Friday, June 12, 2009

(39) Comments

Jerry Manuel: Eliminating The Mets From Contention

Vegas Rich

Vegas Rich stirs things up...

I will make this short and sweet. Those who know me personally and my writing, the one thing about both is that it remains consistent. I don't jump on and off the bandwagon. I critique when things are are going or or bad. I always say the glass is 7/8 full and this is by no means the first or the last time I will rant about Jerry Manuel.

I was all for Jerry's hiring this year based on his handling of last years overachievers. That's right they overachieved last year and I felt they didn't choke. A 9-11 month does not evoke a choke. A 4- 16 mark does.

Let's get to the point of this. Jerry has been, since day 1, inconsistent of the players, the lineup, his intentions etc etc etc. When Omar set out last winter to fix the bullpen he did it with the mindset that every starter should give a minimum of 6 solid innings. Baseball today is different than it was when I was a kid. It's different in the last 20 years.

So we go into the season with Green for the 7th, Putz for the 8th and Frankie to close. If any of them would falter, we had Parnell, Feliciano and Stokes to fill in and we looked good on that front.

Even with the injuries to the pitching staff, Feliciano/Green for the 7th , Parnell for the 8th and K-Rod for the 9th is, as they say, "not too shabby" either.

So now the fashionable thing and sexy move all of a sudden is, let's see how far our starters can go. Let Maine and Pelfrey and Livan pitch into the 8th, throw 120 pitches and continue to blow early leads. Why? Because Nolan Ryan says so? Geez, WTF?

We should have swept the Phillies. The last two nights have been some of the worst managing I have ever seen in all my years of watching this game. It's nothing short of " over-managing". OK, tonight. After 6 innings of a gutsy, brilliant performance by Redding, Jerry decides to send him out in the 7th. He had already given up a second run for the game in the 6th and he was clearly tiring. If he left with the lead then his confidence would have been through the roof coming of two outstanding performances and in a position to get his first win in what? 241 starts?

But NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Jerry sends him out in the 7th, where he could have used Green and Feliciano who owns the Phillies this season. Green's sinker is on fire now and Pedro has made Met fans forget about last year. Then he could have had the lead, used Parnell in the 8th and K-Rod in the ninth. Don't give me the excuse K-Rod pitched too much the previous night and had nothing left in the tank.

Please; he's 27 years old and tough as coarse sand paper. But NOOOOOOOOOOO, Jerry has to bring a guy in who can't get out left handers. Result! Another game that gets away.

This guy is killing me along with Murph and Church. He tells everyone who will listen that Murph will play one game against the lefty this week. Does he? Nooooooooooooooo. Sheffield is slumping. Does he rest him now and use him as the DH this weekend and give _F-Mart games starts under his belt.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Church comes off the DL and looks good and puts a dent into the new apple. Does Jerry play him to keep his confidence going? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

The title to this article is absolutely correct. He is managing the New York Mets right out of contention. Your thoughts are welcome.

By the way. Do you think Omar should now finally swallow his pride and call Pedro? Another pet peeve I have been ranting about since Oct 1st.

See Met fans, I get just as frustrated as all of you.
39 Responses to "Jerry Manuel: Eliminating The Mets From Contention"
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 6:22 AM
Oh please. You think Willie was better? You think Valentine was better? They both were a disaster and an embarrassment to the organization. The fact of the matter is that no manager is ever going to get a 100% approval rating. Is Jerry perfect either, no. Should he have had somebody warming before Redding put two runners on in the 7th? Of course. But at least he doesn't play roulette with his bullpen like Willie did. At least he doesn't have a carbon copy lineup every single night regardless of the player's performance like Willie did. At least he has the respect of his players unlike Willie. Willie was by far the worst manaager I've seen in my 20+ years of watching the Mets. That guy made Art Howe look like a master strategist.

And can we get off the 'confidence' bandwagon? You're telling me that if Redding would have left after the 6th with 'confidence' that would actually make him pitch better in 5 days from now? Please. You're the same guy that will be whining about the bullpen in September when we have 4 guys with 80+ appearances and arms like jello wondering why the bullpen can't get guys out.

