Minaya, Manuel Gone, but Mets' Problems Still Trickle Down From Top

After firing general manager Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel on Monday, Mets ownership sent an email to the team's fans.

"As Ownership," it read in part, "we are ultimately responsible and have determined that changes are necessary to produce a winning team for the long term."

Yes, ownership is responsible.

No, it won't make the changes that are really needed.

Because the first change has to come at the top.

At the news conference to discuss the firings, CEO Fred Wilpon and his son, COO Jeff Wilpon, talked about a culture change. If they want one, they have to look in the mirror.

Make a list of organizations known for interfering ownership: Houston, Baltimore, Florida.

Make a list of organizations with hands-off ownership: Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Atlanta.

See a pattern? If not, check the standings.

It's pretty well known in baseball that the Wilpons -- specifically, Jeff -- inject themselves into the baseball operations. Other teams, probably most if not all, require significant moves to be approved by ownership. But with the Mets, it's more than mere approval.

And last offseason, when the Mets spent for Jason Bay but were otherwise practically inactive, Jeff Wilpon stepped up his involvement.

Wilpon also likes to be able to deal directly with people at all levels of the organization, which might sound like a nice working atmosphere, but it eliminates any idea of chain of command, further undermining the GM.

The Mets seem to make choices ... not on what is best for the organization but on what will be best received by the New York media and fans. Unfortunately, the Mets also seem to be very bad at anticipating the reaction of the public. So when Jeff Wilpon responded to a question on whether the new GM would have autonomy, and responded, "The old general manager had that," it was basically a lie.

(When Wilpon said no one ever came to ownership asking to release awful lefty Oliver Perez and eat the rest of his contract, that was a lie.)

Back on Sept. 30, 2004, when Minaya was hired, Fred Wilpon said, "Omar will have the authority and the autonomy in the baseball department. The truth of the matter is that he has the autonomy, but so did Jim. That's a fact. Omar will make the final decisions in the baseball department."

The next GM should be fully aware that those promises weren't kept to Minaya, and probably won't be to him.

Who will that next GM be?

Jeff Wilpon said on SNY that after compiling a list of more than 30 candidates, the Mets are down to "six or seven" for whom they will immediately ask permission to speak. The conventional wisdom is that the Wilpons want a "name" GM, someone with experience.

"Some old, some guys that probably were GMs before ... and then maybe some young guys," Jeff Wilpon said.

"We'd be short-sighted if we look at just the name person for either of the spots (GM and manager)."

This will be a good test of the Wilpons' decision-making process, especially since they can't pin this on anyone else. ("We were not making the decisions," Jeff Wilpon claimed. "I was not deciding to go get this player, go get that player.")

The Mets seem to make choices -- hirings, player acquisitions, leaks, public statements or lack thereof -- not on what is best for the organization but on what will be best received by the New York media and fans.

Unfortunately, the Mets also seem to be very bad at anticipating the reaction of the public. It's a bad combination.

Jeff Wilpon even admitted Monday that he hopes the changes at GM and manager will help drive season-ticket sales. That's a bad way to start, since no fan will buy a ticket based on the GM, and Mets fans -- two years into a new ballpark -- won't come back in numbers until they see wins, not a new nameplate.

The favorite for manager would seem to be Wally Backman, a popular ex-Met who has had success in the minors, most recently at Single-A Brooklyn in his first year back in the organization.

(If you want a job with the Mets, the key line on your resume is the one that says "ex-Met," specifically, "played for 1986 Mets." When discussing the coaching staff, Jeff Wilpon said that hitting coach Howard Johnson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann will have jobs in the organization "no matter what.")

"I love Wally," Jeff Wilpon said on SNY. "Wally did everything he said he was going to do this year. ... Wally's got a big future.

"Let's get the GM in place. Then we can have plenty of discussion on who the manager's going to be."

Let's see if that's a two-way discussion. Because the true indicator of whether the Mets do indeed make a culture change won't be the GM hire, it will be the manager hire.

If it's Backman, then there's a good chance the culture is the same, with Jeff Wilpon making the decisions (and then claiming he doesn't).

"We feel a fresh perspective in the leadership of our baseball department will elevate the performance of our club," the Wilpons wrote in that e-mail to fans. "That person will work with Ownership to hire a new Manager and will be responsible for creating a winning culture."

The Mets say they want to hear new ideas.

That's good.

But then the owners have to listen, too.