Quote: Willie on Defining Roles in Bullpen
Last night on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove, Willie Randolph was asked if he prefers to manage his bullpen based on feel, as opposed to having defined roles, to which he responded…
“To tell you the truth, guys, I believe in defining roles – but guys have to step up and take over
that. I mean, just because you say eighth, seventh-inning guy, if he’s not doing the job…
“If you show me you want the seventh spot, eighth spot, I’ll give it to you, because it’s easier for me to go to a guy if he’s throwing the ball well. But, just the idea of putting a guy out there because he feels comfortable in that spot? No. We’re about winning, and winning games, so I’m gonna try to put the guys in a position to help us win. And they need to be available and flexible when they need to take the ball and get the ball done….Players want to be comfortable, but you’ve got to perform.”
…this was my point last September…i kept getting e-mails and comments blaming willie…which was part true, i suppose, since he made the final call on who pitched and when…but, more importantly, he just didn’t have the horses when he needed them…i recall fans getting all worked up because he would use one guy over another and then vice-a-versa on the following night, and no matter what willie did he was wrong…he was wrong, not because of his reasoning, he was wrong because he could do no right…no matter who he called upon the pitcher failed…this is not to say willie is innocent…i mean, he must accept some responsibility…but, the actual pitcher must shoulder most of the blame, as should the starters, who could not pitch beyond the fifth inning for so much of the second half of the season…
SNY’s Mets Hot Stove is hosted by Kevin Burkhardt and airs live every Monday at 6:30 pm and again at 11 pm.
