguez was traded, the bullpen deteriorated. A decision was made to build bullpen depth instead of acquiring a top of the line closer and that is definitely the right way to go. What use is a top flight closer if the rest of the bullpen can’t preserve a lead for him?
My only issue with yesterday’s moves is Torres. I understand that they probably couldn’t get any more in this trade and as far as many facets of the game go, particularly on defense, he is an upgrade in center field over Pagan. So my problem is not necesarily with his acquisition. But he is now being looked at as the leadoff hitter for this club and that’s not a good thing. He’s a career .244/.318/.403 hitter who has never hit higher than .270 in his career. He also strikes out a lot for a leadoff guy (in my opnion) 95 times in 112 games in 2011 and 128 in 139 games in 2010.
With the deeper bullpen and better defense in center field it’s possible that the Mets could be a competitive (note: I didn’t say winning) team while scoring fewer runs. But if I’m Sandy Alderson finding a more capable leadoff hitter, while not as urgent as it was yesterday morning, is still a high priority.
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Goodbye, Jose!
I was going to write something about the Jets today (and I still may) but then the Jose Reyes news broke and I feel I must comment about it.
I suppose Reyes’ departure is no surprising but that doesn’t change the emotional reactions we’re all going through over this news. Yes, he’s probably the best leadoff hitters and among the most exciting players currently in the major leagues. For this he will be missed by Mets fans who have enjoyed watching him play all these years when there has not been much else to cheer about in Flushing.
But at the same time I don’t fault him for leaving. With the Mets he’s been setting the table for what? Outside of David Wright there has been no other player consistently in the lineup to help push Reyes across when he’s done his thing. Add to that the financial instability and almost perpetual state of rebuilding the club has been in during the 9 years since his debut (let’s get real, the Mets were only in contention for 2 or 3 years during that span) and who could blame him?
He’s going to a team that has made a renewed effort to attract good players. They’ve got a new name (not really but that’s what they say), a new stadium and, apparently, a new payroll. What’s not to like?
No, I don’t blame Reyes for leaving. And the financial issues not withstanding his departure could be a good lesson for the Mets. That lesson: it’s time. Time to move on from the past future of Reyes and Wright as the cornerstones of this team. Time to eschew the strategy of “if we could only find the right players to put around these two”. It’s time for a fresh start. Does that include Wright? I don’t know. But Reyes has made up his mind that it doesn’t include him.
Good luck, Jose.
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Don’t Judge Stevie Johnson’s Touchdown Dance
Stevie Johnson‘s touchdown celebration was in poor taste. But so what? Most player celebrations are in poor taste.
After scoring a touchdown against the Jets yesterday Johnson celebrated by mimicking Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the thigh and mocking Santonio Holmes‘ Jet celebration (he crashed his Jet). I’ve never been a fan of touchdown dances but these are things that if someone on our team had done them we’d have a good laugh about. But when it’s against our team we take exception.
No, I don’t take exception to Johnson’s celebration. Given the current standards for celebration it fits right in. What I take exception to is the current standard.
When I was a kid in little league my coaches always taught me sportsmanship. When something good happens for you and your team it’s okay to be happy about it but it’s not okay to flaunt it in the oppositions faces. The same lessons were echoed to me several years later when playing basketball on a local team and later still when I played intramural hockey in high school and college.
I remember one year when my hockey team won a semifinal game in double overtime. It was the highlight of my hockey ‘career’. In almost 2 complete periods of overtime hockey I stopped more shots (I was the goalie) than I had during all of regulation. When my teammate scored the game winning goal of course I jumped and shouted in celebration. But did I do a silly dance in front of the oppositions bench? Of course not. (And it’s not just because I was about to collapse from exhaustion.) I actually shook hands with every player of that team and congratulated them on a well player game.
The saying of ‘hate the game, not the player’ (or is that playa) must be applied to the Johnson celebration yesterday. Was it out of line? Sure. Bad taste? Definitely. But it’s just a symptom of the poor sportsmanship that is emblematic of professional sports today.
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On Bobby V. and the Red Sox
So it appears that Bobby Valentine is the front runner for the Boston Red Sox managerial job. Good for him and for them. I wish them all the best.
Though I don’t mean the above facetiously (I’ve been known to have a dark sense of humor sometimes but I’m not mean) I’ll be happy to see Bobby V. wearing someone else’s uniform if for no other reason than it will finally end the idea of him reprising the role of Mets manager (at least for a while).
I appreciate what Valentine has meant to the Mets organization and fans. His contributions as a coach on Davey Johnson’s coaching staff in the early/mid 1980s helped make those teams among the best of their time and certainly the best in Mets history. And managing the Mets to their last Word Series appearance cements his place in Mets lore.
