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During his appearance on WFAN earlier this week, SI.com’s Jon Heyman 
told Mike and the Maddog that Omar Minaya had a closed-door meeting with Willie Randolph following Sunday’s game.
…the thing is, from what i can gather, willie and omar essentially meet at some point, behind doors, every day – be it before or after the game…
…of course, this did not stop the three on-air voices from speculating on what sunday’s meeting must have meant…i have also seen fans speculate that this meeting must be where minaya forced randolph to use yesterday’s lineup – assuming that willie had to be forced to make such a move in the first place…which may or may not be true…however, they may also have discussed the weather…who knows…point is, they meet…a lot…so i am not sure any one meeting can be connected to any one result…
…the point to all of this is not defend willie or omar, it’s to note how there is a Forced Narrative going on the media, and i am not totally sure it is accurate…so, be aware of this when listening to talk radio or reading other mainstream media outlets…
People speculate…it is what it is.
They are talking, good. That is what leadership does, it is called communicate.
Did Willie ask Omar why did he sign Castillo to a 4 year deal?
Omar got Santana, Willy just gets us dumb nods and even dumber sound bites.
Gasp the GM and Manager talking about what they might both want to do…
Could it possibly be that Willie wanted to move Castillo to the 8th slot and would like to know if his boss would have his back.
Remember the days when Steve Phillips and Bobby Valentine were constantly at odds and battling each other in the press?
Those days sucked, I prefer those in charge communicating.
You know, something really needs to be done about Francessa & Russo. 10-15 years ago they weren’t half as bad as they are now. I now find them repugnant, and they are damaging to the Mets organization at this point.
I give them credit for the power they seem to have over the masses, but someone needs to step in and check these two clowns because as I said they are doing some damage to the Mets.
They are inventing scenarios that don’t even exist.
Just don’t listen to them.
I don’t really, but everyone else seems to and that is what I am referring to. People are booing because of all of the talk about booing these guys do. People think Willie should be fired because these guys say stuff like “this is his last chance”. The list goes on. These guys create scenarios and people believe them.
There are plenty of people who Willie fired who don’t listen to the station at all, not even when the games are on. I listen to them on occasion, and honestly I hear them saying the opposite a lot of the time. I’ve heard Mike tell people to calm down or get a grip on reality when they get out of control with the complaining about Willie or some of the other moves that have been made.
Russo? Well he’s really more or less a troll. When I listen, I usually laugh at what he says. It’s strictly entertainment value for me.
I never boo my own team, but I do understand the frustrations of many of the people who have been booing. If they’re doing it based on something they really see for themselves, then I guess that’s their right. But if they’re beeing swayed by what they hear on these talk shows, well I don’t know what to say about them… Probably that if they didn’t get their motivation from this show, they would find it somewhere else.
And I still think a small minority of these people who call themselves Mets fans but actually enjoy the team’s problems. Some people just show up ready to boo. They get some kind of satisfaction out of it.
Sorry, should have said “There are plenty of people who want Willie fired…”
inventing scenarios….like russo being a writer?
(rimshot)
Haha, nice one.
i will give Mad Dog some credit..
i turned on his solo show Sat morning and people were calling him about how he had said bad things about Wang and then wang pitched a 2 hitter..
He said “if your gonna call and try to call me on being wrong…its gonna be a long show…a LONG show..i’m wrong a LOT”
Mike would never say that
someone at wfan should make that a handy little aufdio file that they can play at will. They could use it daily…
it would be a 24 hour show!
I have no problem with the Dog. He’s a blowhard, but everyone on TV or radio is a blowhard. I don’t think Russo takes himself too seriously, he knows who he is and has some fun with it. Plus, he’s occasionally pretty funny. Francessa, on the other hand, takes himself way too seriously and might just be my least favorite sports personality out there. He’s insufferable.
What do you mean? This was clearly a meeting about Willie’s job…without a doubt…
As much as I hate Willie and want him gone, I don’t think there was much to this story. I had heard similar things about how often they meet, so this meeting was not out of the ordinary.
On another note, does anyone know if Tony Bernazard is still a presence in the clubhouse or has he taken a more behind-the-scenes approach this year?
I’ve had enough of Jon Heyman. In the last 3 months the guy has gone from the Mets have no chance at Johan, Mets have Johan and now have an elite rotation, Pedro’s hurt and the rotation is a mess, Heilman needs to start, Willie’s fired speculation. Nothing Heyman ever writes is anything more than a fan’s opinion. Why is this guy given this level of attention?
