‘89 Met Season: Johnson Couldn’t Do It Alone

Manager Davey Johnson undoubtedly deserves some of the blame for the underachievements of the New York Mets, but some observers place most of the blame on the front office.

Tom Verducci of Newsday focuses on Met Vice President Joe McIlvaine: “McIlvaine gave up four pitchers to get (the Minnesota Twins’) Frank Viola, who won only five of 12 starts. More significantly, the trade strapped the bullpen. How were the Mets to win with Jeff Musselman, Jeff Innis and Don Aase left to work the late innings?”

Said McIlvaine: “I knew with the acquisition of Viola we were weakening our middle relief. I thought with our starters, we could get to the eighth and ninth innings and the middle relief wouldn’t be as important.”

Trivia time: When the Mets obtained first baseman Keith Hernandez from St. Louis in 1983, who did the Cardinals receive in return?

Best of the ‘80s: Marty Noble of Newsday ranks the 10 best managing achievements of the ‘80s:

1. Dick Howser, 1980 New York Yankees--”Howser was the most effective manager to serve for George Steinbrenner. Howser not only endured Steinbrenner, but he also found a way to keep Reggie Jackson happy without irritating other players.”

2. Don Zimmer, 1989 Cubs--”Under Zimmer’s gentle and, when necessary, firm hand, the Cubs have done more than anyone--even Zimmer--could have anticipated.”

3. Frank Robinson, 1989 Orioles--”Robinson altered his approach, becoming far more tolerant and allowing his young team to form its own personality.

4. Johnson, 1984 Mets--”With significant input from Keith Hernandez and the emergence of Dwight Gooden, Johnson took an underequipped team that hadn’t seen anything but fifth and sixth-place finishes for seven years and changed its outlook and its future.”

5. Whitey Herzog, 1987 Cardinals--”The White Rat regularly elicits more from his players--particularly his relievers--than most managers do.”

6. Tony La Russa, 1989 Athletics--”Through this decade, Herzog and La Russa have proved to be the most effective managers in their respective leagues.”

7. Dallas Green, Phillies, 1980--”That the Yankees couldn’t handle ‘Old Yeller’ says something about them, not him. The Phillies didn’t like Green, but he elicited a championship from them.”

8. Joe Torre, 1982 Braves--”The Atlanta Braves were unsuccessful before Torre arrived, and they have been worse since he was forced to leave.”

9. Tom Lasorda, 1988 Dodgers--”It wasn’t all Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser last year for Los Angeles. His teams almost always are well prepared and ready to play.”

10. Harvey Kuenn, 1982 Brewers, and Roger Craig, 1986 Giants--”Kuenn implemented the ‘Let Them Play’ theory that had worked for Bob Lemon with the Yankees four years earlier.”

Trivia answer: Pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey.

Quotebook: Mookie Wilson on the moves that sent him and Lee Mazzilli from the Mets to the Toronto Blue Jays: “We both got letters from someone in New York. I think they said their little girl was disappointed that we were gone and when she got a new pet--it was a bird--she decided to call it ‘Mazzookie.’ ”