Lets look at the real reason that we lost last night. We scored 3 runs off a 46 year old pitcher. The offense needs to hit with runners in scoring position so that the pitching doesn't have to throw with zero margin for error. I think that the real problem here is lack of depth in the infield, and too many mediocre outfielders. Omar has got to make a move now and not wait until the deadline. By then it will be too late.

Don't throw in the towel yet. Remember how many injuries we have and in reality we have no business even making close games out of this past series. The Phils were healthy and we were decimated yet we found a way to keep it close each night. It's a long season, don't fly off the handle on June 11th.
Coop said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:05 AM
You had me till Pedro. Why on earth do you think or would you think Pedro would solve any ills of the rotation? Pedro screwed this team over more than once with his injuries and not being in the mood to pitch. We'd seen that since 2005. Fool me once...etc etc. That said, Bobby Valentine is the man and should be brought back immediately if not sooner. Only problem is, we have Jerry till...2012? I think? (I'm too lazy to look it up). Wilpons are not wont to pay someone not working for them. They did it with Howe. They did it with Willie and would have had to had he not accepted the Brewers job. Jerry is here for now...
Brian H. said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:10 AM
JErry Manuel has been dealt a disgusting hand. The man is a SMART baseball man and I have total confidence in Jerry. He has gambled a couple of times this year (bunting, not bunting), but player errors, baserunning blunders, injuries, and wholly inconsistent pitching is why we're in second place - NOT Jerry Manuel.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:13 AM
What if Green/Stokes would have given up the lead in the 7th inning? The rant would have been, "Redding pitching great for six innings, does Jerry send him out in the 7th? NOOOOOOOOOOOO, the shabby bullpen blows it for a pitcher who was pitching just fine".

It's one of those decisions that if it works, great, he's a genius if not he's a dog.

If anything, question why he didn't play in the infield in, in the 7th inning. He conceded the tying run, which considering the lack of offense produced, he shouldnt feel too confident that the Mets could retake a lead.

And I agree with prior post, one fine confident outing does not carry over confidence into another if youre a veteran like Redding. Maybe a younger pitcher if that. Pelphrey had an aweful outing prior to this one. According to your thinking, it should have carried over to his last outing. His confidence should have been down. His last outing didn't have any pertinence to his most recent one. He looked very confident against Philly and pitched that way.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Hey anonymous, Bobby V took the team (and a "less star-studded" team than this one to the World Series. Jerry couldn't manage Bobby V's laundry. PLEASE, WHATEVER IT TAKES, BRING BOBBY V BACK!!
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:20 AM
On stretching the starters--isn't that not "overmanaging?" And I believe that this is one thing Manuel has been consistent about--when Pelf' threw those back-to-back complete games in August, Manuel said that this is something he's looking to get out of his starters. That it "can be done," and that they shouldn't be off the hook or satisfied with a "quality start" that's only 6 innings long.

Let's wait and see--we might see more guts and gall out of our starters later on in the season when they go deeper into games, not to mention we're only halfway through the season. Do we really wanna blow the bullpen out already?
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Bobby Valentine was a disaster? Were you watching the same Met team I was? Valentine did so much more with minimal talent (Benny Agbayani, Timo Perez, Mike Bordick) than Jerry Manuel will ever do. I didn't read the rest of your post after you said that, cause you're obviously an idiot.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:31 AM
I had the same mindset last night as well with why not take redding out after 6 good innings and hand it off to the best pen in the nl. I dont like how manuel church is the everyday rf but then he gets replaced by fmart in right. We knew clearly sheff was gonna be our dh this weekend so y not rest and get fmart he at bats he needs to give him a reason to stay in the big leagues. I hate takahashi and cant wait till perez comes back so he can get sent back down. we should have swept hte phillies but jerry does not use this bullpen the correct way he should not feel bad using it its the best in the nl as i said earlier use the pen more its ok to go 6 innings for redding and livan and pelfrey especially after his start in pittsburgh.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Manuel is awful--the fact that Willie was no better is no excuse. They both have the energy of a rock and instill as much confidence.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:34 AM
First you argue that Jerry's a fine coach, and then you go and prove the original point...that he's an ass.

