Who shall lead the Mets?--NY Times

The person won't be found in the clubhouse as long as Fred Wilpon and his son Jeff own the team in my opinion. The tone is always set from the top. After all this time, it's no secret the owner (Jeff) wants an off-kilter clubhouse, with the idea that he will always be the most important person. Add the other scattering influences of the modern day clubhouse, and voila, no leader.

• From NY Times' Rhoden: "For the last three seasons, the pivotal question on this team has not been who will catch or who will play second. The reoccurring theme for this team has been leadership. Specifically, where is it? Who are the leaders?...

• ...The high-payroll Mets have a crisis of leadership....

What constitutes leadership? All we know is that the Mets didn’t have it when they needed it last season, not from Randolph, not from the core of veteran players on the roster. The cast of characters is largely the same....

• For the last two seasons, the frustrating thing about the Mets — and probably what got Randolph fired — was the apparent lack of leadership.

•Manuel has been exhorting Beltrán to be more assertive on the bases, and

• challenging Wright to play much more of a leadership role, for the team’s sake."...

From NY Times column by William C. Rhoden, "Mets, Missing Leadership, Are Wise to Temper Joy," 7/23/08

• P.S. (Willie Randolph was the leader when he first got there). sm

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