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Again, Willie Randolph has changed around his rotation again, telling reporters yesterday that Johan Santana will start next Saturday, April 12, at home against the Brewers, instead of Friday as was initially scheduled.
Nelson Figueroa will start Friday’s game.
Therefore, as of today, expect the following rotation through the next week:
Tuesday: Oliver Perez vs. Phillies
Wednesday: Mike Pelfrey vs. Phillies
Thursday: John Maine vs. Phillies
Friday: Nelson Figueroa vs. Brewers
Saturday: Johan Santana vs. Brewers
…when asked why he changed his mind, willie got all defensive and typically coy - adding that there is lots of information that goes on behind the scenes that he has no interest in sharing – so to protect his players…
…frankly, just win the game…the why is less important when you’re winning, willie…
1. saturday at shea is a bigger draw than friday night at shea
2. ben sheets pitches on saturday
1. Bingo. They’ll sell out Saturday if Santana’s pitching.
The why is not less important if it is health related. Giving Santana all that rest… is it wise?
I never disliked Randolph. I’m beginning to.
it’s hard to imagine he makes a decision like that .. I’m sure the pitching coach and staff have a lot to do with it.
I’m sure you’re right. I think he needs to be upfront about why.
I tend to get the feeling that many mets fans dislike willie for what he says to the press, which to me, is ridiculous
Roach - I really, really agree with that statement. It is something I’ve noticed for awhile now. In my opinion Willie gives the media a bunch of bs in order to shield his players, and because he thinks its none of anyone’s business what happens in the clubhouse. Then people take this stuff at face value and get all angry.
For example, his typical line about “going with my guys”. What is supposed to say “this guy sucks”? No, he just says what he needs to say to the press. People shouldn’t place that much emphasis on it. There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to.
Anyway, I’m sure Johan was consulted and approved this switch.
don’t understand why you’d think he needs to give more to the press.. You don’t want to show your hand to other teams, and you don’t want to throw your players under the bus for rabid reporters looking to turn every little quote into a huge, pun filled headline. Half of a NYC manager’s job is shielding his players and organization from that nonsense, and Willie does a great job of that.
Everyone’s so worried about the wheel or a squeeze play, or whatever, but those things pale in comparison to that task. Fwiw, Bobby Cox tried a squeeze bunt, the ball went foul, and we moved on, it didn’t impact the game one way or another. ladi-friggin-da.(sorry for the rant)
gland, i agree with what youre saying in fact its probably pretty accurate. with that being said the manager has to realize that the press is the only way he can communicate with the fans who support his team and pay his salary. so if you give the press alot of BS its like youre giving us alot of BS and fans will grow frustrated with you and probably dislike you. bill bellicheck is the exception to this rule simply bc the man wins. when willie randolph wins us 3 WS in 4 years he can go to the podium and moon the press after games for all i care but until then i think there will be alot of anti-willie fans no matter where he is due to his attitude.
i think THAT is BS to be perfectly honest….because we in effect pay his salary, he should cater to us and feed our fanatical emotions and thoughts? He had a rough year and he knows he’s going to get fired if his team doesn’t perform….let’s wait and see how he (and Omar) stand up to that challenge.
Again, I agree. I really don’t care what he has to say. It looks like I’m alone here, but I rarely watch his press conferences or anything he has to say. For the most part they mean nothing. If I’m curious about a specfic play or decision I might read the paper online to see if it gets addressed the next morning. But generally I don’t expect much from his comments and I don’t believe I, or anyone else, should. I really don’t want him doing his job thinking “oh I better do a wheel because the fans think i should”.
As others have said, the press is they way that Willie reaches the fans.
To give them no info is to give us no info.
The arrogance he gives them is the arrogance he gives to us. Unless of course, that this is Willie’s true personality…he did refuse to go to the minors to learn how to manage…and he did get turned down by team after team when interviewing.
Do you really NEED him to say, “I switched it up so i can have my best pitcher going against the Phillies because we want to beat them on their own ground.” ????
Better yet, do you WANT the Phillies to hear that or anything to that effect?
