Jordan RappaportMETS FIRE WILLIE, Embarrass Orgnaization
June 17th 2008 13:35
So the Mets finally did it. They managed to muster up the courage to fire Willie Randolf. Only it took them until the Mets left for another west coast trip, and after a win against the division-leading Angels, and at about 3am EST.
It can be agreed by most of Mets-nation that Willie Randolf was going to be fired sooner rather than later, but the way that the Mets organization, Omar Minaya in particular, handled this managerial move (no pun intended) was awful.
The Mets have struggled to win games and to overcome the collapse, but now they stink at something else too- knowing how to properly fire people.
Randolf, Peterson, and Nieto all got the axe early this morning, How embarrassing for the Mets. Somehow the Wilpons and Minaya found a way to become the bad guys in all of this. Somehow that seems fitting though, as they try to place the blame on the manager, pitching coach, and first base coach, the blame ultimately falls on the owners and GM.
With Willie gone, and Jerry Manual on the top step of the dugout as interim manager, Minaya has been shifted from his comfortable plush leather seat in the Wilpons office to the hot seat, once consumed by Randolf.
Looking at a quick glance at Willie Randolf's career as manager of the New York Mets, he can ultimately be seen as the man who turned the Mets back into a championship contender, and then brought them back down to their original state.
In his first season in 2004, the Mets were 20 games under .500. The following two years were glorious, winning 80 games in '05 followed by the amazing 2006 season of promise. In 2006, the Mets were primed to make the World Series game, but after the famous Endy Chavez miracle catch on a blast by Scott Rolen, Beltran forgot to swing with the bases loaded. I can elaborate on 2007, where the Mets were supposed to learn from their playoff experience and make another run at the World Series (as preditcted by Sports Illustrated even after the Mets lost the division). Yes- the year of THE COLLAPSE. It is too depressing to go into, so if you don't know what I'm referring to, just read any article on the Mets since September 30, 2007.
That brings us to 2008. A season where the Shea faithful are celebrating their final year in a stadium revered for its mediocrity. Unbeknownst to many, the team would follow suit. A season where team slogans have been abandoned out of fear for a jinx. A season that had all the promise in the world with the arrival of Santana and the health of Pedro.
What is left is a team that has continually underperfomed and has been unable to clear their rearview mirrors of the horrors of last season's finish. The New York market and the huge bankroll of the Mets quickly became a feast for reporters to blow every minute managerial move of Randolf into the largest of concerns, whether it be the number of innings for a single relief pitcher in a single game, or the unpredictable string of blown saves by Wagner (who up until that point had a .36 ERA).
Any way that Willie turned, the spotlight would turn him into a monster, and he was left with no choice other than to become extremely paranoid, and ultimately arrive at the dugout each day to conditions that even an underpaid cop in an inner city would be less stressed about. Randolf was never given a fighting chance after the Padres series, in which the Mets were swept in 4 games by one of the worst teams in baseball.
All in all, it was definitely about time to make a change in the clubhouse. I just hope that the right decision was made, as Willie was a great manager for the years that he held down the Mets dugout, Rick Peterson was a masterful pitching coach, and a few bad stretches left it all forgotten.
The same problems will still exist, as the inconsistency of the Mets bats, particularly Delgado, and the injuries to Alou, Church, and Pagan still loom. Winning is always said to cure everything, and in this case the sub-.500 Mets had not won enough to save Willie's job. At least now the Mets might be disillusioned to believe that they can start winning behind the leadership of AL Manager of the Year in 2000, Jerry Manuel, and that the team's streak of mediocrity will end.
To Willie Randolf, I say this: Go get some rest, and know that you helped bring the Mets back to New York. We were able to recognize them as a team on the same level as the Yankees, if only for a moment. If not for a few moments of blown saves, error-ful games, horrendous scheduling, a Phillies surge, and .1IP 7ER from an ex-Brave, this story may have been written differently.
