If He Comes Back, They'll Play Ball

By Kevin Collazo
Posted Wednesday, July 18, 2007

I think we've seen enough. Enough mental lapses, enough errors, enough managerial mishaps. Enough. Far too many times in the first half, the team had left runners stranded, or they just had forgotten how to play winning baseball. They have refused to do the little things that will make the transition from a slumping streak to a successful one. No more.

With the struggles the way they have been, can someone please explain to me why Willie insists on playing his favorites and not the players who perform? It's truly nerve-racking how poorly he manages in the regular season. It's as much of an abomination to the term "manager" as Joe Torre has been. He has been blessed with the talent, but has no clue about strategy. Someone please kidnap that guy in Japan, and get him here before the end of this series. He could do so much with so little. So much to the point that I now dub him Bobby "MacGyver" Valentine.

Now I know how unlikely it is that he will come back to this team, but I will always have hope. I will say this, though. Was the releasing of Rick Down really a message to the team, or the manager? Think about that one for a bit. Ahh..yes..there is that smile.

It's something that has been in the back of my mind for years now. Livid, I was, when Steve Phillips fired Bobby V. Disgusted, because I witnessed the accomplishments he achieved with few pieces akin to a major league team. He was in every sense of the word, a manager.

What would he be doing differently right now? Well starting Gotay permanently would be his first. Starting Heilman would be his second. Instilling confidence in Beltran and his young guys would be among the top of the list, and making sure that his team is displaying the fundamentals in each game is another.

How about this name?...Timo Perez. Yeah, Bobby definitely got the best out of him even to this day. Daryl Hamilton...wow...Benny Agbayani? Well he reunited with Bobby V and won a championship in Japan. What do you think he would be able to do with Delgado, Beltran, Reyes, Wright, Gotay, Milledge, Lo Duca, Castro, Perez, Pedro, Glavine, Maine, El Duque, Heilman...good lord... HOW CAN YOU NOT PLAY QUALITY BASEBALL WITH THIS TEAM? I'll tell you how. No managerial ability.

Bobby V is no joke. He takes the title seriously, and I hope that Omar looks at this situation very closely. It was nice to have Willie here to change the image of the Mets from the Art Howe era, but right now, more than anything, the Mets need a manager with skills. Willie, although a great coach, does not fall in that category.

(Kevin Collazo writes exclusively for Flushing University every Sunday and Wednesday.)