I always tried to like Fred Wilpon. I always thought he put the fans first. In firing Willie Randolph, I think he accomplishes at least that much.
Met fans are still not happy, though. Sure, Randolph and his staff needed to be removed. They have not succeeded in taking this talented bunch and turning it into a winner. That's their job, they failed and now they are gone. It happens in every city, on every team for as long as baseball has been played. Win, or you're out.
Willie Randolph did not get the job done. He knew coming into this season that if he failed to get the Mets to the World Series or they began to underachieve, he would be let go.
That's exactly what happened. What Randolph did not expect, though, was to be treated so shabbily.
Today's Must Reads
Welcome to the New York Mess. Fred Wilpon does not like to get his hands dirty. Jeff Wilpon, just like every other person of inherited wealth in this country, isn't worth his salt. So the dirty job of firing Randolph was left up to Omar Minaya.
It was apparent that Minaya did not want to pull the trigger. So the saga that should have ended weeks ago was prolonged by Minaya hoping Randolph could pull off a string of 10 wins to save his job.
Didn't happen.
It was not done at the ballpark,but two hours after the game back at the hotel. Many of the players were out having a late diner when the bloodbath ensued. They came back to find out the ax had fallen.
The Mets, under the cover of darkness, produced a press release at 3:18 AM New York time.
This could have been done a bit more classier and a tad more efficient than this, wouldn't you say? The Mets management can't even get a firing right these days.
That's not the only thing that went wrong with this move. By removing Randolph in mid-year, the onus on winning now shifts directly to Minaya, not interim manager Jerry Manuel.
If the Mets continue to tank, Fred and Jeff will have to do their own dirty work for once. Omar won't be able to fire himself.
Leave it to the Mets to make a bad situation worse.
from mrflushing.com
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2 months ago
You just missed on your firing prediction, but it finally happened. Strange timing, nice job detailing that.
from 2 months ago
Thanks
2 months ago
I'm gonna go with both.
Why do it the way they did it? Obviously this was a move coming that you could see a mile away. Why not just wait till the next loss, and pull the trigger right after it? This just doesn't make and sense, and it smells real fishy.
from 2 months ago
They are a bunch of weasels, that's why
2 months ago
This just proves that the Mets are just both... Why did they fire him after they had won 3 of 4, including a nice win over the most consistent team in baseball in the LAA Angels... Why wait until 1215 am PT time? This is just disgraceful way to treat a very classy guy in Willie.. Accodring to SNY the meeting was done in a Hotel Room... Pedro Martinez found out from the equipment manager... Even though I am a die hard Yankee fan, I do have a lot of respect for the true Met fans
from 2 months ago
The Wilpons have no backbone....
2 months ago
Well I have a few thoughts on this. First of all I think that people need to respect Omar and the Wilpons decision to fire Willie when they saw fit. You don't know all of the details, so things may have happend during last nights game, on the trip out to California, or after the game to lead up to this. That being said, I don't think it would have been appropriate to fire him on fathers day.
All of that being taken into consideration I would agree with Nino that they should have waited until a loss to take care of it.
Finally to respond about the situation being "fishy." The Wilpons and Omar are very smart people. They did this so late at night so that the New York Papers this morning would not be a buzz with the firing. They wanted to story of the Mets, at least for one more day, to be about a good pitching performance by Pelfrey, Heilman and Wagner, and good offensive display.
There are new times ahead for Mets fans, but I'm still upset to see Peterson gone.
from 2 months ago
I know enough of the details to draw an accurate conclusion, here.
Willie Randolph was a very personal hire for Omar Minaya. He hired the Brooklyn-born Randolph to lead this club of his and the Wilpons tied both of their fates together. For the firing of Randolph to be so impersonal, it had to be ordered by ownership, not Minaya. Why didn't they do it in NY? Because they are gutless. Minaya was forced to fire Willie 3000 miles away in the middle of the night against his will.
Jerry Manuel is not the answer for this club, either. Omar may as well start packing, too
2 months ago
Well John, he did turn the team around from where it was 3 or 4 years ago, and did have a winning season last year as I recall. NOW-when a closer blows 13 saves to this point in the season ... is that Randolphs fault? Had the closer done his job that the ownership pays him to do then you guys would be sitting pretty. Willie isnt playing...but there is the archiac argument, is it the coach or the team that is put together by ownership? Willie is a class act, and I hope he comes back to my Yanks, with Girardi being a hot head, a more level headed guy next to him is probably a good idea. Nice write again John.
from 2 months ago
Thanks Patrick.
As I said in previous articles Willie could not unleash the potential of this team. Anyone who thinks this team is just not that good is out of their minds. They have the Sandy Koufax of the new millennium in Johan Santana. Pedro Martinez is a Hall of Famer. John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez are all 25, 26-year-olds with live arms.
Carlos Beltran is a true 5-tool player. Why he chooses to keep 3-4 of those tools in the box every night is a mystery. The Mets needs a manager that can get the most of him.
