Power Ranking The Top 10 Options To Be The Next Mets Manager

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Clem wrote earlier that Buck Showalter is indeed stepping down as Mets Manager after yesterday's games. Check it out:

So who gets the job now? David Stearns will now be in charge and Buck leaving allows him to pick his own guy. This is a Mets team that is one of the biggest underachievers in modern baseball history. They came in with such lofty expectations following a 101 win season and almost lost 90 games. The 2023 Mets are the Rocky V of baseball teams. Here's who I think the Mets may look at to try to save us all for next year.

10. Mike Shildt

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No chance the Mets hire him because Stearns values analytics too much and that lack of respect for stats is what got Shildt fired in St. Louis. With that being said, it's kinda crazy he hasn't gotten a job since. He's only 55 and won 90 games in his last season with the Cards. He's never had a losing season as a MLB manager and has a .559 career winning percentage. I love analytics more than most but this guy is a proven winner who deserves another shot. You think Cardinals fans wouldn't want him back instead of the lousy Oli Marmol?

9. Carlos Beltran

I know Cohen likes him and he has gotten an unfair amount of shit for the Astros cheating scandal. I'm not saying he didn't cheat because he sure. However it's not right that he was the only player who got any blame. Rob Manfred wanted to bury the story so he pinned it all on the guy that was retired. 

Despite all of that, I'd be shocked if the Mets hired him. Cohen has said the Mets manager job isn't one you learn on the job. Beltran hasn't managed at any level. Ideally, he'd go be a bench coach for a team like the Royals for a couple seasons.

8. Frank Fleming

His passion in unquestionable and he did meet Cohen this year. Could that be a precursor for a job interview? Who knows? Some may argue his intensity could rub some players the wrong way but this clubhouse needs an overhaul. Players seemed far too comfortable under Buck Showalter. You think Tommy Pham would be calling players lazy if The Tank was at the helm? You start throwing out "Daniel Vogelfat" and "Trevor ain't Gott shit" and people would be there bright and early for infield practice.

7. Bob Melvin

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It just came out today that Padres owner Peter Siedler has "full support" in Padres leadership. But he didn't mention anyone specifically so he could have been talking about the front office more than on field management. But I'm also guessing they would have fired him by now. Either way, I don't know if the Mets want to hire another older manager who is over 60 especially with that Padres clubhouse being an underachieving mess. We had our own East Coast version of that.

6. Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift

This is a Barstool blog so I am obligated to mention both of them at least once. I don't believe either are going to be considered for the Mets managerial job.

5. Gabe Kapler

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Other than Buck and Francona (who retried from baseball), Kapler is the only other person thus far to lose his job. I can't imagine he'd be a fit with the Mets. He's another person who had a hard time motivating a big league clubhouse. The Giants were reported to be far more interested in a card game called Pusoy than studying the next day's opposing pitchers. The Giants didn't even wait until the end of the season to let him go. I would be pretty shocked if anyone hired him this season.

Having said all of that, he does have experience managing both the Phillies and Giants and did lead the Giants to a 107 win season in 2021. I just don't think the timing is right for him here.

4. Don Mattingly

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Donnie Baseball is currently the Blue Jays bench coach. I thought he was going to be the guy the Yankees turned to when they fired Aaron Boone but it sounds like Boone is sticking around. Mattingly does have experience managing both the Dodgers and the Marlins. However, both teams had much more success after he left than when he was there. The Dodgers won a World Series and the Marlins are already in the playoffs under Skip Schumacher.

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I'm kidding. He's 80 years old. But I'm not joking that he should be in the Hall of Fame. I know he only went to one World Series and that's going to be what keeps him out of Cooperstown but that's a shame. He won everywhere he went (except the Dodgers). He brought the Mets, Reds, Orioles and Nationals to the playoffs. He had a career winning percentage of .562 which would equate to a 91-71 record. After the Mets, he would wear out his welcome with some teams and that also will hold him back. 

But he was a very important manager for many years. If he could have either gotten the 1988 Mets or the 1996-97 Orioles to the World Series, maybe that would have been enough for the committee.

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He almost got the Mets job when they hired Buck two years ago. Back then Cohen wanted someone with more managerial experience and I think that will hold him back again this time…at least here. I could see another team (Guardians? Rockies if they fire Bud Black?) grabbing him. Maybe the Astros see him as an heir apparent to Dusty Baker? No matter what, there is a chance he'll end up here and I wouldn't be shocked at all to see him interview but I do think they have someone else in mind.

1. Craig Counsell

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What are we doing here? There is only one choice for the next manager and it's CRAIG MOTHERFUCKING COUNSELL!!!!!! He obviously worked with Stearns in Milwaukee and his contract is up at the end of the year. He has not signed an extension and Stearns didn't even officially have the Mets job yet before he was kicking Buck out the door.

Counsell is right there with Brandon Hyde as the best managers in baseball. This would be a huge coup for the Mets. Uncle Stevie should just give Counsell and blank check and tell him to write in a number of his choice. 

Why do I love him so much? This is his fifth playoff appearance with the Brewers. He's a master at using a starting rotation and bullpen. The Brewers have the best ERA in the National League. They are also had the 2nd worst (14th) slugging percentage in the NL but were 8th in runs. Counsell is the master of making the most out of scoring opportunities: hitting runners over, stealing bases at the right time.

He would be the perfect manager for this team. John Rich sits next to me at the office and is a good guy. I'd shoot him in the face if it guaranteed Craig Counsell would be manager of the Mets. Hopefully it does not come to that.