But that ship has sailed. I have no interest in having a Mets version of Billy Martin. As sentimental and nostalgic as I am this is one piece of the past that is best left there.
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Backman To Manage Bisons
In what could be a set up for the future the Mets have named Wally Backman as manager of AAA Buffalo. Many people scoffed at the fact that Backman wasn’t named to Terry Collins’ staff on the major league level last month but being at AAA is probably good for his chances at a major league managerial position.
In his capacity at AAA Backman will be looked at as an heir apparent to the major league job but his continued managing could also make him more attractive to other teams who may have been scared off by his being fired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004. For those who don’t remember, Backman was fired just 4 days after being named the DBacks manager after the New York Times reported in the article announcing his hiring in Arizona that Backman had a criminal record and financial trouble. (How this information didn’t come out during the hiring process is anybody’s guess but that’s a different discussion.)
Backman has bounced around the minors ever since the Arizona episode finally finding a home in the Mets organization he played for. He’s worked his way up the ranks to now become manager of their AAA affiliate just as his friend and former manager Davey Johnson did. Whether he ends up replacing Collins after Collins’ contract runs out or not remains to be seen. But being a manager at some level will allow him to prove himself in that capacity for all major league teams to see.
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Outfield Dimensions Are Not The Problem
Metsblog posted a story this morning about alleged internal discussion within the Mets organization regarding changing the color of the outfield wall at CitiField to the same blue color that the outfield wall at Shea Stadium had. Though I’d like to see this as well as some adjustment of the outfield dimensions (though not as severe a change as many other fans may want to see) I think the Mets have bigger things to focus on.
I don’t think the Mets are not winning because of the colors or the dimensions. They’re not winning because they don’t have the right team to play in their home field. If you have a park that is hard to hit home runs in you go out and get a team that plays small ball well. Build on the model of the Cardinals of the early to mid 1980s.
Moving the fences in makes it easier for your marquee stars such as David Wright and Jason Bay to hit home runs. But it will also make it easier for opposing players. If you have a unique park, as the Mets have, build the right team to play there. Get a bunch of singles and double hitters who hit for average and have speed. Get some ground ball pitchers capable of keeping the ball in the infield.
Sure it’s an old fashioned approach to the game. But when you build a throwback stadium you may need to build a throwback team to win there.
(The opening of this post is not a bash of Metsblog. It’s just a citation of the post that set off this thought.)
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Mets Shuffle Coaching Staff
The Mets announced coaching changes this afternoon. Ken Oberkfell (bench), Chip Hale (3B), Mookie Wilson (1B) and Jon Debus (bullpen) will not be back next year. Tim Teufel will coach third base in place of Hale, who has already signed as the Oakland A’s bench coach, and Ricky Bones will replace Debus. Dave Hudgens (hitting) and Dan Warthen (pitching) will return in their 2011 roles. Wilson and Debus will be offered other positions in the organization.
I’m a bit surprised by such a large coaching staff change considering how this year was a good step in the right direction (despite the won/lost record) away from the past and toward a more positive future. I’m a bit sentimental to see Mookie go again but am thankful he’ll likely remain in the organization. I don’t know how well Debus did his job but I’ll miss saying “help me, Debus” on every call to the bullpen.
It’s interesting that Oberkfell was not mentioned as one of the coaches the Mets will offer another job to since it was only a few years ago that he was considered a future manager. This can probably be chalked up to Oberkfell not being a Sandy Alderson guy. Not that he and Alderson didn’t get along (There’s no way I could know that) but perhaps their philosophies are different. Another possibility is that he has his eyes on managing but Terry Collins just signed a 3 year extension and posed a road block to that goal.
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Missing Playoffs Is Not A Big Deal In 2011
Every publication (print and electronic) that covers the Mets has a mention of the fact that the team was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yesterday. I’m trying to figure out why this is so noteworthy.
Coming into the season the goal of this year was to rebuild. Shed some big contracts, develop some younger talent and bring a new attitude to the team. Nobody was talking about playoffs. I’d say the goals have been accomplished.
With the pre-season cuts of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo the Mets were on their way to cutting payroll. The mid season trades of Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran kept them on that track.
The emergence of players like Justin Turner, Ruben Tejada and Lucas Duda as serviceable players (I know, not superstars by any means) puts them on track on the player development goal.
The attitude? Manager Terry Collins has brought some fire to the team. Through most of the season the team was playing above their level due to this intangible.
As a fan I start every season rooting for my team to win the world series. As a realist I know a bad team when I see one and set my sites on other accomplishments. As far as those accomplishments go I’d say the Mets have done a pretty good job in this development year. I’d say they’re still 2 years away from being a contender (2013 will be a good year if 2011 proves to be the stepping stone I think it will be) but they’ve made some strides and given the fans something to look forward to next year.
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