The same goes for Jose Reyes. How many players in baseball history had 250 steals and 50 triples before the age of 25? The answer - 2. Jose Reyes and Ty Cobb, who turned 25 in 1906. That's 102 years ago.
Throw in David Wright and you have 3 excellent ballplayers at the top of your lineup. This is a team that should win 95-100 games with their eyes closed. Instead, they are on a pace to win 81.
from 2 months ago
John,
I think you give the manager too much credit for his role with the team. I have serious doubts that Terry Francona was the man who came in and finally helped the Red Sox realize their potential in 2004, Grady Little had already done that.
The manager has very little impact on how to get the most out of his players. Billy Wagner doesn't stink because Randolph failed him. Reyes can't hit, but that doesn't mean it's randolph's fault.
They hire hitting and pitching coaches so that Randolph doesn't have to do these jobs, instead he has to tinker with the lineup, decided when to pull the plug on the starting pitcher, occasionally insert a pinch fielder/hitter/runner, and of course deal with the media.
Maybe Randoplh wasn't the right fit, maybe he was, all I know is that there were a lot worse problems with the Mets than Willie Randolph as manager.
2 months ago
I am going to go with Classless. Unless the Mets went on long winning streak his days were numbered, you knew that, I knew that and so did Randolph. But the way this was handled the way the uppers in the Mets organization handled this whole thing was unbeleivable. They had many chances to get rid of Randolph, fine example in October after they colapsed in front of the world. Or how about before spring training, or here's one when Randolph met with management just a couple weeks back. They have had there chances but to wait until after a game, after most media markets wouldn't report this until the next new cycle. And to be honest they should be happy to walk away from an organization thats management apparently doesn't respect its coaches and its players enough to have the decency to fire them before they flew 3000 miles to the west coast . Or how bout this wait until the sun has rose on the east coast. Good morning New york! The Mets are in trouble just because you got rid of Randolph and co. doesn't make this team any better, with there payroll, its disappointing. Here's the thing in baseball a lot can change, teams can get hot and teams can get cold, they are not out of this yet.
from 2 months ago
You're right. Patti...it was an act of cowardice.
And you are also right in saying that things have a way of balancing out....let's hope that's true for the Mets
2 months ago
The way the Mets handled Willie Randolph was ludicrous and absolutely dreadful.
They let him twist in the wind for weeks after some reports speculated he would be fired. Reports that continued off and on during the whole time leading up to his dismissal.
And then to announce it in press release in the wee hours of the morning New York-time is stupid. They just wanted to avoid the initial media scrutiny, which comes with the territory in New York.
I wonder if GM Omar Minaya will be the next to go. He has assembled the team's largely aging roster after all. And they traded a few prospects to get Johan Santana, which won't help the team get younger quickly.
2 months ago
Classless for the timing.
Clueless for hiring Jerry Manuel as the interim manager.
Get ready for some classic Jerry tinkerin', Mets fans!
from 2 months ago
He's no better......this is a bad move for the Mets.
2 months ago
They pretty much gave up on this season already....if Manuel does better than Randolph I'll be shocked
2 months ago
In the topsy turvy NL East where a 6.5-game lead may as well be a 2-game lead. Randolph was shown the door too soon. He should've been given til the All-Star break or August 1.
They have players that can get hot at any time, I don't understand why so soon.
And I'm from Philly where Bob Clarke fired a coach with cancer.
2 months ago
John, hang on a sec here, do you really think that this team is talented? Besides, Wright, Santana, and Reyes (yes, he has talent but he's as dumb as a box of rocks), name one talented person on this team.
You mentioned Beltran, 3 years ago he was, now his skills are fading and fading fast.
Same thing with Wagner. Why do you think the Phillies did not want to go 3 years with him? Did you really think Pat Gillick could not see that he was losing his fastball? Instead, you have him this year and NEXT.
Yeah, Pedro is a hall of famer, whose better days are waaaaayyyyy behind him and a stint on the DL waiting to happen.
There was talent on this team last year, Minaya traded it all away for Santana, who is not doing much for you. Had you kept Glavine, maybe he does but they didn't. There were serious problems with this team last year that he needed to address in the off season. He didn't, instead, he did the dumbest thing he could do. He traded most of his future away for one guy and the rest of it for utility players.
This team was screwed from the get go and to blame Willie for all of this is just plain wrong and please do not misunderstand, I am not saying Willie is blameless. All I am saying is that he's not the only one at fault. The quality of the polish does not make a turd any less of a turd.
from 2 months ago
True, Joe....but he set the tone for this club. Guys got too complacent and once they began to tail off they couldn't turn it back on again.
They need a motivator, and Willie is not the motivating type.
2 months ago
John, they are CLASSLESS and CLUELESS....
2 months ago
Leave it to the Mets to create a situation in which a manager who has not gotten the most out of his team is finally let go, but because of the circumstances involved, it's that same manager who garners the fans' sympathy. Ridiculous.
