Monthly Archives: September 2007
Mets GM Omar Minaya, following today’s game, when asked if Willie Randolph’s job is safe…
“I look at his job for the past three years. The question, as far as if his job is safe, I will tell you that I am pleased with the work that Willie Randolph has done…
“I believe in Willie Randolph. We’re a team together. The bottom line, Willie Randolph, for me, has done a good job. You don’t look at a person just one year. You look at a person over a couple of years and the change that has happened. I can tell you that Willie Randolph, in the past three years here, has turned this franchise around in a lot of ways…I owe it to sit down with my ownership and tell them what I think, but I’m telling you that I am happy with the work that Willie Randolph has done here for the past few years.”
…the way i am hearing this response, is that omar likes willie and will recommend to ownership that he not be fired, but a) that depends on the future direction of the overall team, and b) regardless, the decision is ultimately up to the Wilpons, and so minaya will not comment either way…
Click below to hear a clip from Minaya’s post-game comments…
Tagged Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph |Click below to hear Willie Randolph’s post-game comments…
Tagged Willie Randolph |…this stinks…it really does…i’ll write more tomorrow, but before i shut it down for the day, let me just say how disappointed i am…
…i was painfully disappointed in 1988, when the Mets lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS; and i was painfully disappointed during 1999’s NLCS, when after a miraculous come back against the Braves in Game 5, they lost in Game 6; and i was disappointed last season, after Endy Chavez’s outstanding catch, and with momentum on their side, the Mets layed up and squandered yet another NLCS…
…this time, they didn’t even get the 
opportunity…
…this year, they had a seven-game lead with just over two weeks of baseball left to play…instead of seizing the opportunity, they lost 12 of their final 17 games, to finish with one more loss on the year than the Phillies, who saved their bad play for April and May, instead of September and June, like the Mets, and such is baseball…every game counts…and so the Mets played one additional bad game…one game, some place between April 1 and September 31, and they will not get to the post-season because of it…
…as you know, i never lost faith, actually…for whatever reason, unlike the previous let downs, i never doubted that this team would lose…yet they did…and i think that’s what makes this so hard to accept…
…in the end, i believe this current group of players got a bit sloth like through much of the summer, and those bad actions became habit and spilled over in to crunch time…i hesitantly blame Willie Randolph, because while i respect his confidence and believe it is ultimately a good thing, i suspect it may also have helped to create a sense of entitlement that morphed in to a sense of apathy, which led to the team’s uninspired play…ultimately, however, i mostly fault the players, who are professionals, and yet who actually went on record as acknowledging their malaise, like Carlos Delgado, who in early September told reporters, “We’ve got so much talent, I think sometimes we get bored.”…there’s nothing worse than wasted talent unfortunately, a price will be paid for this disappointment, and that’s what i am most disappointed about…
…i like these guys…i have enjoyed cheering for them…and, for the most part, they have been a ton of fun to watch…i liked the smiles, the hi-five dances, the walk-off wins, the celebrations, the quirkiness, the SI covers, and the electricity that we saw so much of over the last two seasons…but, because of the last 30 days, that is all going to change now…
…this team almost certainly cannot return in its current form…when you think about it, ever since Carlos Beltran’s strike out in Game 7 of last season’s NLCS, this team has done nothing but retreat, and i don’t know how the same group of men can re-group after all that disappointment and unfulfilled potential…this is not to say they must rebuild, not at all, but the general dynamic of this team will need to change…there are people who need to go, and who that will be remains to be seen…
The Phillies (89–73) defeated the Nationals (73–89) by the score 6 to 1 in Philadelphia this afternoon.
The Phillies have won the National League Eastern Division for the first time since 1993.
…congratulations to the Phillies, who played great baseball over the final month of the season…best of luck in October, you certainly earned it…now, excuse me while i go punch myself in the face…
Tagged Phillies |The Mets (88–74) lost to the Marlins (71–91) by the score of 8 to 1 in Shea Stadium this afternoon.
The season is officially over.
For a recap, and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.
