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Today is John Maine’s 27th birthday, 
and Church of the Fonz has baked him a cake.
Speaking of Maine, he is still the team’s second-best starting pitcher, according to Joel Sherman and his blog for the New York Post.
Meanwhile, at Faith and Fear in Flushing, Jason writes a letter to Fred and Jeff Wilpon suggesting they begin looking for Willie Randolph’s replacement, such as Larry Bowa, Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine.
…bowa…seriously…has it really come to that…yikes…
Brady Clark chose to accept an assignment to Triple-A New Orleans, instead of retiring, a decision that his family supported, explains Bob Furtos in the Times-Picayune.
According Gene Duffey, at MLB.com, Nationals manager Manny Acta is committed to playing Lastings Milledge in center field.
Lastly, Ed Ryan at Mets Fever explains why Marlon Anderson should be starting at first base over Carlos Delgado.
I can’t wait till they fire Willy and he goes on to another team and ends up doing well, maybe earning a ring or two, and every single person who called for his head and gave the most ridiculous replacement suggestions all start yapping in unison about how stupid the Wilpons were for letting him go….
ok apologists, tell me why he doesnt deserve to be fired?
Seriously, I think the tide has really turned on Willie. Nobody seems to have any confidence in him, and I’d have to think that it’s a problem for the players to have confidence in a manager that nobody else does.
It’s only a matter of time before the Shea faithful start showing up at games wearing “Free Willie” t-shirts.
Before him the team stunk, now its good.
Because he didn’t assemble the team.
Because he doesn’t strike out 4 times in one game.
Because he doesn’t throw hanging change ups to major league hitters for HRs in big games….like a certain one that prevented us from going to the WS….which Lo Duca didnt want him Hman to throw so it wasn’t a call from the dugout…
Because he doesn’t control rotator cuff and taxi cab accident shoulder injuries.
Because he doesnt control Mota getting busted for steroids and loosing out a roster spot for 50 games.
Because he doesnt make poor defensive plays.
Because he doesnt lollywag to first base on routine ground outs (which he called out Reyes for).
Should I continue?
Half the team lollygags to first on routine ground outs. Half the team looks lazy in the field and lazy running the bases. Isn’t it the managers job to motivate the players and make sure they play smart baseball if they can’t do this themselves?
Willie trotted Mota out there every day last year when Mota clearly had nothing. I guess thats Omar’s fault though he should know he has to Willie-proof the team.
How about the Mets being among the league leaders in pitchers used per game since Willie has been here. There are way worse bullpens but somehow Willie has to use every arm every game so they are always tired.
Delgado has looked washed up since last year but he still plays almost every day. Theres no reason not to give Marlon and Easely a start a week.
Obviously Willie doesn’t play the games so you can’t blame everything on him. However hes not much of an in-game strategist, and he doesn’t seem to be able to motivate his players anymore so what does he bring to the table?
I don’t think anyone needs to point out that Maine is the team’s second best pitcher, he doesn’t have a lot of competition for it
Maine is impressive. He didn’t have his best stuff for all of April and battled and still put up a 3-2 3.48 record. If his last start is an indication of what’s to come, I’m thinking he’ll put up an all star first half.
and he’ll still probably get snubbed by Clint Hurdle when it comes time to select pitchers for the ASG
True. Roy Oswalt will get the nod even if Maine puts up better numbers because hey, it’s Roy Oswalt.
I wouldn’t be broken hearted to see Anderson at 1B on a regular basis. I also wouldn’t mind seeing a young guy (like a Carp) get a shot. It would be nice to see a real glove over there for a change. maybe someone that can get to a ground ball, or at least bend over?
I’m curious as to why everyone is so anxious to see Carp. The way I see it, unless Omar is still the GM and he acquires some 32+ year old to play 1B or trades away some more minor league talent for quick fixes, it’s going to be a competition between Carp and Michel Abreu.
carp is worse than delgado defensively.
…suggesting they begin looking for Willie Randolph’s replacement, such as Larry Bowa, Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine.
Ugh. Geez, Bowa was so hated by his players they held a players-only meeting to discuss how to deal with Bowa’s negativity. They decided to play for themselves only and NOT Bowa.
Valentine lost his players totally in 2002.
Backman would be interesting.
But I would go for someone like Oberkfell if they make a change after the season. The Mets will not make a managerial move during the middle of this season. Bank on it.
The Wilpons will not consider Backman due to his less than stellar personal record (DUI, bankruptcy, domestic abuse).
If mets playing only .500 ball by All-star break he is gone.
You wanna bet?
That will not be enough to get Willie fired during the season. And I think the Wilpons know most of the responsibility for the play of the team is on Omar.