2 months ago
Well they paid him $2.2M per year. That shows some class. Are they clueless? No, how can they play any worse. Next year they can hire Acta. Randolph gets paid til the end of his contract and he has more time to catch on with a new team. If they had waited Randolph's options would have been limited at the end of the year.
This works out better for all parties IMO. Minaya did him a favor
from 2 months ago
good points
2 months ago
I agree, if you want to fire the guy that's fine, but the way they did it was classless. You should fire the guy in New York when he returns from the road trip. He was all the way across the country in California. Now he has to fly home by himself instead of with the team.
Not to mention they fired him after a win in a hotel. Bring him in the offense and sit him down and tell him that's he's fired. Have some respect for the guy.
2 months ago
I bring him into the "office"
from 2 months ago
Agree..this whole event was compounded further at yesterday's press conference. Omar is a down-to-earth guy. You can always tell when down-to-earth guys aren't being truthful. No one on that room believed his version of the event
2 months ago
Pedro is injured, El Duke is out too. And the team is not all that deep, no offense intended there either bud. Its just a sad story all the way wround. John...that being said, and I see where youre coming from as the team has the talent (amongst pitching woes), and will eventually come around. Top 3 for in your league since 2000, that aint bad, but it dont win a series either.*****I think Willie lost that job a few weeks back with that blown call by the umps. That was the time for the coach to step up for his boys, and get some fire going. Hell, Billy Martin use to it every other week, and he wasnt always screaming about the game, it might be about the bar tab that the ump left the night before....Anyhow, that was Willie's shot to get the chemistry flowing. He failed his team by "pussyfooting" around it, discussing it with a cool head, and not going absolutley balistic...He let the opportunity escape him, and that is when Manuel stepped up for the team and secured his new role by going off (continuously, even after all had settled); he got himself tossed, and is now the new mgr. Torre wasnt above getting tossed a couple of times a year either, and Willie sat right beside him. Willie just had too much class, and not enough "piss and vinegar" but he has always been like that, cool headed, always. This time to his demise. He'll comeback, Cashman said it wasnt the "right time" to talk about bringing Willie back, but there would be a spot for him "when it is the right time", if he wants it (not as mgr though). Its just too bad, because you know he is a great guy John. I always liked the Mets, ya'll beat Boston in 86! But we're the surviving teams of NY, with the Dodgers, and Giants out west now; and I have respect for both NY teams, though a Yank. When Pedro is back, and Duke is healthy things will get better. Duke might be a better option for the pen by the way. You may want to write one up for that point. He changed his delivery, and got beat up a bit; but when he's on, he's one tough pitcher. We'd love to have him, especially regarding our recent injuries. 3 starters all injured right now. Unreal. We need the pen help, talk to your people about letting Duke come back to the yanks, and I'll talk to my people too! Rock on brother...go Jints!
from 2 months ago
Good points. Willie needed to lead more by example and chose not to
The worst fear is to have a half-empty Shea Stadium come September
2 months ago
I need to ask just one question. When was the last time you watched a Mets game and questioned a move that Willie made?
I have the baseball package and I have seen quite a few Mets games. I never questioned what moves Willie made. They made sense to me. Charlie Manual, on the other hand, makes moves at least once a week where you are asking yourself what drugs he's smoking. Sometimes they work, most times they don't, yet this team wins. Why? Because Charlie actually has a talented team.
from 2 months ago
Randolph has been criticized for his inactions more than his actions. I will agree that his team let him down, but many other managers would not stand for the lack of fire this team has shown under Willie.
You also have to look at the stats. Willie did not tinker with the lineup, which many managers would have considering what has gone on....
David Wright hits third every game even though he's only hitting .222 against RHP in 207 ABs this year.....gotta think about that...wouldn't you move him down in the order against RHP?
Carlos Beltran only has 1 HR against LHP in 67 AB this year, yet he batted clean-up no matter what. Willie didn't feel the need to tinker with that either.
Jose Reyes is a much better hitter from the left side, yet the Mets continue to let him switch-hit....Do you think Billy Martin, or Tommy Lasorda or Davey Johnson, or Bobby Cox or even Charie Manuel would sit back and let this continue?
2 months ago
You are not telling the whole story. You are leaving out the fact that Delgado, their true cleanup hitter, is not hitting. This has a domino effect on the lineup. Like moving Beltran from 3rd to 4th and Wright from 5th to third. Again, it's another situation that the GM needed to fix. How does this team look with Carlos Gomez in in it?
As far as not arguing with the umpires, they knew this when they hired him. If they wanted someone who screams and yells, why hire Randolph to begin with?
The bottom line is, any arguement you can come up with to fire Willie, I can just as easily turn it around to Minyana. If you fire Rudolph, you have to fire Minyana as well.
from 2 months ago
That just might happen after this year
2 months ago
I heard something this morning that it's the assistant GM and Wilpon Lite that is stirring this pot and Omar will be gone too.
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