When Willie Randolph and some of his henchmen were fired last month, all eyes were on Jerry Manuel. He’s been analyzed, poked and prodded ad nauseam the last month, but what about new pitching coach Dan Warthen? Brought up from Triple A New Orleans (with Ken Oberkfell, Luis Aguayo and a 30-pound vat of jambalaya), he took over for Rick Peterson and couldn’t be more different. Peterson is an eccentric philosopher, and once you listen to one of his Zen-like, metaphorical ramblings, you may think he’s from another planet, or at least California. Warthen, on the other hand, is just a down-to-earth, old-fashioned baseball man.

Warthen pitched parts of four seasons from 1975–’78, with Montreal, Philadelphia and Houston. The Nebraska native had a lifetime record of 12-21, with a 4.31 ERA. The only notable aspect of his career was probably the fact that he was teammates with people who were actually named Pepe Frias, Pepe Mangual and Bombo Rivera in Montreal. And he was the only one who tried to talk Gary Carter out of getting his first perm. When Warthen’s pitching days ended, he started coaching in the minors and then became the pitching coach for Seattle, San Diego and Detroit. After leaving the Tigers he joined the Mets and settled in as pitching coach for Norfolk for three seasons. He then hooked up with the Dodgers to become their bullpen coach for two seasons, and rejoined the Mets organization this season, when he assumed the role of pitching coach for the New Orleans Zephyrs.

Since Warthen’s been up with the Mets, he’s already made his presence felt. Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez have achieved positive results under his tutelage. Perez has started pitching from the middle of the rubber and has added a little backward rocking motion to his windup. Peterson would not allow either of those two things, but Perez has thrived since making the change. Pelfrey was taking baby steps before the arrival of Warthen, but he too is now finding consistent success. He’s mixing in his curveball, which again, Peterson would not allow. Peterson had a lot of innovative ideas, but brought a uniformity to the pitching staff that may not always work. He made some of the pitchers scrap their curveballs, and move to the changeup. Warthen, on the other hand, takes each pitcher for what he is, and doesn’t try to make him fit into a structured, organizational prototype. So far, Warthen’s approach seems to be working with some of the staff.

Rick Peterson is about as interesting a character as you’ll find in the world of baseball. And when he was fired, he left with dignity and class, and had nothing but good things to say about the Mets. But it might be a refreshing change of pace for the pitching staff to talk to someone who is actually from Planet Earth. Dan Warthen is already making a difference for the team. He’s not trying to force anyone into being something they’re not. If Pelfrey wants to throw his curveball, let him. That’s what helped get him to the Major Leagues in the first place. Warthen’s next two missions: get John Maine to find the strike zone, and come up with a way for Billy Wagner to save a big game.