Not so sure about that. Omar was hired by the Wilpons and was courted personally by Fred. Willie was brought in by Omar alone. If it came down to firing either Willie or Omar, Willie will be the one given the cardboard boxes and pink slip.
Yeah, and the Wilpons hired Steve Phillips. Just because they hire someone doesn’t mean they won’t fire him. That’s silly to think so.
What’s most important to them is putting a winning product on the field. If they think Omar is the one who is most responsible for that product, then they will fire him.
The only question then is do they see it that way? The way Jeff Wilpon talked about who is responsible for the team’s play down the stretch last year leads me to believe they do. And they will not hesitate to fire both Omar and Willie if the team doesn’t make the playoffs.
It doesn’t have to be either/or. They can fire both.
True, they can fire both. Jeff’s comments down the stretch targeted everyone, Omar, Willie, the players. He didn’t seem to single any one person out. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. The funny thing is, Brian Cashman is in the last year of his contract, and if the Yankees don’t make the playoffs, he could be out of a job too.
I don’t think much of Cashman either. If I were a Yankee fan, I’d be calling for his head. Even though I know to some extent he’s been dictated to by Hank and King George at times.
Agreed. I’ve always wondered what made Cashman so special…He played no role in drafting ALL of the key cogs in the Yankees four World Series (Rivera, Jeter, Petitte, Posada, etc.)…They were all Stick Michael guys…
He also worked with an enormous payroll in a period before other teams really started spending anywhere near the amount of the Yankees…
And the list of bust moves Cashman has made is long. See: Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, Javier Vasquez, Kyle Farnsworth, etc. etc. etc.
Cashman’s overrated….
Bobby Valentine is just what this club needs. He is a master baseball strategist and a dubious player’s manager like in the instance when he told Todd Hundley he needed more sleep as a motivator. His knowledge of the game is rivaled by few managers.
He would light the fire under the players by being aggressive, keeping the team from slipping into a cathartic state in late innings that Willie seems to favor.
Most importantly, Bobby Valentine brought general excitement to the Mets, with oddball antics, questionable comments, and risky decisions. His players may not have always been in favor of him, but he milked success out of clubs that were good, but not great on paper. He managed to turn a mediocre rotation into a stable force with Leiter, Reed, Yoshii, Mahomes, Hersheiser, and Rogers. What a rag tag rotation.
New York should welcome back Bobby V with open arms.
I certainly would. I love Bobby V. I was always confident that he would out-manage the other manager. I loved his little duels with Larussa. I would DEFINITELY welcome him back with open arms.
“Valentine is also infamous for a dubious incident during a 1999 game where he was discovered to have sneaked back into the team dugout after being ejected by wearing a disguise consisting of a change of clothes, sunglasses, and a “moustache” painted on with eye black.”
I’d be cool with this guy. He sounds like a real New Yorker. Is he still in Japan or what?
Bobby V is a baseball GOD in Japan. He is worshipped by his fans and is an all around massive star. I hear a lot of people saying he’s in baseball exile in Japan, when it’s actually anything but that. I would love to have Bobby V back, but I don’t think he’ll come back to NY. If he does ever decide to manage in America again, it’ll be for a cellar dweller team. He wants a challenge.
LOL
AMEN!
master basebal strategist indeed -
“According to Julio Franco, the Mets had a pickoff play they would run when there were multiple men on base and one of them was on second. Valentine would call the play from the dugout, then the pitcher and fielder would wait for a plane to pass overhead. When they heard the plane, the fielder would immediately break for second base and the pitcher would do his quick spin pickoff move. The noise from the plane would prevent the runner from hearing his base coach yell “back”. Franco said the play actually worked a couple of times. “
I would love to see Anderson more at 1st base. And possibly see Carp or Evans brought up also. Delgado isn’t getting the job done with the glove or bat.
.216 isn’t going to cut it, but he has hit safely in seven straight games. I think he is starting to find his swing; I think the question is, how quickly will he lose it and for how long?
That’s just it. We’ve seen this before in 2006 and more so last year. He’d have a horrible slump and show signs of life for a few games, and then fall right back into the slump. We’ll have to wait and see, but based on his performance last year, I’m not optimistic.
awesome name.
i’m a bit more optimistic. i think that he was showing more than signs of life before he got hurt in cincinnati last year.
i think he finally made some adjustments, and i think that his april was a reflection of those adjustments.
Hope you’re right. I seem to remember that even back in his Toronto heyday, he had a first half in one of those seasons that was horrible, so I guess anything is possible.
Matt, I know this is a blog and you need to post things constantly, but why this trash?