“…willie and omar essentially meet at some point, behind doors, every day…”
I’ve read the same thing too. I’ve also read that Willie gets a lot of things dictated to him by Omar (per Rubin’s blog). However, Matt is right that some Mets fans are forcing the issue. We just don’t know what was said in that meeting. And as Matt said, it could have been about the weather, lol, or a new restaurant.
But most likely it was about roster moves and bringing Sanchez up, It could also have been assessments about other players (not Castillo necessarily).
So keep on guessing, conspiracy theorists. But we will never know what was said for sure.
Hmmm. . .could have been that Omar was taking Willie’s temparature about who he’d like to keep in his bullpen when Matt Wise is available. Could have been that Omar had one or two trade feelers out, and wanted Willie’s input on the locker-room/lineup implications. Thanks for the non-story, Heyman.
Well one thing to keep in mind. The quote from Willie Monday (that appeared in the Post yesterday) that as long as Castillo is healthy, he is going to be batting second. Next game, he’s batting 8th. Of course, it could be nothing, but it’s something to think about.
I read the Post yesterday and I didn’t see any such quote. Do you know where it is?
Maybe you’re simply confusing a reporter’s own take of things with words out of Willie’s mouth.
There is also the fact that Castillo’s knees are not 100% healthy. I didn’t hear any quotes from Willie, Castillo, or Minaya, but the TV trio was discussing it during last night’s game as well as during the post-game. When Castillo can say that his knees are 100% healthy, you’ll see him in the 2 hole for sure.
Just because the SNY guys discuss something it doesn’t make it so.
IMO, the lineup is generally agreed upon beforehand by Willie and Omar. IOW, they discuss these things frequently and it’s generally accepted that Omar brought Castillo here with the intention of him hitting in the #2 slot and so that’s where Willie has been hitting him.
Any change may have been precipitated by a discussion between Omar and Willie but we have no idea whether it was mutually agreed upon or one or the other was a bigger proponent of it.
In the Mets Notes.
I don’t have the paper anymore, but it was in the same spot that had the story about Willie saying Pagan’s start was something he’s seen before and didn’t think it would happen all year.
He specifically said that Luis is his #2 hitter.
And again, I’m not looking to make a big deal out of it. Willie is the manager. I’m not a big fan of his, but if he’s shaking up the lineup and if he wants to try different things out, all I can say is THANK YOU.
If it’s coming from somewhere else, it’s still a good thing.
I found it online where all the Post stories are published, and he didn’t quite say what you thought he said. Here is what he said:’
“I like Luis in the No. 2 spot,” Randolph said. “He’s still one of the better No. 2 hitters in the game.”
So really, there is nothing there that implies any future lineup with Castillo is inflexible. He may have just been spouting the company line. IOW, as I said above, the lineup is probably something that Omar and Willie generally agree upon and I’m sure there was a consensus opinion before the start of the season that Castillo should bat 2nd.
I agree with Cerrone about the forced narrative.
I’m as skeptical of the media as anyone, and I am wary of the ability of big money (like any professional baseball club) armed with pr guys (e.g. jay horowitz)) to manipulate the media into presenting a view that is favorable to their interest.
That being said, I am just as skeptical of the business behind these media outlets creating fictions in order to generate and sustain interest in order to keep fans interested, show impressive listener data, and get advertising revenue as high as possible.
WWE and NASCAR are popular for a reason; adding the drama of soap operas to the drama of sports makes things that much more interesting. Other sports have followed suit.
As Gary Cohen pointed out last night, its much easier today with so many more mediums–24 hours talk radio, teams with their own networks, blogs–to become totally invested (spending $100 to see a game at the stadium ups that investment even more). It’s easy to get unrealistic expectations when you spend so much on one thing.
Ya gotta believe. Just don’t believe the hype.
Chris Russo, Mike Francesa, Joe Bengigno and Evan Roberts are ‘media’ is a very loosely defined way. They are more like Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears than Maureen Dowd or Thomas Friedman. They are media figures in a broad entertainment sense. But, they are NOT journalists . They are entertainers. Their goal isn’t to inform their audience with facts – their goal is to taunt their audience with gossip, unsupported inuendo and ‘gut feelings’ to drive up ratings. That is why they are far more often wrong than right and their opinions ridiculous.
I think an unintented consequence of their garbage is that they feed the booing that is going on at Shea.
its actually Sir Mike Francessa … he was knighted
He could have been doused in gold powder for all we care…he’s still a bum…
Is he a spokesman for Gold Bond Powder?
