Baseball Guru
08-30-2003, 05:49 PM
Q & A with Art Howe
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Art Howe is nearing the end of his first full season as the skipper of the Mets. Though 2003 has provided many ups and downs for the laid back Howe, he says he has enjoyed his initial New York experience and is looking forward to what the future holds. He recently sat down with MLB.com to talk about this season and beyond.
MLB.com: How difficult has it been to not get discouraged about this season?
Howe: It's not difficult at all. You have to look at the circumstances that developed and be realistic about it. If we had stayed healthy with the veteran club we had from the get go it would be very disappointing to be where we are right now. But we didn't even come close to having the team we thought we were going to have at the start of the season. We have a ton of young kids playing on a regular basis so if you look at it realistically there's no reason to be upset about it. When you play this many kids, this is basically what's going to happen.
MLB.com: Has New York been what you imagined it to be?
Howe: It's been great. I've really enjoyed my New York experience so far. The only thing is I wish we were winning a little more. The fans have been great. The city is outstanding. I'm looking forward to the future.
MLB.com: What's been the biggest adjustment from going from small-market clubs like Houston and Oakland to New York?
Howe: It wasn't that big of an adjustment because Oakland had something like six newspapers covering the team. There were quite a few fulltime so there were the numbers out there. It's very time consuming in New York, that's what I've found here. There's much more media.
MLB.com: Was it difficult to go back to managing in the National League?
Howe: It was fine. It was fine. It's a challenge. Every night is a new situation, new circumstances develop during the game and it just keeps so you involved as a manager.
MLB.com: Is it unfair to compare Jose Reyes to other established shortstops like Miguel Tejada?
Howe: Yes, it's way too early to be doing that. Let's just hope he continues to develop and become the player we all hope he will.
MLB.com: Can enough be said about getting the young players playing time this year?
Howe: Actually, what it does is that it keeps us from making mistakes in the future. Hopefully we've seen them enough to make good evaluations. At the same time, what I'd like to guard against is the fact that sophomore jinx is still out there. They've played a lot this year but the second year is the year that everyone makes adjustments against you. So, they still may have a few hurdles to get over next year.
MLB.com: What can be done to get this team to the next level in 2004?
Howe: We have to continue to improve the talent on the team. Obviously we need to make some acquisitions over the winter. As far as I'm concerned, though, the attitude and the effort on this team couldn't be any better. We go out there and battle every night. We just don't match up against some of the better teams in the league. But we do our best.
MLB.com: What do you hope to accomplish over the final five weeks of the season?
Howe: Of course, I hope we win as many games as we possibly can so that these guys feel good about this season and looking forward to next year. We are going to make some adjustments roster wise, hopefully keeping the right people on this club and add in around them.
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Art Howe is nearing the end of his first full season as the skipper of the Mets. Though 2003 has provided many ups and downs for the laid back Howe, he says he has enjoyed his initial New York experience and is looking forward to what the future holds. He recently sat down with MLB.com to talk about this season and beyond.
MLB.com: How difficult has it been to not get discouraged about this season?
Howe: It's not difficult at all. You have to look at the circumstances that developed and be realistic about it. If we had stayed healthy with the veteran club we had from the get go it would be very disappointing to be where we are right now. But we didn't even come close to having the team we thought we were going to have at the start of the season. We have a ton of young kids playing on a regular basis so if you look at it realistically there's no reason to be upset about it. When you play this many kids, this is basically what's going to happen.
MLB.com: Has New York been what you imagined it to be?
Howe: It's been great. I've really enjoyed my New York experience so far. The only thing is I wish we were winning a little more. The fans have been great. The city is outstanding. I'm looking forward to the future.
MLB.com: What's been the biggest adjustment from going from small-market clubs like Houston and Oakland to New York?
Howe: It wasn't that big of an adjustment because Oakland had something like six newspapers covering the team. There were quite a few fulltime so there were the numbers out there. It's very time consuming in New York, that's what I've found here. There's much more media.
MLB.com: Was it difficult to go back to managing in the National League?
Howe: It was fine. It was fine. It's a challenge. Every night is a new situation, new circumstances develop during the game and it just keeps so you involved as a manager.
MLB.com: Is it unfair to compare Jose Reyes to other established shortstops like Miguel Tejada?
Howe: Yes, it's way too early to be doing that. Let's just hope he continues to develop and become the player we all hope he will.
MLB.com: Can enough be said about getting the young players playing time this year?
Howe: Actually, what it does is that it keeps us from making mistakes in the future. Hopefully we've seen them enough to make good evaluations. At the same time, what I'd like to guard against is the fact that sophomore jinx is still out there. They've played a lot this year but the second year is the year that everyone makes adjustments against you. So, they still may have a few hurdles to get over next year.
MLB.com: What can be done to get this team to the next level in 2004?
Howe: We have to continue to improve the talent on the team. Obviously we need to make some acquisitions over the winter. As far as I'm concerned, though, the attitude and the effort on this team couldn't be any better. We go out there and battle every night. We just don't match up against some of the better teams in the league. But we do our best.
MLB.com: What do you hope to accomplish over the final five weeks of the season?
Howe: Of course, I hope we win as many games as we possibly can so that these guys feel good about this season and looking forward to next year. We are going to make some adjustments roster wise, hopefully keeping the right people on this club and add in around them.