#1 Marlon has been as ineffective @ the plate this year as Delgado, sorry Ed
#2 There is a reason Backman got fired in a week in ARI, there is a reason Bobby V was let go here and Larry Bowa is an a$$.
Please remember Bobby V was the kind of manager who wouldve sat David Wright for the 3rd game of that Phils series that he went like 9-11 in. You can critize Willie for having “his guys” but Bobby not only had no allegience to anyone, but constantly sat guys who were on hot streaks.
Something to think about… Davey Johnson will be available after the Olympics. I never really understood what made him an effective manager, but every single team he managed steadily improved under his leadership. And you can’t tell me that they were all good teams. The first year he managed the Reds, they finished 5th. They won the division both of the following two years he managed them. He managed to get 100+ RBI out of Bobby Bonilla in ‘96, something he hadn’t done since ‘91 and something he’d never do again.
Davey is like King Midas. Everything he touches turns gold.
except the ‘69 World Series
Bobby V took pretty mediocre teams to the playoffs and World Series. Hes a good manager even if you don’t agree with everything he does.
Like you said Marlon has been as ineffective as Delgado but does that mean Delgado is more deserving of playing time? Delgado has been bad for more than a full season now, no reason not give Marlon and Easely some more playing time at 1b.
OK. First- Maine is definitely their #2 at this point. Pedro is done. You can stick a fork in him. He’s still a competitor when he does pitch, but he can’t stay off the DL for more than a month at a time. I really hope the Mets let him go after the season.
Second- Willie does have to go. A manager is supposed to rally the team and manage them effectively. Willie seems to be able to do neither. Larry Bowa would not be a bad choice, actually. He’s demanding and smart, sort of in the same mold as Bobby Cox. Bobby V is brilliant, but he rubs a lot of players the wrong way. Buck Showalter was the same way. I think you do best with guys like Jack McKeon, Bob Brenly, or Jim Leyland. These guys know how to inspire their team, and their teams want to win for them. And they don’t take any crap either, but not in a way that pisses the players off.
Lastly- Marlon Anderson starting over Delgado? Is he on crack? Delgado apparently had lost his timing at the plate. He seems to have gotten it back. What’s most upsetting, though, is that Harold Reynolds points out his timing problem, goes into detail about what he used to do and what he’s doing now, gives advice on how to fix it, and then two days later Delgado seems to be back to his old self. Now why is HR (a career .258 hitter btw) having better results with Delgado than his hitting coach, Howard Johnson? I think it may be time to find a replacement for HoJo. HoJo’s only success story seems to be David Wright, who has enough natural ability to hit line drives with his eyes closed. I think they need someone who’s demonstrated an ability to notice things like Delgado’s plate approach and help them fix it. Ever since HoJo became the hitting instructor, the Mets’ bats have been more inconsistent and cold than ever since the Omar Minaya regime began.
What about the Church “project” and tucking his elbow in?
Church right now is playing with so much exuberance and confidence, that I don’t think anything is going to help or hinder him. You can tell even just by how he plays RF. He just seems rejuvenated. I think coming to a team with a chance of finishing higher than last and getting a fresh start and an opportunity to play everyday has helped him more than anything HoJo could have said to him.
fair enough; he’s given hojo some credit, but I think you’re dead right.
i would say that the mets hitting issues began before hojo; that’s why down got fired.
Nice gesture to back that cake…but it looks DIS-GUSTING.
Wasn’t Jerry Manuel a popular choice last year?, when there was talk that the players weren’t listening to Willie, and instead were more open to Manuel?…. I could be wrong but I thought all the players had great respect for him
If you look at the White Sox teams he managed, they had Konerko, Carlos Lee, Big Hurt, and Magglio, but they were pitiful other than those guys and their pitching staff was atrocious apart from Chad Bradford, and yet he still managed to keep them at or near the top of the division. He seems to be well-liked and respected by the players. I think if they fire Willie mid-season, it might be an opportunity to audition Manuel.
If you take away Willie’s arrogance and add a sense of humor, then you’d have Jerry Manuel.
God bless Bobby V. He’d be perfect for this team - fire the boys up in no time.
Especially if we want a goofy manager that the players can quit on down the stretch. Oh wait so the only thing we would get out of it is to watch the circus? Pass.
I am amazed at the sheer number of people who think a managerial change will have that much of an effect on the performance of the team. It really is funny. Unless you plan to dig up and reanimate John McGraw or Leo Durocher, I don’t think there will be much of a change.
Bobby V is despised by almost all of the majors…he’s Tony Larussa if Larussa was hated by his players.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER ME HOW IT IS WILLIE’S FAULT THAT REYES AND BELTRAN HAVE PLAYED AS WELL AS ME TO THIS POINT? PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU…THE ONES WHO JUST WRITE FIRE WILLIE EVERY DAY AND BASE IT ON 2007.