Shouldn’t the manager and GM meet AT LEAST once a day? So it was behind closed doors– sometimes its beneficials for managers of employees to discuss people issues (i.e., direct reports, in this case, the players for Willie) in this fashion.
Nothing wrong about that.
I remember hearing Willie speaking with Mike and Chris and he clearly stated that he meets with Omar before and after every game. Strange that they wouldn’t question Heymen on that point?
The past couple days have been frustrating as a Mets fan. Everywhere you read or listen its been all about the booing. Mets fans are frustrated and there’s still some left over anxiety from the collapse, no doubt but I don’t think the booing has been that bad. Yet every talking head is yapping about it, and every reporter is asking the players about it. Seriously M+MD talked for an hour about the booing, how it will negatively effect Santana, and about how the Mets are fully of “sensitive” players. Give me a break, these guys are professionals.
This meeting means absolutely nothing and this is the problem with the mainstream media today. They are always trying to make a skyscraper from a town house. Every GM in every sport has meetings like this daily. The GM is just as responsible for the players on the field. If Omar made the lineup suggestion, good, because he should be doing that. Everyone is in this together.
the ny giant superbowl win taught all of us that a big group of the ny fans and almost all of the MEDIA know zero about sports. they screamed that tom coughlin should have been fired and that he couldn’t relate to the players or motivate them, that eli manning wasn’t clutch or even good, that their defense was soft and never came through in a big spot.
that big group of fans and MEDIA knew zero about the ny giants or the ny mets.
Checking in at lunch for my daily laugh and lo and behold what do I read? “…the point to all of this is… …to note how there is a Forced Narrative going on the media, and i am not totally sure it is accurate…so, be aware of this when listening to talk radio or reading other mainstream media outlets…
I’ve heard that there is medication that can help resolve feelings of paranoia, however I’m not aware of a group discount. Note to posters, this blog is part of the SNY Network. Consider that tidbit regarding your perspectives about the media and propaganda concerning the NY Mets.
More importantly, how ironic that as the Mets celebrated Jackie Robinson, we witnessed an African-American player exiled by the NY Mets roundly booed by those terrific NY Met fans. Gee, I wonder if the color of his skin was a factor in their gusto of hate?
Actually, it was probably because of him opening his big mouth about how horrible his time in NY was. He was probably a sympathetic figure for getting a raw deal until he went and bashed his time here. So…leave it to NY to let their feelings be known. That’s the great part of New Yorkers…they tend to be more “real”, even when its not politically correct.
I gave him a brief bit of applause anway. I thought he got a raw deal here, but that’s way off-topic, so I’ll leave it at that. I clapped when his name was announced in the lineup, and when he got in the box for his first at bat.
After that, he was on the other team, and that’s the end of that.
I was definitely in the minority on that one.
paranoia? this is what mets beat reporter john delcos said about the forced narrative:
It [attacking Willie] happens all the time. Pretty irresponsible, too, when it comes from the media. Pretty ignorant when it comes from the fans. Look at the Mets now in comparison to where they were the season before Randolph took over. Things aren’t going well right now, but it’s not like we’re talking about the Knicks.-JD
As for SNY portion, I agree with you there. I’m still waiting for the updated “Willie Approval” poll in the side bar. It was 90+ then 58% but it mysteriously disappeared after the 40% results after last series. I’m sure after we win the series from the Nats and people make it over 60% again, it will reappear.
I agree completely.
I was concerned with the level of censorship Matt might find himself under when the site was bought. All in all I think he has done a pretty independent job so far. This is the first issue where it really appears that there may be heavy handedness. Will be interesting if Matt offers an explanation for the dissappearance.
Yeah, I’m sure Lastings was booed because he is black. Just like Heilman was booed because he is white. And just like Johan was booed because he is Latino.
On more of a Metsblog website note – what happend to the Willie Randolph approval rating. I was rather interested to see what the most recent one was (knowing it was probably plemmeting) however it has dissappeared from the rotation.
My question is whether there is any heat from SNY and the Mets to keep unpopular information from the site?
It was at 40% approval at last check….and has yet to be posted in the upper right hand sidebar as it had been when it was above 50%.
Matt has tried very hard to be independent, and I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
omar was trying to convince willie to let him bring back doug sisk to pitch whenever heilman is suppose to come in!
Maybe omar was telling willie it s time to hold a team meeting and chew some of their butts! But i still think we need one more big hitter!