Who was managing the batters so badly last night, and throughout the season?

First inning, "Slappy the wonder" Castillo, gets a double leading off the game, and with a guy who Manuel raves about ("he knows how to play the game") batting second, hitting .296, against an AARP candidate, a pitcher we should rock, we bunt???? Talk about your WTF moments.

A whole bunch of us, at the game were immediately buzzing, that the team had just blown a chance to win the game. We all "knew" that the Mets would only get three runs in the game...max. Did we get a run in the first...the first run, yes, but, we might have gotten several, if Cora swings away.

So, the game goes on, and along comes the third. Guess what? We get Castillo to second, again, with less than two outs. What does our "gangsta" manager do? That's right, he talks his team's tail between his legs - whimps out, with another bunt.

Same F***ING mistake, in the same F***ING game?

As for his season long trends? He's certainly said he'd play the hot batter, but, he's consistently cooled several players, by challenging them...to sit on the goddamn bench?

Jerry's a "loser" not a "gangsta." Give me Willie anytime...warts and all.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:36 AM
Jerry Manuel is a dunce, plain and simple. From shooting his mouth off randomly, to ignoring statistics, and going on 'feel.' Baseball is a 162 game season where statistics don't lie. Playing a hot hand is ridiculous. And oh, Daniel Murphy has gone from saviour to goat, following Ryan Church down the same sinkhole.

Idiot.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:40 AM
The reality is that our offense goes AWOL after the 6th inning in any game we play in, and that is because all of our bats are overly prone to situational relief pitching. Our lefties can't hit a lefty, and our righties can't hit a good rhp with a slider. After the 6th, we're toast.

How long do you expect the #3/4/5/6 guys in our bullpen to hold one of the best offensive teams in baseball without scoring?

Takakahakahashi actually made a decent pitch, and he's the only lefty we had left in the pen. Credit should go to skeletor for hitting it out of the park. It was once again the 10th inning and we had 5 innings to try and score.
Harlan said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:41 AM
If you blame these losses on anything other than the offense and our lackluster roster, you are really just looking for a reason to smear Jerry. We had no business sweeping this series, with this roster we are simply not as good as philly.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Rich, I agree with you 100%. I have confidence in this team and Omar. However, I have learned that with Manuel running the show we will always be at a disadvantage. He is a poor on-field manager. His mis-use of the bullpen has cost us time and again. He's inconsistent with his lineups and decisions. My fear since April has been that this team will make the playoffs and then Manure's (Yes, I called him 'Manure') bad managing will cost us.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Anonymous 1, dont talk about Bobby Valentine; I'd re-hire Bobby V. so fast it's not even funny.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:44 AM
The question shouldn't be was Willie better, what the question should be is there a better manager than Manuel.

