NEW YORK, NY – Attending the final day of the #MLB season is always interesting. 
The vibe is usually good, as the agony of a losing season and early hope of a new day simultaneously meet. This doesn’t apply to Yankees fans, of course, who are simply wondering which overpaid pitcher Manager Brian Cashman will squeeze two innings out of in ALDS Game 1, so your patience with this is appreciated. Anyway, there are always some unique sights and quirky characters (like Cow-Bell Man) to be seen when attending what could be described as a fun wake, as well as questions poised and answers to be considered. On top of that, you get cheers if the local football team has positive news on the scoreboard. Combining all of it leads to today’s topics: Bugging Eli, MLB Season Ends, Couple of Joes, a Buck & Bryce Harper.
Let’s start with grid iron.
Bugging Eli: Can we please stop cutting to Eli Manning on the sideline EVERY TIME Daniel Jones makes a play? If you don’t know by now that Manning is not a soundbite or a controversial visual, you are a dumb-dumb. And god forbid the 2-time Super Bowl MVP doesn’t clap or smile or fist-bump someone when the new kid does something. Leave the guy alone. He’s a class act, a team guy and not a camera hog. Leave him be and… #StopTheManSanity.
Switching to rubbers, wood and boxes…
Bryce Harper: Talk about disappointments. Pryce Harper was, for all intents and purposes, an unmitigated Philly Phlop. The Mets, even with a Keystone Kops/undynamic duo of Diaz and Familia contributing mightily to pen a that blew 28 saves, phinished phive games better than Philly. With a Batting Average of .260 and but 36 HRs in a tiny ballpark, Harper would have been Dave Winfield II to George Steinbrenner.
Couple of Joes & A Buck: Three big names are now available for courting or ignoring, Joe Girardi, Joe Maddon and Buck Showalter. Let’s start backwards.
Buck Showalter: Easily, the most overrated manager in Major League history. Signing him will set your franchise back a thousand years. He’s a one-dimensional task-master that can never manage veteran players for extended periods of time because… he’s a douche. Hopefully the Nats, Phils, Cubs or better yet – Yankees – sign him.
Joe Maddon: Anyone notice how well Tampa has done despite losing the quirky innovator that was the reason they won any games at all? He wore out his welcome in Chicago, which you’d think was impossible for someone that helped the Cubbies get off a 104 -year schneid. Yet the guy with the Clark Kent specs is available for employment. Is he better than Mickey Callaway? Yes, but his choreographed gimmickry would not last long in a market like New York. This allows for us to segue to what this column is really about… Replacing Mickey Met.
Joe Girardi: If you’re not going to allow Wally Backman redeem himself for ill-advised behavior fits, the only other guy out there for this special-needs job is Joltin’ Joe G. The guy can manage. He has the pedigree and big market experience. But more importantly – and significantly – he managed the poop of the job when he was in Miami… in the National League. And as a solid catcher for some of the biggest names in pitching (including douche bags like Roger Clemens and kooks like David Wells), he’ll be able to handle Thor’s pouting about battery mates and relegating Edwin Diaz to mop-up duty – if GM Brodie Van Wagenen doesn’t dump him on the low.
Final Thought on 2019 Mets: Yesterday’s game was was a microcosm of the Mickey Callaway Era. Misusing Seth Lugo for 41 pitches the other night led to Sewald and Bashlor as the options to blow a save, a lead and a feel-good day for those of us that headed for the exits in the 11th after [Nameless Former Met] homered for the second time. Sure, shame on us for leaving before the final pitch but shame on Mickey Met for his Mickey Mouse handling of substitutions and pitching changes – ALL YEAR. But, there is much to look forward to, as evidenced by the team once again overcoming their befuddling skipper’s moves and winning in dramatic/exciting fashion. Fix the bullpen, keep Wheeler and let ’em play.
That’s all for now, please feel free to comment below and come back manana for El Grande Blanco… Ben Whitney, tomorrow.
