It was everything Ike on Monday at Citi Field. You’ll read way more in the papers, I’m sure. Here’s about 1/100th of the things said by and about Ike Davis:
“It was evident that we needed left-handed power. We expected to get that from Mike Jacobs. And maybe the inconsistency of play there, or him just not getting off going right, made that a glaring weakness for us. And when you hear that a guy down there [in Triple-A] is hitting tape-measure shots, you kind of put a hint in and say, ‘Hey, man. What do you think, bro? I need a little help here.'” – Jerry Manuel.
“We’ve been looking forward to seeing him here.” – Angel Pagan.
“This is awesome.” – Ike Davis.
Tedquarters 
As much as everyone (including myself) like to get on Jerry Manuel for just about everything, quotes like this one just make me laugh and remind we why I still sort of like the guy.
“‘Hey, man. What do you think, bro? I need a little help here.’”
Really? Because I was just about to say how it annoyed the crap out of me. I guess it plays well with the beat writers (maybe?) but I just can’t take it. Jerry just bothers me.
That because you cant separate Jerry, from the results of the team, which is understandable.
I’m sure you were bothered by Jerry in 2008 after he took over for Wilie and led the team back into contention.
You will undoubtedly now repsond saying he always bothered you, but most will know thats BS.
Thanks for keeping track of my feelings for so many years and helping me to understand myself better.
No, the thing is that I just don’t like the Jerry Manuel character. He’s always had this sort of flip, hyper-casual presence in the media that, I think, lets him get away with not ever really having to answer anything because he can spit out some goofy line and laugh and just move on to the next question. I think he says a lot before and after games that doesn’t amount to anything. I would like a manger with a demeanor somewhere between the too stoic Willie and the too friendly Jerry.
As for 2008, I was happy to see Willie go but it didn’t take too many sac bunts or questionable bullpen calls to get sick of Jerry.
Catsmeat gets it exactly. And if things were going well, there of course would be less dislike, because he wouldn’t be having to use that tiresome schtick to avoid accounting for all the truly stupid things he does.
He’s a bad manager. His breezy posturing just makes it all the more annoying. And for the record, I liked that Willy was being replaced, but Jerry came in so intent on creating a character – the MLK, the Gandhi, the big framed photo to remind him of his humble origins – that I did, yes, have some doubts. You don’t need to posture if your focus is on just doing the job well.
Anit,
That was my point, that the guy and the job hes done as manager IMO are 2 separate things. I never said he was doing a great job as manager. I said in my original post that I get on him about just about everything. I just said quotes like that remind me that I kind of like Jerry, which I forget sometimes because I’m always annoyed at the on field product.
And I’m not keeping track of anyone in particulars feeling about Jerry. I just know that these days, there are many like Catsmeat who dont like Jerry, and like to voice that they dont like Jerry. I also know that when the team was doing well under Jerry, that there werent many people complaining about Jerry.
This leads me to believe that alot of fans like Catsmeat, changed thier opinion of Jerry the person, because of the lack of success on the field.
Again, my opinion of the Jerry Manuel is not colored by the team’s performance no matter how many times you assert it, Chris. Anit had it right (for me, anyway, and probably many others), in that you can ignore it when the team’s doing well and he doesn’t have to answer for what went wrong, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it was ever something I bought into or enjoyed.
I, and others, may complain more about Jerry’s flippant ways with the media when the team isn’t doing well, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that I then enjoy the Jerry Manuel character when the team is doing well; he’s just easier to ignore.
Alot of us didn’t like Jerry even when the team made that huge turn around under him during 08, because even then he was throwing players under buses, Church, and making mind baffling decisions and abusing the bullpen. This team could be undefeated right now and I still wouldn’t be a Manuel fan, for the exact reason that I can separate team performance from my opinion of Jerry.
They’re not two separate things. Jerry’s performance, in-game and post-game, is an ego exercise. The ego would be less objectionable post-game if it weren’t such a detriment in-game.
I’ve seen Christina Kahrl’s comment about him cited a few times: he “handicap[s] his ballclub with his fascination with ways of insinuating himself into the ballgame.” Spot on.
Yeah, I think he’s a bad manager, but he amuses the hell out of me and I thus like him personally. I always tell people that I would love to him over to the house for some BBQ and beers, but I don’t want him managing my team.
I remembered how much I like Jerry when I saw him shaking hands with all the coaches after Pelfrey’s win last week and I felt genuine happiness for the guy. But he’s a pretty bad manager just the same.
“It was evident that we needed left-handed power. We expected to get that from Mike Jacobs. And maybe the inconsistency of play there, or him just not getting off going right, made that a glaring weakness for us.”
Or maybe it’s the fact that Jacobs isn’t a good MLB hitter, and has never been a good MLB hitter (which, DUH, even the Royals figured out), is what made that a glaring weakness for you.