There has to be someone out there better. Jerry is just as bad, if not worse than Willie was. Manuel is not a professional manager. He talks too much to the media (trying to get saint status like Torre had..) and continues to make the same mistakes over and over.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:55 AM
I agree that some of Jerry's moves are questionable, however I dont want to see the relievers get taxed this early in the season. Fact of the matter is that our hitting failed in this series. On Wednesday we had several opportunities to win the game in the 7th and 8th innings. Also the horrible defense in the 7th allowed the Phillies to score 3 runs and tie the game. Our defense and hitting have been the biggest problem here this season. Bottom line: Mets need to get through this difficult part of the schedule and hope they are still in it going into July. Once we get healthy things will get better and remember Reyes will still be pretty fresh in September due to the fact that he has missed all this time.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 11:56 AM
This is to the previous comment. YES! ABSOLUTELY! 100%! Bobby Valentine and Willie were better managers than Jerry Manuel. The Mets whole coaching staff is horrible. Jerry makes moves that,I as a 16 year old, know are hoirrble decisions. I'd take Art Howe right now rather than Jerry Manuel. Jerry looks hesitant on every decision he makes. His choices are unbelievably frustrating. Gary Sheffield will NOT continue toplay in fashion he did the first couple months. Its just not going to happen. And clean-up at that? seriously? and why? to put a "fear" in the middle of the line-up? God forbid we give the deserving Jeremy Reed an occasional start. Church needs to play everyday if we want the same performance as early last seasons. DUMBEST manager. play church everyday. use sheffield as a matt stairs. get jeremy reed more playing time. tell omir to take an AB to four pitches every once in a while rather than swing 1st pitch. O and this is a big one DONT PITCH INSIDE TO RAUL IBANEZ OR CHASE UTLEY. i mean seriously do scouting reports fucking exist. and get fired up every now and then. fire your team up. These guys are playing like its there job rather than a passion. We're better than the phillies. Our skills are better. They just have more heart.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Jerry Manuel isn't much but far more blame for this season's failure lies with Omar Minaya--his failure to build a productive farm system, his refusal (or was it the owners who refused?) to bid seriously for good players who went instead to the Phillies and Braves, etc., and his refusal to find replacements for the injured, e.g., first base, left field.....
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:06 PM
What a bunch of poorly written drivel.

Leaving in Redding with his 80-something pitches thrown and record of success against Philly was the right move.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Bobby Valentine took a team with an outfield of Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton, and Timo Perez and a rotation including Rick Reed and Bobby Jones and brought them to the World Series. I'd like to see another manager do that.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I have been saying stuff like this for so long. I'm so glad people are finally catching on. I love good managing, it helps to win games and I have a lot of respect for managers who can make good decisions in critical situations. But Jerry Manuel LOSSES games for this team. That's unacceptable. Guys on the field should lose the games. It happens. But to go to last night. 7th inning, one out, 2nd and 3rd for Philly, and its Matt Stairs at the plate. Stairs is not that great a hitter, this is the only season he has ever hit over .300 and thats gonna end shortly, you can make him ground out and REDDING DID. If Stairs hit a fly ball it was gonna get a run in so you're forcing your pitcher to strike him out. That's ridiculous.

I've started keeping track of all his screw ups and the list is growing quickly. I'm not sure if it's overmanaging, undermanaging, or whatever else kinda managing there is. I think he's just plain clueless and he is managing us out of contention.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Well in response to the comment above, we had a good chance to win every game because of our starting pitching. That's been the one constant over this stretch of injuries.

But to say we lost because we only scored 3 runs off 46 yr old Moyer, it misses the point. We only scored 3 runs because we only played for 3 runs. Three times Castillo got on and Manuel had Cora bunt him over, twice Castillo has doubled and was already in scoring position. Then Beltran gets the job done to get him in. But by not allowing Cora to swing the bat with a man on in front of our only couple of RBI guys and to just give up an out, we were not playing for a rally, we were playing for one run against a lineup that's a 3 spot waiting to happen, and that's exactly what we got. That is Jerry's fault for being so timid, it was an absolutely terrible managerial performance.

One run in the first inning isn't going to win you a game against the Phillies, but a 3 spot might. We didn't play to win, we played not to lose.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:29 PM
The author is correct, even if I think his examples are a little off. Manuel is complete garbage. The moves he makes are predictable and awful. I don't have a problem stretching the starters because Jerry's use of the bullpen is pathetic. He only plays by the book. It is proven that Takahashi can't get lefties out but Manuel brings him in anyway just because he is a lefty. Stokes may not be amazing but he is better than Takahshi but Manuel won't pitch him because for some reason he clearly does not like him. Its the same thing with Church, as it was when Castro was here, it becomes obvious when Jerry doesn't like a player and he just won't play him normally. Green is awful so I don't care if he doesn't come in. He can never be brought into a game with men on base.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Whoever left the comment above is wrong about Bobby Valentine. Bobby V may have been the best manager in the Mets history. Davey Johnson was outstanding, but he had loads of talent to work with. Bobby V had Timo Perez, Benny Agbayani & Jay Payton as his starting OF when they went to the WS in 2000. That's awful.

