Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said he believes he still has the support of owner Steve Cohen after firing manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday.
On the day the manager was let go with the Mets in last place in the NL East with a 34-47 record, Stearns was short when asked if he believed he still had ownership’s support to continue in his position: “Yes.”
When asked what makes him think that, Stearns said it came from the conversations that he has with Cohen.
“Steven and I are talking on a regular basis,” he said. “And he’s certainly indicated that I have his support.”
As far as the decision to fire Mendoza – with the disappointing start to the season following a terrible collapse in last season’s campaign, when they finished the year 38-55 after having the best record in baseball on June 12 – and install Andy Green as the interim manager for the remainder of the season, Stearns said it was made in consultation with ownership.
“Any decision like this, of this magnitude for an organization, is an organizational decision,” he said. “And we were aligned that this was the right thing to do.”
Asked if the owner approached the front office about firing the manager or if it was the other way around, Stearns declined to get into specifics.
“I’m not gonna get into the specifics of Steve and mine conversations,” Stearns said. “We talk pretty much every day about the performance of our team.
“And we came to the decision that this was the right move.”
Stearns said he took responsibility for his role in the Mets’ poor start to the season, but expressed his confidence in the roster he assembled.
“Clearly we’ve fallen short,” he said. “I still have confidence in the talent that’s in our room, and believe in the talent that’s in our room, but belief on it’s own does not lead to results. And I understand that.
“We need better play, we need better production, and my focus now, and, Andy’s focus right now, is going to be doing everything we can to put our guys in the best position to succeed.”
Stearns, who has said he considered his job to be done in partnership with Mendoza, said he had not considered stepping down from his role when asked directly.
“I believe that we are building the foundation of an organization that can deliver what we all want,” he said in response to a question about stepping down. “I don’t believe that our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advances we’ve made in the organization. But clearly our record is nowhere good enough.”
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