Who cares what other people/the rest of the majors thinks about Bobby Valentine? His record as a manager and a motivator speaks for itself. He won in both stints as an MLB manager in Texas and NY, and he’s done pretty darn well in Japan also. The Japanese people LOVE him over there.
I don’t write “fire Willie” every day, but I wouldn’t be upset to see him go. I think his track record managing a bullpen is atrocious, and even more imprtantly, I think the players have begun to mimic the lacksidasical and subdued behavior of their manager. There is no sense of urgency from Willie and his players seem to be adapting that character trait in their play.
Furthermore, I don’t understand why some people are so bent out of shape about people wanting Willie fired. Have we suddenly reached a point where fellow Mets fans are not entitled to have a differing opinion? Some people blame Willie. Others blame the players. Still others blame Omar. ALL of these opinions are acceptable viewpoints. People need to get over themselves just because some people see it differently….
It’s just the Willie haters are not very objective and say the same thing over and over and over.
Someone mentioned early that if the team was playing .500 ball by the all-star break Willie was gone. I think the sacrificial lamb is going to be HoJo. Just think they will sacrifice and blame the lack of production on him like they did Rick downs.
Good point….And firing Rick Downs was such an obvious mistake. He was an excellent hitting coach with both the Mets and Yankees, but that’s how the business works.
Bobby V’s record speaks for itself?
Bobby V as met manager: 536-467 (.534 winning %)with no division titles
Willie as met manager: 284-231 (.551 winning %) with 1 division tile
Wozzybear, while I agree with your latter points, it seems Bobby V was a worse manager…and my prob with him was always that he constantly sat down players who were hitting well when in the middle of hot streaks and also that he made the team about himself it was “Bobby V’s Mets” and not “the Mets”…hes a jacka$$
guierllNO MOta:
Valentine was NOT a worse manager by any means. What you fail to enter into the equation is the fact that Valentine produced a winning record and went to the World Series with a decidedly mediocre team. Go back and look at the Mets’ 2000 World Series roster. That was the epitome of an over-achieving bunch. Valentine sucked every ounce of talent out of a very average group.
Meanwhile, Willie has failed to reach the WS with a MUCH more talented group of players with a MUCH higher payroll.
Valentine = Overachiever
Randolph = Underachiever
Your a Bobby V apologist!!! those teams in 02-03 with Bobby V had as much “talent” as these Mets teams….people blame Phillips for getting goes like Alomar who sucked…but maybe Bobby should be blamed for not getting them to produce…you know the way you blame Willie…hmm…
Im not a Willie apologist, Im an Omar apologist cause the guy has made 40 good moves and 3 bad ones…Willie can go, but no way in he-l-l do I ever want Bobby V back….he would ruin Reyes and Wright with his nonsense
I dont think Bobby V was the manger in 03. And the ‘02 team had as much talent as this team? Seriously?
Willie apologist. . . But there is nothing to apologize for.
Everything wrong with the team is either
a) players - with a history of playing well - not living up to past performance
or
b) not having the right type of players on the team to use.
In both cases Willie is absolutely not at fault. It isn’t like the Mets are chalk full of young players Willie has to motivate and make sure they play above themselves. That type of manager wouldn’t work with the players the Mets currently have - mostly all vets.
It is the players fault in this case for not playing up to their abilities.
As for b). People scream, rant, rave, etc about Willie using guys like Heilman or Sosa. WHAT THE HELL IS HE SUPPOSED TO DO? It’s not like he has other options in the pen. He has guys and he has to use them. Give him a Hideki Okajima and he’d use him.
Managing in baseball is overrated. Any manager has little to do with the outcome at the end. There is no week long game planning, ala football, or calling plays in certain situations, ala b-ball.
Willie might get fired and the team might start playing better for a short time, but at the end, unless the players step up themselves it won’t matter.
The biggest thing that scares me is there is no right answer. Yes in my eyes Willie has fallen, but who do you replace him with? If there was a terrific canidate out there he would already have a job. If your great at what you do, you don’t have to wait for Omar or the Wilpons to call mid season you already have a job.
Ok, quick change of subject here. Why is everyone including Reyes in the players not performing category? He’s had some big games recently, and although he almost cost us a game against the pirates, his natural swing is back to the way it should be. No more Willie Mays Hayes.
Ryan…what no one understands is when Reyes hits/plays well we win, and when he doesnt we lose, so really the Mets record is a direct reflection on Reyes, not Willie.
well people understand it, they just dont want to admit that basically 24 other players and a manager have a combined less control over an outcome than Reyes does by himsefl