Willie Randolph Handed His Walking Papers: Shea It Ain't So

    Willie Randolph was not the primary source of the Mets' failures. I believe General Manager Omar Minaya should have gotten the pink slip. Since Minaya  took over as Mets General Manager, he has assembled a roster of aging players who were well past their prime, leaving the team the oldest in Major League Baseball. The disastrous acquisitions began with the signing of then 33 year old Pedro Martinez to a five year contract. After staying healthy for the 2005 season and for the duration of 2006, the injury bug bit Martinez hard in 2007 and 2008, leaving the Mets with the likes of grey beards Nelson Figueroa and Orlando Harnandez to take his place. More bad moves continued in 2005 when the Mets traded up and coming first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Marlins for Carlos Delgado, who has the compiled a less than stellar averages below .250 the last season and a half. It's been said that "History repeats itself", someone should have told that message to Omar Minaya in 2006, when instead of acquiring outfielder Alfonso Soriano, one of the top 15 players in Major league Baseball, sign Moises Alou. Saying that Alou is past his prime is an understatement, to say the least. Alou has been decimated by injuries throughout his Mets tenure. Another horrendous deal was the trade of youngster Brian Bannister to the Kansas City Royals for Ambiorix Burgos, who has barely pitched above Triple-A.

    Omar Minaya has deflected every criticism about job he has done and has not taken any accountability or responsibility for it either. Minaya, instead has used Willie Randolph as his personal scapegoat, a whipping boy, perhaps. It is time for the Wilpons to fire Omar and start of fresh. While I don't believe that Willie Randolph should have been fired, he has made some questionable moves, for instance taking out Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana while the tandem was pitching shutout, only to see closer Billy Wagner cough up the lead right in front of their lives. When will Omar Minaya learn? Randolph's dismissal was one of the most classless acts I ever seen in my entire life. Why did Minaya let Randolph make the trip to Anaheim instead of firing him after the road? What makes Minaya think that Interim Manager Jerry Manuel will do a better job than Randolph. The ship titled, the New York Mets is sinking fast, proving many notions that the 2006 campaign was a fluke. The longer this goes on the fans will be longing for 2006.

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