SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Mets decisionmakers (aka David Stearns) arrive here at the MLB general managers’ meetings Monday, and the hope of everyone connected to the team — and presumably almost anyone with a baseball bent within the borough of Queens — remains that free agent managing star Craig Counsell signs up with the team very soon.
From here, however, Counsell is more than just an aspiration, he’s an absolute necessity.
By public accounts at least, Counsell stands as the only proven as excellent big-league manager in the running for the historically tough-as-hell Mets job that came open when very veteran skipper Buck Showalter was dismissed. That reality raises the stakes.
Counsell was said Sunday night to be talking to “multiple” teams, including the Mets, with a decision expected as early as Monday but almost surely in the next day or two. The others solidly in the mix for the Mets, as of recent reports, are Carlos Mendoza and Mark Kotsay — two fine men by all accounts but also two guys who’ve never come close to managing a big-league team into the playoffs, something Counsell has done five of the past six years in Milwaukee, arguably baseball’s smallest market.
Stearns said he was unafraid to seriously consider folks without major league managing experience, and he obviously meant it since one for-now finalist is the Yankees’ bench coach (Mendoza). The other (Kotsay) is Oakland A’s manager, and while I’ll resist the obvious one-line opportunity regarding the sorry A’s barely being a big-league team, fairly, that’s a team without expectation.
There’s a reason to believe the Mets won’t have to settle. Counsell is said to be “serious” about the Mets despite the obvious and gigantic home-field advantage held by his hometown, home-team Brewers, and assuming that’s the case, the Mets must close this deal. There’s no good reason not to.
The Mets have enough question marks off their shockingly disappointing 75-87 season, including half the bullpen and three-fifths of the rotation. They certainly don’t need to add manager to that list.
I get it, Counsell is holding all the cards, and maybe even a couple of decks of cards, and relative to other managers, he’s going to look overpaid if the Mets give him $6 million a year, or even $7 million when no else is known to be making much more than $4M guaranteed (Bruce Bochy and Bob Melvin are in that category). I’ve heard the Mets see Joe Torre’s record $8M salary as unrealistic, but that still leaves room for an offer that should be tough for the Brewers to beat, and tougher still for Counsell to turn down.
We’ve heard Counsell and his wife, Michelle, like New York, we’ve heard he has an excellent working relationship with Stearns from their seven years together in Milwaukee and we’ve heard he wants to raise the bar for manager salaries he apparently feels have fallen too far. But the reality is, the Mets aren’t in a position to haggle over pennies (or even a couple mil), not when Counsell has an option to return to his winning Brewers and enjoy his 15-minute, no-hassle commute from his Whitefish Bay home to American Family Field, whose very name conjures another reason to stay put.
Counsell could also choose to go to at least Cleveland, which showed its willingness to pay for a star manager when the Guardians employed two-time world champion Tito Francona the past nine years. But word is, the Guardians are realistic here and understand they are likely a long shot in the race between the bond and convenience of Milwaukee and the Mets’ formidable tag team of Stearns and deep-pocketed team owner Steve Cohen.
While Counsell possesses at least a pair of excellent other options, the Mets don’t have even anyone close to comparable on their current dance card. If they could somehow lure Dusty Baker out of a retirement he just began that would be one thing. But their other top choices look like gambles for a $300M (or more) roster.
Mendoza is very popular on the interview circuit, but his top job is his current one. I’m going to assume all these teams can’t be wrong, and he has serious potential. But he has never managed a game at the big-league level, much less the highest-priced team in the bigs in an unforgiving city.
Kotsay obviously does have tough, major league experience, my sarcastic thoughts notwithstanding. But realistically, is managing a team that’s finished before it starts ample preparation for this particular job?
Kotsay is said to connect beautifully with players, a plus. He also comes highly recommended, presumably including from Counsell, who is said to be one of his very best friends in the world (they teamed together on the late ’90s Marlins, including the 1997 World Series-winning team, and the 2011 Brewers playoff team).
Kotsay may one day be a great manager. But why hire the best friend of the obvious choice when you have the wherewithal to bring in the obvious choice himself?