I like Jerry Manual, but I don't think he's a great X's and O's type of manager. The players seem to really like him, which is very important, but overall he has not done a very good job this season. Last year was a bit of an aberation in the fact that the team could not stand Willie Randolph so when Manual was named manager it was a breath of fresh air.

Bottom line is, they need to get healthy AND make a trade for a power hitter. I have faith that Omar Minaya will eventually make a deal to get a hitter in here, hopefully it's not too late when he does.

The season is a marathon though, so I'm confident they'll be in contention when September rolls around.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:47 PM
i dont think it is the fact that he is letting his starters go too long, i think its the fact that he puts sean green in with runners in scoring position
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Response 1: While you are correct that past managers have not handled the Pen much better than Manuel has, that doesn't refute the primary claim of this article that Manuel is mismanaging games.
Also, I think Vegas Rich is absolutely correct by saying that Manuel's handling of Church and Murphy has been atrocious. It seems that every time one of these guys start to hit, Manuel puts them on the bench, thus barring them from finding any sort of a groove. Remember the beginning of last year when Church was the best hitter on the team? Some remnant of that play could certainly be captured if he was given the chance to play everyday.
As for F-Mart, this is where I disagree with Vegas Rich. The kid needs to play everyday, but is not yet ready to be a starter for this Mets team, so he needs to be in AAA. Manuel campaigned to keep him up, yet doesn't know what to do with him (let alone any other players) and, I fear, in turn, he may be hurting his development.
In the end, while the Mets have not had a great run with past managers (Art Howe), that doesn't mean that we now need to settle for Jerry's mismanaging that spans across the Bullpen to the Field.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 1:03 PM
My Q? is why Jerry keep putting Tatis to bat behind Wright for double plays evry night, he's wasting Wright excellent batting; can anybody show him the statistics? so he can do something about it, please. And why if he had a open base lastn why he didnt walk Ibanez and bring Green to pitch Wyerht for strikeout and 3rd out like did happened after the damage was already done. I like jerry but the true is that the Mets need a new manager.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 1:54 PM
The one point I absolutely agree with is that Jerry says one thing and does another. On the other hand, he can be counted on to consistently say one thing and do another. Like with George Costanza's "opposite" stage,aall we have to do is listen to Jerry's plans and then we know he'll do the opposite.
Ceetar said :
June 12, 2009 at 2:12 PM
I've been calling for Manuel's head virtually since his hiring. (I believed, if It was a chance of face that we needed, it needed to be someone outside the organization/team.)

http://www.ceetar.com/optimisticmetsfan/2009/05/fire-jerry-manuel/

I've been finding more and more things to be annoyed at him about. Some is difference of opinion, some is curious. You can tell Gary Keith and Ron are confused by a lot of his antics too. It's past time for him to be gone. We need a fresh perspective.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 2:27 PM
i know i may be taking alot the 'fun' out of an argument like this, but i don't understand why a manager always gets so much blame when a team drops the ball like the mets did the past two nights.

the fact of the matter is, these are major league players, and if they can't rise to the occasion and perform when asked to, then they are at fault. simple as that. if ken takahashi can't get left handers out, why is he pitching in the majors in the first place? if bunts and baserunning are poorly executed, then the players are at fault. it seems that as the salaries rise, our expectations of players become more specialized and less across-the-board. i don't think guys like Bob Gibson and Rollie Ringers were left- or right-handed specialists. they were pitching specialists, and they didn't make a fraction of what takahashi makes.

for example, if Jerry decides to put in Murphy to pinch hit, his job is to get on base. if he doesn't, he failed and it's his fault, not the manager's for choosing him over another guy. it's the players job to perform, just like it's my job to perform when my boss asks me to do something. if i fail, i'm fired. if i succeed, i keep my job and get asked to do a tougher job next time. that's life - let's stop coddling these millionaires. and when we do that, it'll be a lot more fun rooting for them.

let's go mets!
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 2:34 PM
This team has no identity and no fire. They obviously have some very talented players, but don't seem to have enough "gamers". I'm not a big Jerry fan, but in fairness, he is short-handed. I guess in hindsight, not getting Ibanez and touting the combo of Murphy and Tatis was a killer. I suppose I am spoiled by the '86 team. They had many leaders, and would get in your face in a heartbeat. Bring on Wally Backman to manage this team and light a fire...
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 3:08 PM
I also like Jerry! Here is the bottom line:

OMAR MINAYA IS INCOMPETENT!

