Earlier today, the Mets officially announced that they have fired Carlos Mendoza. It’s hard to say the news has come as a shock, given how the team has played. The biggest shock might be that it took two months to happen.
Following the news, David Stearns spoke to the media about the decision to move on from Mendoza and the future of the franchise. This was, from my perspective, one of the harshest press conferences Stearns has had to endure since taking over, as the members of the press did not hold back in asking him tough questions and following up when they felt like a satisfactory answer was not provided.
Stearns started out by calling Mendoza a great leader and baseball man and discussed the team’s shortcomings, “Despite all of our efforts, Mendy’s included, we haven’t been able to get this going this year and I take responsibility for that.” Stearns added “These are very difficult decisions. I have a ton of respect for him. At the same time, this is my job and I have a responsibility in the best of my ability and the best of my judgment to lead the organization.” He noted that the players admire Mendoza, and he alerted them both through one-on-one outreach and through a team meeting, adding that he expects them to compete once the game starts tonight. He also stated that Mendoza took the news like a professional.
Stearns talked over and over again about confidence in the talent on this team and his belief at the start of the year that he had assembled a roster that could complete. He did acknowledge that, “I don’t believe that our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advancements that we’ve made in the organization, but clearly, our record is nowhere good enough” and also stated that what he believes he is building only matters if the success is showing at the major league level, which is perhaps a nod to how the advancements the club has made in the minors and in the analytics departments has not translated to on-field success. When asked whether he thought he should’ve made the move sooner, Stearns said, “We had faith in Mendy. We had faith collectively that we were going to turn this around. We haven’t and it got to the point where we felt as though a change was necessary.”
Some of the more pointed questions Stearns received included whether he ever thought about stepping down and whether he has ownerships support. To those questions, he answered bluntly that he did not think about stepping down and that Steve Cohen has expressed his support. He also faced several questions about why he is the right man for the job, specifically acknowledging that he is aware of the fans’ skepticism and would feel the same way as a fan himself. His man focus remains on improving the team as it stands today, going so far as to say he’s not thinking about the trade deadline at this moment and is not turning the page on this season. He also was adamant that he believes they are “building the foundation of an organization that will deliver what we all want. I don’t think our record is indicative of some of the advancements we’ve made in the organization.”
He also revealed that Andy Green will serve solely as an interim and will return to the front office following the season. He did seem to hint that he could consider hiring a General Manager at some point, saying he wouldn’t shut the door on it. Later in the afternoon, Green spoke to the media about his new temporary role, specifically sharing his appreciation for Mendoza’s character and respect for the work he did here. He said that he intentionally made the decision in his career to step away from the dugout, but this role appealed to him because it’s a special role with a special group, talking to the development of guys like Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, and Nolan McLean and seeing their progression.
Green spoke very elaborately and very eloquently about the task at hand and how to handle turning this team around. He was asked about the lack of identity of this team (something Bo Bichette spoke about earlier in the day) and said, “It’s human to be distracted by especially the enormity of it, especially the level of care that exists in the world and in this city for it. It’s easy. That doesn’t make it constructive or good for us.”.
In response to a question from Howie Rose, he spoke about his leadership style, which is rooted in authenticity, being collaborative with the players, being adaptable, and having respect for the players and the difficulty of the game. He did admit that, “There’s been plenty enough people that have not loved my leadership style in different ways along the journey. You learn from that, you try to be the best you can for everybody,” alluding to his four-year journey as Padres’ manager, which ended with his unceremonious firing in September 2019 after a 274-366 record. One of the more profound quotes he dropped on the media was, “The best thing we can do is recognize what keeps most people from performing is the burden they carry with them to work every day” when asked about how he was planning to get his players to play their best.
Ultimately, Green said a lot of interesting things, but the end result is that this is a temporary plug on a sinking ship, and new names will surface for the managerial role come the offseason. At the very least, it was interesting to hear Stearns and Green address the news from different perspectives: Stearns of the man who now has the hottest seat at Citi Field, and Green, who has the comfort of knowing his old job will be there waiting for him when his short-lived return to the dugout concludes.