Howe & Duquette Clear The Air, Reveal Nothing





(a big hug for pitcher Kris Benson from 3B sensation David Wright on Tuesday night : what Amber doesn't know won't hurt her)

Prior to Kris Benson's very impressive complete game shutout of the Braves, Mets manager Art Howe spoke with the New York Times' Gerald "Putting The Nazi Back In" Eskenazi about his future.

Yesterday, Howe met with General Manager Jim Duquette and the Mets' principal owner, Fred Wilpon, to clarify his status.

What conclusion was reached at that meeting was not immediately clear, though the lack of a statement supporting Howe suggested he might not be in the dugout much longer. Wilpon was not available for comment, and though Duquette and Howe were talking, they were not willing to say whether Howe would continue managing through the end of the season, or even the end of the week.

When Howe was asked if he would be around the rest of the season, he said, "All I can say is I'm managing tonight."

When Duquette was pressed for a specific statement on Howe's future, he said: "There's no final decision on that. He'll be here for tonight. We'll address tomorrow whatever we have to address tomorrow."

When Duquette described the meeting, he said: "Art got some things off his chest. I did, too.''

Duquette said he told Howe that no decision had been made about his future, and that he reiterated his contention that The Daily News article that began this tempest was inaccurate in that regard.

But it is possible at this point that the Mets and Howe have essentially agreed to part ways and that the two sides are hammering out compensation issues. Howe is in the second year of a four-year contract and is owed $4.7 million over the next two years. It is possible that Howe is simply looking to find a way to leave on his own terms.

When Howe was asked how good the team could have been this season, he said only a .500 club. He said there was not enough depth to withstand the loss of starters.

Did Art mean the team was good enough to finish at .500 had the Mets not lost Matsui, Reyes, Zambrano, Vance Wilson, etc., or only good enough to approach mediocrity with the makeshift lineups he's been forced to employ for much of the season's 2nd half? The former assertion would suggest that the Mets were overachieving by mid-July (which might've been the case).

Posted: Wed - September 15, 2004 at 12:42 AM      

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