The Mets did it. Without getting two outs, battle-tested veteran Tom Glavine allowed seven earned runs without retiring two batters. While his atrocious start in the biggest game of the 2007 season will rightly be criticized, one cannot help but wonder how the management blame will be apportioned.
Manager Willie Randolph has been taking some heat in the press as not being animated. Both may be true, but he learned how to manage from Yankees' manager Joe Torre, who is lauded for that exact quality. Is that why General Manager Omar Minaya brought is the card-playing solipsist Rickey Henderson?
Minaya has received glowing coverage as a result of his tremendous character and Horatio Alger story. That will be put to the test as the blame for the Mets failure clearly falls, to borrow a phrase from Bill Parcels, on the shoulders of the person who bought the groceries. Does Omar stand-up and take full responsibility (I hope so)? Or does he throw Willie under the bus?
Some more fallout will revolve around the genius of pitching coach Rick Peterson. While I do not believe he can perform the magic he allows the press to proclaim, he must now pay the consequences for those ego-inflating plaudits.
No doubt the Mets are going to be a focal point of the general MLB chats today, and a big story this off-season as the 2007 season is examined. Hopefully, there won't be any pitching fixes in the form of two-year contracts for steroids-test failing relievers.
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