New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel Tuesday questioned Joe Torre’s integrity in the wake of Torre’s saying there was “no question” he would listen if the Mets offered him their managerial job.
Manuel said he did not hear Torre’s comments firsthand, but suggested any discussion about interest in a managerial job that is currently filled implies disrespect and a lack of integrity.
“Joe gave me a great opportunity to go to the All-Star Game in ’99,” Manuel said on Tuesday, referring to when the then-Yankees manager named him to the American League coaching staff while Manuel managed the White Sox. "I don’t know him on a personal basis. But when things like that come out or are said, you question integrity. That’s what comes to my mind. Like I said, I don’t know him on a personal level to say whether he’s that or that. And I did not see, or I have not read, exactly what has been said. All I know is what I hear. And I don’t go to look for it.
“I’ve heard about the comments,” Manuel said about Torre. “This is from hearsay. When people tell me, they may add a little something here, add a little something there. But I find it also curious when someone comments about a job that someone already has.”
Campaigning for currently-filled managerial jobs is generally considered a no-no in baseball. I can, of course, understand Manuel’s being upset about this. Fact is, though, Manuel keeping his job beyond the end of this season would be a stunner.
Everyone other than Manuel seems to have figured that out already.