Sorry, Roach, but that’s ridiculous. I don’t give a crap what Willie says to the press, I do give a crap that he leaves Jorge Sosa in to face a lefty with bases loaded down 2. Willie as an abysmal manager, not just poor, abysmal. Stop acting like those of us who can see that have some type of ulterior motive.
roach, you completely missed my point. i didnt say i dislike willie bc i pay his salary and have some right to know. i dont dislike him bc of his post game comments. but his attitude will always rub people the wrong way unless of course he turns into a bill bellicheck type who can do no wrong (even when he cheats) and wins championships.
and for the record i dislike him bc of his in game managing. I dislike him bc our team is built in a very classical NL style yet he continues to show he knows nothing about how to utilize that. i dislike him bc after 3 years he still doesnt have defined roles for guys like feliciano, heilman, and sosa. 2 of which have been here as long as he has.
Listen, i’m not arguing in-game moves because how can you argue in favor of when the team loses…the original point was alluding to some (not all or even most) dislike willie based on what he says to media…..and THAT is ridiculous…that was my point
We really need a nice start from Pelfrey. He is now an important piece of the rotation puzzle. I do not expect anything from El Duque or Pedro this year. It is also extremly important for the future of this team as we only have two (2) starters locked up for next year, Maine and Santana. Pelfrey’s success/failure could have a significant impact on the FA plan next offseason, which is very vital as we will need to replace 1B and LF.
i agree with you completely on pelfrey, i just think he’s better siuted for the bullpen
I think it’s less to get Santana a start Saturday and more to get the rotation lined up with Santana, Perez, Maine…. They can do this because there’s an off day on Monday. This is of course if there are no rain outs. I’m not complaining since I’ve got tickets to Saturday’s game but it does seem like they’re doing quite a bit of tinkering.
FIRE WILLIE RANDOLPH
Maybe Willie can spend a little less time micro managing the rotation and spend it finding the bunt sign that he apparently lost this weekend.
I know that game time situations sometimes require mirco managment but this kind of stuff is just unnecessary and I think disruptive or at least bothersome. Just let the guys take their normal turn. What is the big deal in the second week of April?
The Brewers are pitching:
Friday: Manny Parra
Saturday: Ben Sheets
We have Figgy and Santana. Which order do you want them in??
The way this team operates, they will crush Sheets and get shut out by Manny Parra.
Manny Parra is pretty good.
And if I remember correctly he threw 4 or 5 shutout innings of relief against the Mets last year when they knocked Capuano out early.
So Willie is moving Johan back a day to match up with the other team’s ace in April? Really? This isn’t even Smoltz or Hamels, it’s the Brewers. I wouldn’t switch him if it was a division team, and I definitely wouldn’t switch him for Milwaukee. Early April is no time to start getting cute with the rotation. Let him pitch on his rest - let everyone else work around HIM.
Plus, I have tickets to Friday night’s game.
Santana first, Figueroa second.
I really don’t understand the “match up the aces” philosophy. Because you get games like Sunday, where your best pitcher has an incredible performance, but because their best pitcher pitches just a little better, it becomes a wasted effort. Why not match our best pitcher against their 3rd or 4th? It increases our chances of walking away with the win, and getting more run support for Santana. Then just hope Sheets has a bad day, or our offense has a good one. It’s more logical.
This doesn’t affect Santana. He’s still going to make the same amount of starts he would on regular rest. He also seemed to have responded well with the extra day’s rest.
Pelfrey needs to get in his work, so this works fine. This isn’t an issue. People need to relax.
Too many days off (and the rain out didn’t help) in early April. It wreaks havoc with the rotation, and is why teams normally just go with 4 men to start out.
Hopefully they get it straightened out, and when the games start coming on a regular basis, they will stay on schedule.
And if a day off comes up that gives them a chance to skip the 5 hole, say thanks and take advantage of it!
hopefully moving Santana back a day sets up the rotation better for the upcoming series’, especially the Phils in Philly, although Santana is going to miss that one anyway no matter when he pitches this weekend.
Not true. By pitching on Saturday instead of Friday, he’s lined up to pitch the first game of the Philly series (if the Mets use a 5 man rotation including the off day). If he pitches on Friday, he has no chance whatsoever of pitching in the Philly series.
3 days ago people were screaming their heads off that Santana would miss Philly — it’s lined up, now and the point is missed completely.
yea, I noticed that after a while as well.
People just want to fuss about it either way.
