New York Mets: Lack of Direction Can Be Paralyzing

The main problem plaguing the New York Mets right now is not Omar Minaya, Jerry Manuel, or the pitching staff; it’s the complete lack of certainty.

Will Jerry Manuel still be around in two weeks? Your guess is as good as mine.

What will the Mets’ pitching staff look like next week? Who knows.

How long will Ike Davis be on the big league roster? A week? Two weeks?

Will someone other than Omar Minaya be attempting to beef up the team in the days, weeks, and months leading up to the 2010 trade deadline?

All of these looming questions can leave a ball club completely paralyzed.

Who’s going to listen to Manuel when there’s a good possibility that he might not be around in another two weeks?

How is it possible to have any confidence heading into a series when you have no idea who will be on the mound tomorrow, let alone three days from now?

The season is still young and despite their 5-8 start, the Mets have been showing occasional signs that they have the personnel to win ball games; they just need some direction.

Major decisions need to be made and they need to be made sooner rather than later.

Either fire Manuel or announce that he will be the Mets’ manager for the remainder of the 2010 season.  One way or the other, this decision needs to be made because players don’t want anything to do with a lame duck manager.

Either shake up the pitching staff for good or announce that the likes of Oliver Perez and John Maine will remain in the starting rotation for at least the immediate future.

The pressure on Maine and Perez to perform is already intense to put it mildly; hanging their jobs on the line if they do not perform well in their next start just adds more fuel to the fire.

The Mets need to either go with what they have or shake things up for good.

At this point, the actual decisions are secondary to simply getting get rid of that underlying feeling that the Mets are just treading water until the organization can make some difficult decisions.