…unbelievably, in what could realistically be the final start of his a career, and most likely his final start with the Mets, Tom Glavine allowed seven runs to score before the second out of the first inning…i mean, i’ve never seen anything like it, and was beyond shocked…what’s worse, nobody was up in the bullpen…i’m not saying Willie Randolph should risk blowing out his bullpen’s arm in warm up tosses, but it was pretty clear early on that glavine did not have it, and he needed to take more precaution in what had been an all-or-nothing game…nevertheless, glavine had no command , and was not sharp at all…for gooden’s sake, he hit Dontrelle Willis with the bases loaded…unreal…just a total lack of focus…
…of course, it is not willie’s fault that his fielder’s got confused, and played like Little Leaguers during the first inning, throwing balls over the field…with the Marlins up 1–0 in the first, two runners on and just one out, Cody Ross doubled to right field, Lastings Milledge made a poor throw to Luis Castillo, who made an off-line throw to home, and so the runner scored, then glavine made a bad throw to third, which went by David Wright, and another run scored…no focus, again…
…i’d love to harp on the bad break of Hanley Ramirez being sent to first in the game’s first at-bat, which should never have happened, but, frankly, when you hit the opposing pitcher with the bases loaded, you relinquish all right to complain…what a total disappointment, and you’re reading the writings of a big glavine fan…just brutal…i hate to see him go out this way, but it is what it is…good luck, tommy, and best of luck wherever you end up, be it back here in Shea, in atlanta, or on your sofa…
…emotionally, this game ended in the bottom of the first inning…with the bases loaded, and the Mets down six, Ramon Castro crushed a ball to left field, every one thought it was gone, you, me, the players, castro, the fans in house, and when it dropped in to ross’s glove, instead of beyond the wall, i crashed to my seat, dropped my shoulders and shook my head…i can only speak for myself, but i have a feeling you all did the same…
…over the next four innings, the Mets would go on to leave nine runners on base, while the bullpen actually pitched quite well…it’s odd, in a total reversal, the team’s bullpen looked great, allowing just one run through 8.1 innings pitched, while it was the team’s offense, defense and starting pitcher who melted down…
…listen, this is a tough loss, but, honestly, this division was lost equally over the last seven days, during which they blew lead after lead, while playing below-average teams at home, during which they lost six of seven games…it’s inexcusable, and understandable that they’re going home…i hate to say it…but it is…
Today, at 12:40 pm, I will be a guest on Sports Radio 950 in Philadelphia.
…this should be interesting…from what i understand, they want to speak with me about the ‘back-door link’ i posted so Mets fans can buy tickets to tomorrow’s potential one-game playoff in philly…back-door link…jeez, i linked to the ticket section of Phillies.com…unreal…
To listen live, click here.
…Update…12:55 pm…
…hilarious…so, basically, these two radio hosts believe i some how circumvented the system by posting the below link, because they were unable to navigate Phillies.com’s ticket system…oh well…all i did was post the exact link that had been sent directly to fans registered with Phillies.com…it’s not rocket surgery, gentlemen…
The Game
The Mets (88–73) try to keep their season alive against the Marlins (70-91) this afternoon at Shea Stadium, starting at 1:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup
- SS Jose Reyes
- 2B Luis Castillo
- 3B David Wright
- CF Carlos Beltran
- LF Moises Alou
- 1B Carlos Delgado
- C Ramon Castro
- RF Lastings Milledge
- SP Tom Glavine
The Pitchers
Tom Glavine (13-7, 4.14 ERA) starts for the Mets. He was knocked around for six runs on nine hits (including three home runs) over five innings vs. the Nationals on Monday — it was his first loss since July 2nd at Colorado. In 15 starts at Shea this season, Glavine is 7-2 with a 3.71 ERA. He faced the Marlins just 10 days ago, allowing four runs on 11 hits over five innings, as part of a no-decision.
Dontrelle Willis (10-15, 5.20 ERA) tries to play spoiler for the Marlins. Willis came up big in his last start vs. the Cubs, allowing two runs on two hits over eight innings while striking out seven. Righties are batting .321 with 29 homers vs. Willis this season. He is 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA in eight career starts at Shea Stadium, but he has struggled against the Mets this season, going 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two starts.
The Notes
The Mets pounded out a season-high 19 hits yesterday.
Miguel Cabrera is 11-for-39 (.282) with four doubles and two homers vs. Glavine.
Moises Alou is 8-for-17 (.471) with four doubles vs. Willis, while David Wright is 14-for-37 (..378) with four doubles, a triple and a homer vs. the southpaw.
David Wright carries a 16-game hitting streak into this afternoon’s game.
The Bleachers
For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.
…enjoy the game…hope for some help…and, as always, let’s go mets…
According to MLB, Marlins C Miguel Olivo has been suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for his inappropriate and violent actions during the bottom of the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Mets.
As of RIGHT NOW, you can purchase tickets to the potential tiebreaker game between the Mets and Phillies at Citizen’s Bank park through an Internet-only presale by going to Phillies.com.
The game has been scheduled for 1 pm.
…nice move, Phillies…it was advertised that tickets would go on sale at 11 am…then, suddenly, the gates are open at 10 am…very sneaky…well done…
Phillies RHP Brett Myers, as quoted back in February…
“I hate the Mets. I want to beat them more than anyone else. What we need to do is make sure none of their fans get in our building. We shouldn’t sell tickets to Mets fans.”
This afternoon at 12 pm, I will be a guest on Baseball Digest Daily’s online radio show, with other guests including Rangers GM Jon Daniels and Padres blogger Geoff Young of Ducksnorts.com.
To listen live at 12 pm, click the icon below…