Santana up against Sheets may or may not work out, but Santana against the Phillies instead of the Nats is always a plus.
Could be a scary week.
I actually think it comes down to our two upcoming series against the Phillies. As it was, it looked like we were gonna be throwing the exact same 3 pitchers against them both times (Perez, Pelfrey, Maine), with Santana pitching none of them.
Since part of Santana’s role here is making us forget about the Phillies, and since their middle of the order is left-heavy, getting him some action against them is better for all of us. Now, it looks like the second time against them we’ll be seeing either Santana, Perez, Pelfrey or Santana, Perez, Maine.
Also works nicely cause I’ll be at that Friday game in Philly and, assuming nothing changes, it’ll be my first time seeing him pitch for us in person.
Could be a scary year.
third day start for Santana.
it will be interesting to see how they handle the catching between Friday/Saturday. Give Figgy Schneider on friday night and let Cassanova start the day game after the njight game.
you guys are all a bunch of morons on here….It’s 5 games into the season and you are already panicking and,
1. getting on Willie randolph and he should be fired when its really the players fault when they lose games
2. Jose reyes because he is off to a slow start…big deal, rather have it now then later in the season.
RELAAAAAAAAX!
Heh seriously. Why take it so seriously? It’s just a game. It’s here to entertain you. If you’re getting coronaries from the managerial decisions you need to stop watching and find something else to do.
I’m just very very confused as to why this is at all Willie’s fault? The players did not perform…..Man, i’m really seeing Mets fans in a very unfavorable light lately. It’s 5 games in!!!!!
Yes, i know someone will say, “who cares if it’s 5 games in, they should win EVERY game!” Yes, very good. But last year, some of the same “smart” fans were calling for David Wright to hit the minors after a very bad April. Maybe it’s because of how poorly the team played in September or what, but this negativity HAS GOT TO GO! GET OVER IT!!!!
If the Mets had lost their 3 games despite playing crisp baseball, it wouldn’t be a big deal to most people.
But in the 3 losses, all their 2007 problems were factors in each loss–Willie not knowing how to manage, bonehead running, bonehead fielding, no clutch hitting, weak bullpen.
Supposedly the Mets were supposed to be turning the page from last season. Losing 1 game while looking sloppy would be OK, losing 3 this way is cause for concern…no matter how early it is.
That’s a fair assessment, but I’m willing to believe that it had more to do with that unexpected extra day off rather than some “anti-winning effect” Willie supposedly has (according to some).
Inspirational.
This season is going to split this site in half…. Some of you are in serious denial..
I don’t quite understand why some of you don’t believe Willie Randolph is responsible for last seasons collapse and the continued lack of intensity this team shows in big games. Not to mention his amateur managerial tactics.
We went from a WS team to the biggest chokers in MLB history and our manager didn’t do a darn thing. He said nothing..
Most of you seem to think that a manager has no other responsibility than writing the lineup card. That could not be further than the truth. If you look at almost every great champion in the history of sports you will find a great leader calling the shots. Wake up Mets fans. We are a WS team that lacks the leadership to get us there. Who knows what will happen in the next few years. The league will be dramatically different.
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be careful, its comments like this that got me banned from a blog last April…
stick your head in the sand like the rest of them, problems in April just dont matter I guess.
I am sorry but getting Santana off his routine is not the way to go about things… Willie made a big deal about saying that saturday when asked if they might bump Santana so he could start the home opener. He said you do not get a pitcher like Santana off his routine. So what happens 24 hours later Santana gets bumped a day. You can’t make this crap up. It is embarrasing! and no Willie should not be fired after 5 games but if this same play from last year continues for 2 or 3 weeks further then yes he has to be fired. He has till the end of April or mid-May the latest and thats it folks. Time for change!
dont forget, theres 4 more chances for another rainout, in which he will be thrown off another day….
The only way Santana is getting bumped from his Saturday start is if it rains on Saturday. Figueroa and/or Pelfrey will miss a start before Santana does.
Santana is getting bumped so that he could face the Phillies the following week. He’s already going to miss them in the first series. After all the Mets paid to get him, and after what happened last year, why not do whatever you can to make sure he faces them? Would you rather keep him in his routine and let Nelson Figueroa go against them instead? This is what we got him for.
Bumpin