Thank God It’s Over!

The 2009 Mets season mercifully ended on Sunday with a three game sweep of the equally putrid Astros. In what has become a yearly event following the Mets regular season close, management addressed the media yesterday to both apologize for the putrid season and to reassure fans that they will do their best to fill the holes for 2010 and field a winning team. But after three years of the same talk and little action, are the fans even listening anymore?

In yesterday’s press conference, Omar Minaya, Jeff Wilpon and Jerry Manuel all addressed the media in yet another attempt at damage control for this disastrous season. Considering the past bungling press conferences this season, I guess Mets fans can take some solace in that none of these three musketeers suffered from the rampant “foot-in-mouth” syndrome that had previously infected their dealings with the media. But on the other hand, they really said nothing new or worthwhile. They attempted to assure fans that 2009 was a fluke and that they will make the changes necessary so that this won’t happen again in 2010, but so far, the only changes made were some minor ones with the coaching staff. And for whatever reason, third base coach Razor Shines and pitching coach Dan Warthen, the two who most deserved the ax, were spared. Though stripped of his horrendous third base coaching duties, Shines, a close friend of Jerry Manuel, will remain as a coach in some capacity.

They also mentioned reaching out to recently fired Toronto and San Diego GM’s J.P. Ricciardi and Kevin Towers about possible positions within the organization. Again, this is a smart path but pretty insignificant when trying to placate an angry fan base for the third year in a row. If anything, it just puts two qualified individuals in contention as Omar’s replacement if the team doesn’t improve in 2010.

Sadly, most Mets fans at this point are angry enough after the failures of 2006 through 2009 to require drastic moves this off-season, both on the field and in the front office. This translates to bloodlust and a justifiable obsession with bringing Bobby Valentine back on board. Valentine is the type of manager who makes average players shine and is a stickler for fundamentals. Valentine would not stand for the shenanigans of base running and mental errors this season brought forth from both veterans and rookies alike. And the truth of the matter is, some time in early August, Manuel completely lost control of the ship. Even with all of the injuries, there is no excuse for the Mets to have lost 90 games and to lose many of them in embarrassing fashion. For this, Jerry Manuel needed to be the sacrificial lamb of the 2009 season. For fans, that would symbolize a fresh start for 2010 even if Omar Minaya remains.

But Jeff Wilpon is either an incredibly benevolent man or the Madoff scam is a factor in giving Jerry and Omar one last shot to turn things around. So as fans, we will wait and see what this off-season will bring. I somewhat trust Omar’s ability to fill the holes at catcher, first base, left field and in the starting rotation. He has pulled off some good deals during his time here and knowing his job is on the line is probably extra incentive to do whatever it takes to turn things around. But the question is, will whatever is done in the off-season be enough to turn this team into a winner in 2010? Only time will tell, but here’s hoping Bobby V. is still biding his time ESPN when we need him.