Opinion: To Willie, or Not to Willie
David Wright, speaking about his manager, Willie Randolph, following yesterday’s season-ending loss…
“He’s a great manager. I’ll go to war with Willie any day. He’s not in here jumping up and down and hollering when we win and he’s not throwing guys under the bus when we lose. It’s not his fault. It’s the 37, 38 guys in this room who didn’t do their jobs.”
Randolph, while talking to reporters after the game…
“I’m the manager of the team. I’m a big boy. I take full responsibility. I have no problem with that…I’m here to win. That’s what it’s all about for me. I’m not here to impress anyone, money is not an issue for me…I’m here to teach these guys how to play winning baseball. When I don’t do that, they’re going to get rid of me, obviously. So, I don’t have any qualms, any worries about stuff like that…
“I grew up in this town. I know how things work. I know how things play. I accept that totally, and I’m fully accountable for what I do on this job.”
…as i wrote after yesterday’s game, while i respect willie’s 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 at the end of the season…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, and a price will be paid for this disappointment, but it should not be randolph’s job…
…it’s strange…i have read nearly every article, listened to every radio and tv personality, be it local or national, and over the last few days i have talked with former players, as well people who work with the team, who are close to the team, who work in baseball, and who cover the team, and nearly every person ultimately feels willie should not be fired…yet, the comments section at MetsBlog is flooded with people who feel he should go…i mean, even the two mid-day hosts on WFAN, who are notorious for being overly emotional, even they feel randolph should stay…yet, so many fans disagree…i have been writing MetsBlog for just under four years, and i do not ever recall such a disconnect between fans and ‘insiders’…so, one side is either very right, or very wrong…
…for me, it comes down to one thing…as i see it, willie is a winner, he has a winner’s mentality, he works hard, believes in his players, and has only one care in the world, which is to win…frankly, that’s the attitude i want leading this team, and it is why most people believe he should stay…the thing is, he clearly lost a bunch of his players, as they stopped hustling and got complacent as the season dripped on…so, the question is, do the Mets bring in a new manager, who will hopefully be as dedicated as willie, while leaving these bad-habit players in place, or do they keep willie and his work ethic, but surround him with guys, like wright and Luis Castillo, who not only buy in to his style, but actually live it out on the field every single game, regardless of the standings…they can no longer succeed with both…they have squandered too much opportunity to continue…it’s totally unrealistic to believe any player who gave up on willie this season, will suddenly take him serious again next season…
…i choose willie, mostly because i believe in him, but also if for no other reason than i don’t see a more suitable option available…i mean, every team’s fans complain about their manager’s lack of smarts…i went back to read a few blog posts from teams who suffered similar disasters in year’s past, and you could literally cut and paste the current Mets fans complaints on to their fans complaints…and vice-a-versa…hell, there were Yankees fans who wanted to fire Joe Torre, who won them four rings, but whose team stunk to start the year, but now he’s back to being a genius since they’re in the post-season…it’s the nature of the beast, i think…for every fan who wants Lou Pinella, there is a team who fired him, it seems…again, nature of the beast…
…that being said, for willie to continue on as manager he has got to have total control of that locker room…the team’s general manager, and assistant general managers cannot be milling around in private huddles with willie’s players and opponents before a game…also, willie has earned the right to structure his own catching staff, and he has to be able to work with his trainers and coaches in making the final decision about who plays where and when…it cannot come from above him, otherwise the very reason he is remaining on board, that is to say his leadership, is totally undermined…if i am a player on the team and i get along with omar, and i know omar is making all the final decisions, then why should i listen to willie, instead i’ll just liken to omar…it’s just not right…and don’t get me wrong, i am not sure this is an ego thing for omar, etc, it may be strategic, or a way to protect willie…but, he’s a big-league manager now…he’s earned the right…plus, if omar gives up a bit of control, allowing his manager to assert some additional authority, i believe it will go a long way from keeping next year’s players from quitting on him because they’ll know he is the boss…
…at the end of the day, willie has the right mindset and thick skin for this team and for this city…now, he needs a group of players and his own coaches who share the same qualities…in my opinion, it would be wise to retain willie, but to be successful the Mets must give him more power, while building this team beneath him and around the leadership of David Wright…
