Yes, I know, Blasphemy!, well at least to New York Mets
fans anyway. Can you think of a better headline to use
that goes with Davey Johnson, a 9-3 start, and lots of
young talent like the Nationals have? Maybe, but as a
life long Mets fan, Davey Johnson has a special place
in my heart and it irks the the beejesus out of me that
a manager who has a win percentage as high as he does,
a World Series title and never had managerial record of
worse than 77-85 during a full season, had to wait over
ten years to get his next shot as a Major league manager.
Davey Johnson has a .562 career winning percentage, and
a record that is 262 games over .500! He has managed
in the Olympics, for both the American & Dutch national
teams, and even taught a little baseball in China.
Now Johnson is back at the helm of an MLB team, and has
the parts to make some hay. Stephen Strasburg may not
exactly remind you of Doc Gooden yet, but the potential
comparison is there. There isn't a Keith Hernandez type
on this team, but how many teams have that anyway?
This Nats squad has Jayson Werth, not Gary Carter as it's
big name gun from another team. For a home grown leader
they lean on Ryan Zimmerman instead of a Daryl Strawberry
or a Mookie Wilson, and though you may not get as many
practical jokes out of Brad Lidge and Drew Storen as you
did from Jesse Orosco, and Roger McDowell, you might get
more saves.
OK, so maybe the '86 Mets are a lofty comparison 12 games
into the season, but this team definitely has a chance to
do a couple of things that team did, win the division, and
win the World Series. I also can't help but feel that
Davey Johnson is once again poised to show the rest of us
what a smart baseball man he is, and his link to that 1986
team is obviously inevitable. I will still root for my
Mets, but I have to root for Davey too. He deserves it.
Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis
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