Comments on: Recap: Lo Duca on WFAN

By: zen

zen — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:25:26 +0000

yet he was selected yankee captain (like jeter) not the other players

terrible 3b coach. based on what? you’re hatred for him. give me statistics that show more guys were thrown out with him.

By: coreynyc

coreynyc — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:21:05 +0000

Willie was a good player, no doubt. But there were a bunch of guys on those Yankees teams that you would sooner point to as the reason why they won.

As for his coaching days, he was a terrible 3B coach with the Yankees.

Just because he was a good player does not mean it translates to managing.

By: mets227

mets227 — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:20:17 +0000

If you really believe that, then you have some serious issues.

By: zen

zen — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:12:53 +0000

willie has been in 1st place for the majority of his career. a hell of a lot more than you’re use to. he understands pennant races.

i’m not defending him to death. i’m being fair and reasonable. there are 85 of 100 posts slamming the guy. nobody’s allowed to say anything positive? the team is in 1st place. are you that shocked that the manager would have a little support. i guess with all the world series the mets won in the last 20 years…

davey johnson was a good manager and one 1 world series and 2 divisions with a much better team

By: Mets27

Mets27 — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:57:36 +0000

right here. i just don’t understand how you guys continue to defend this guy to the death. can’t you see it yet? he doesn’t care if they win it all or not, because hey, thats life!! his players sure do see it, and they sure are playing like it too. turn the page. no big deal. before long, it is taken literally and translates into how a current game is played. it really is offensive to me that other mets fans do not see it.

By: JAF

JAF — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:38:48 +0000

I’m not going to re-watch games here to pick spots. Watching the games over the course of the season, I just don’t get the sense that he doesn’t defend his players. I’ve never thought to myself: “Willie should be out there arguing” when he’s not.

I guess I’m just not buying into the idea that in order to motiviate his players, a manager must occasionally throw a tantrum. We don’t need a hothead manager, and I don’t see how it would help a team win games.

Are you saying that Willie should have gotten himself thrown out for arguing balls and strikes?

By: zen

zen — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:38:30 +0000

the two quotes are on the website. you’re right.

what was the context of those conversations? what were the questions?

i gave a random quote too:

“We’ve got to find a way to turn it around,” Randolph said. “We will,” he promised.

what does it prove? that one guy doesn’t like willie. i bet there are a couple more.

By: coreynyc

coreynyc — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:26:19 +0000

Its not on Mets.com? Really?

Then why does it appear about 2/3 of the way down this page:

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070917&content_id=2213534&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym

By: stevehendu

stevehendu — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:25:50 +0000

This is all amazing. If he didn’t care why does he clap or react when they make a smart play, move the runner, get a big hit and ultimately win the game. If he didn’t care maybe he shouldn’t come out and greet his players.

There are 162 games in the season and it is not the time yet for him to react. Believe me, this guy comes from winning. He likes to win and more than anything he wants to win ON HIS OWN. Not in the shadow of Joe Torre or Reggie or Thurman Muson. On his own, with his team.

You guys are bonkos if you think hes packed it in. They STILL HAVE A 2.5 game lead. They wont lose tonight but if they do, lets just see how he reacts. What he says to the press and what he says to his players are completely different. ONE player made a comment about him. Maybe TWO. Thats out of 25. I think his players know his expectations and they are very high.

Torre has never given into the media hype and neither will he.

They will win tonight.

Everyone stay away from the ledge, stay away from sharp objects and wait until the 27th out is recorded for the nats (and no it aint going to extra innings) . We have the team we have sked we have the lead. RELAX.

By: kendychavez

kendychavez — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:21:23 +0000

for those that don’t believe the ‘getting tossed to help the team’ stuff, there’s a strategical advantage to it- willie goes out and takes the heat after a bad call so the player can stay in the game. this is stuff earl weaver talked about- the manager gets himself tossed because that’s the only way to get the point across without hurting the team. and in the mets case, getting willie out of the dugout isn’t gonna do anything but help. instead, after paulie gets tossed, after a disgusting job by the home plate umpire all night, he walks out, talks to the umpire, makes a stupid ‘aw, that’s ridiculous’ type of face and walks back to the dugout.

this isn’t the yankees. we’re good, but we’re not that good. joe torre could take a nap in the dugout during every game, pick the lineup out of a hat and the yankees would make the playoffs. and now the players are finally admitting to it, that this even-keel stuff is doing nothing. just a really telling interview and quote, and i really doubt lo duca is alone in this.

it’s like anything, if you over-use it, it loses its strength or importance. if you say ‘i love you’ to someone everyday it has no impact after a while. if you drink a six pack everyday, pretty soon that ain’t gonna be enough.
as for baseball, if you say ‘turn the page’ after every loss, it loses meaning. if you get tossed out everyday like bobby cox, your players just giggle at you when you’re fighting an ump.
it seemed to serve them well last year, but this even-keel stuff doesn’t work for the players anymore.
and less importantly, it’s annoying as a fan. i’m jumping up and down in my room, furious after that marlon anderson strikeout and the show-up reyes strikeout, and the guy that’s supposed to care about this team the most might as well be asleep.