Let's hope that the worst is behind the Mets, and that a miraculous run can make this season respectable. It starts with winning. The Mets play the Angels tonight and try to continue their 2-game winning streak.
It can be agreed by most of Mets-nation that Willie Randolf was going to be fired sooner rather than later, but the way that the Mets organization, Omar Minaya in particular, handled this managerial move (no pun intended) was awful.
from nysportspace.com
The Mets have struggled to win games and to overcome the collapse, but now they stink at something else too- knowing how to properly fire people.
Randolf, Peterson, and Nieto all got the axe early this morning, How embarrassing for the Mets. Somehow the Wilpons and Minaya found a way to become the bad guys in all of this. Somehow that seems fitting though, as they try to place the blame on the manager, pitching coach, and first base coach, the blame ultimately falls on the owners and GM.
With Willie gone, and Jerry Manual on the top step of the dugout as interim manager, Minaya has been shifted from his comfortable plush leather seat in the Wilpons office to the hot seat, once consumed by Randolf.
Looking at a quick glance at Willie Randolf's career as manager of the New York Mets, he can ultimately be seen as the man who turned the Mets back into a championship contender, and then brought them back down to their original state.
In his first season in 2004, the Mets were 20 games under .500. The following two years were glorious, winning 80 games in '05 followed by the amazing 2006 season of promise. In 2006, the Mets were primed to make the World Series game, but after the famous Endy Chavez miracle catch on a blast by Scott Rolen, Beltran forgot to swing with the bases loaded. I can elaborate on 2007, where the Mets were supposed to learn from their playoff experience and make another run at the World Series (as preditcted by Sports Illustrated even after the Mets lost the division). Yes- the year of THE COLLAPSE. It is too depressing to go into, so if you don't know what I'm referring to, just read any article on the Mets since September 30, 2007.
That brings us to 2008. A season where the Shea faithful are celebrating their final year in a stadium revered for its mediocrity. Unbeknownst to many, the team would follow suit. A season where team slogans have been abandoned out of fear for a jinx. A season that had all the promise in the world with the arrival of Santana and the health of Pedro.
What is left is a team that has continually underperfomed and has been unable to clear their rearview mirrors of the horrors of last season's finish. The New York market and the huge bankroll of the Mets quickly became a feast for reporters to blow every minute managerial move of Randolf into the largest of concerns, whether it be the number of innings for a single relief pitcher in a single game, or the unpredictable string of blown saves by Wagner (who up until that point had a .36 ERA).
Any way that Willie turned, the spotlight would turn him into a monster, and he was left with no choice other than to become extremely paranoid, and ultimately arrive at the dugout each day to conditions that even an underpaid cop in an inner city would be less stressed about. Randolf was never given a fighting chance after the Padres series, in which the Mets were swept in 4 games by one of the worst teams in baseball.
All in all, it was definitely about time to make a change in the clubhouse. I just hope that the right decision was made, as Willie was a great manager for the years that he held down the Mets dugout, Rick Peterson was a masterful pitching coach, and a few bad stretches left it all forgotten.
The same problems will still exist, as the inconsistency of the Mets bats, particularly Delgado, and the injuries to Alou, Church, and Pagan still loom. Winning is always said to cure everything, and in this case the sub-.500 Mets had not won enough to save Willie's job. At least now the Mets might be disillusioned to believe that they can start winning behind the leadership of AL Manager of the Year in 2000, Jerry Manuel, and that the team's streak of mediocrity will end.
To Willie Randolf, I say this: Go get some rest, and know that you helped bring the Mets back to New York. We were able to recognize them as a team on the same level as the Yankees, if only for a moment. If not for a few moments of blown saves, error-ful games, horrendous scheduling, a Phillies surge, and .1IP 7ER from an ex-Brave, this story may have been written differently.
Let's hope that the worst is behind the Mets, and that a miraculous run can make this season respectable. It starts with winning. The Mets play the Angels tonight and try to continue their 2-game winning streak.
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