New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza reacted after Rob Thomson and Alex Cora were fired by their teams in recent days.
The Boston Red Sox fired their former World Series-winning manager, Cora, on Saturday, while the Philadelphia Phillies let go of Rob Thomson on Tuesday. Both the Red Sox and Phillies have had terrible seasons so far, and their teams responded by canning their managers in an effort to save the season.
Mendoza himself is on the hot seat as the Mets have just as bad a record as the Phillies right now, with each team sitting at 9-19, tied for the worst record in MLB. The team may be forced to make a move on the bench to turn the season around, even though Mendoza is a highly respected manager in big-league circles. However, given the team’s high payroll and early-season struggles, it’s a lot easier for the Mets to fire the coach than to trade away the players, leaving Mendoza’s job in peril if things don’t change.
Carlos Mendoza Reacts to Thomson, Cora Firings
On Tuesday, Mendoza spoke to the New York media about his team’s current struggles, and he was asked what he thought about two of his fellow managers being let go.
“It’s the reality, you know? It’s the reality. It sucks what happened to those two guys, guys that I consider the best at what they do, especially Thomson, one of my mentors. You hate to see it happen, but you understand that it’s the business, and when you don’t see the results, it happens,” Mendoza said. “I’m aware of it. I’m not going to run away with it. The one thing I can do is continue to show up here and try to get the most out of my players. So that’s my responsibility, what I’m spending all my energy on, but obviously, I understand the whole situation.”
Carlos Mendoza Could be the Next Manager Fired
Mendoza knows that if the Mets keep losing, he could join Thomson and Cora on the unemployment line. The Mets simply have been awful this season, and while you can’t put all the blame on the manager, at some point, the manager may take the fall for his team. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns won’t fire himself, but he does have one bullet in the chamber to potentially save his own job, and that would be to fire Mendoza, before Mets owner Steve Cohen potentially steps in and drops the hammer himself.
Mendoza can still save his job, of course, and all it would take for that to happen is for the team to start winning. That’s easier said than done, though, as it will take the team’s best hitters, like Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, and others, to really step up their games and get back on track. If the pitching was also more consistent, it would certainly help, too. But the Mets’ cold bats really have to get hot right now, or else sweeping changes could be made, including Mendoza getting fired, players traded, or something even bigger.
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