Omar is nothing better than a used car salesman. One hit wonder is also accurate. Has anyone done less with more money than Los Mets himself? Not a chance.
Anonymous said :
June 12, 2009 at 3:12 PM
I totally agree!!!
Vegas Rich said :
June 14, 2009 at 12:51 AM
My point is simply this. Great managers, Tommy Lasorda,Terry Francona, Charlie Manuel, Tony LaRossa and countless others do one thing that Jerry certainly lacks and that is consistency. They also keep what's in house, in house. Jerry is simply too full of himself and tries to make him the story. Some people say that's taking the pressure off the team by deflecting the news to him. I disagree. He needs to to charge and let his players core or otherwise know that the game needs to played right. Catch the ball with two hands, run out every hit likes it's the 7th game of the World Series, Dive for damn ball. Get down the line fast when you hit a long ball so perhaps there might be a triple waiting to happen. I could go on forever. Jerry needs to step up or step aside.

Vegas Rich
Anonymous said :
June 16, 2009 at 2:17 PM
Saying Bobby Valentine was a disaster is flat out embarrassing. That guy is not a good manager, he is a VERY good manager.

Valentine worked wonders with a mediocre roster back in the day.

We've seen Bobby sitting in the dugout during a World Series as manager, I don't think we'll see that with Jerry Manuel.
Anonymous said :
June 20, 2009 at 6:20 PM
bring pedro back!!!
Sparks said :
June 20, 2009 at 11:37 PM
If I have to read from one more person what a pitiful roster Valentine had to work with, I'm gonna scream. Yes, the outfield lacked a "big" name, but you know what those late-Valentine-era Mets DID have? Only the best defensive infield in the history of the game and lineups that regularly featured 6 or 7 guys batting near or over .300, anchored by Mike freakin' Piazza. Oh, the horror of showing up at the park and having to see that every day!

Sure, the Mets won the wild card twice and made the Series once. Great. They also blew the wild card a third time at the very end (1998, the original Mets Choke--remember those Cubs playoff t-shirts that still had the Mets skyline logo on them?), and were in control of the division late multiple times only to let it slip away.

Bobby Valentine was an adequate manager, but offering him up as the cure for what ails these Mets is silly, and quite frankly, ironic.
Sparks said :
June 21, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Anonymous said:

"Last year was a bit of an aberation in the fact that the team could not stand Willie Randolph so when Manual was named manager it was a breath of fresh air."

I have a hard time accepting the premise that Manuel's portion of last season is the "aberration" and this not quite half of a season with the roster decimated by injuries is the "norm." That's bass-ackwards thinking.

Should the Mets have a few more Ws in their pocket at this point? Sure; the same can be said for every team. But with half an infield of reserves, guys who should be in the minors playing regularly in the outfield, and a rotation held together by duct tape, we're only 2 games out as the Break nears. That is not the work of a man with poor baseball acumen.

The bottom line is that in Manuel's first year on the job, only the Dodgers and Brewers have posted a better record in the NL. Even the Phillies haven't won as many games since he took over. Complain all you want about individual moves, but there's no deriding the body of work.

Jerry's baseball sense can be best summarized that game vs. Florida when he pinch-hit Santos. Everybody said, "What the heck is he doing?" and when he gave his "shorter swing to catch up with a fastball" explanation, people crucified him. Then a week or two later, Santos proves him right with the HR off of Papelbon. Scratch your heads and curse all you want, but perhaps Manuel is the one in this equation who knows what he's doing. Of course some moves he makes won't work out well, but most will and have over the long haul.

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