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According to Bob Klapisch in the Bergen 
Record, Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya are ‘running out of time,’ adding, “They’re actually reaching a tipping-point moment, when Jeff Wilpon calls (them) into his office and says: one of you two is fired. You choose.”
Now, I keep reading and hearing that the Mets are underachieving. However, what if this is not true. I mean, maybe the Mets are achieving exactly what they are, which is a .500 or so team, like the overwhelming majority of the rest of the league, all whom are in search of a hot streak that may never come.
Seriously, look around the league. Outside of the D’Backs, find me the clear-cut, dominant team in the National League with an open path to the playoffs. Right now, I don’t see one. Both leagues are jam packed with mediocre, relatively-similar teams, most all of which have issues with pitching. So, this recipe is not exclusive to the Mets.
However, while some teams and fans can bounce around .500 and remain hopeful, such hope is missing around Shea.
What’s worse, my hunch is that Willie Randolph is lacking credibility with us, his players, and his bosses.
What’s interesting, though, is that I still hear insiders compliment him as being ‘such a nice man,’ who loves winning, who has a warrior mentality, and who wants nothing more but to bring a Championship to Shea Stadium.
The problem, though, in spite of these admirable qualities, is that he discredited himself last September by coming across as delusional and misleading, 
insisting that things would turn around when all signs pointed in the other direction.
So now, despite being a .500 team with more than 70 percent of the season yet to be played, when he tells his players and us that things will turn around, that it’s a long season and he believes in his players, instead of being patient and confident, we become more frustrated and closer to apathy, which is not good for ticket sales, morale or ratings – three things that I bet are pretty important in advance of a new stadium.
The sad thing is that had the Mets won just one more game against the Phillies last season, we would currently be in the middle of entirely different narrative right now.
However, perception is reality, and the current reality is that very few people seem to believe what Randolph is selling these days – no matter how right he may be.
For instance, in the last few months, a variety of stories have been published about players undermining Randolph, be it by shmoozing before games with the opposing manager, like with Manny Acta, or by ‘going over Randolph’s head’ by talking directly to the team’s Ass’t GM Tony Bernazard. Just yesterday, Billy Wagner spouted off to reporters making public comments about his teammates, just one week after Randolph told him explicitly to keep such remarks private.
Frankly, I believe a manager’s in-game involvement is overrated. He’s important, but he’s not as important as we want to think he is. The game is mostly won or lost by the players. However, those players need to be in the proper frame of mind. They do not have to like one another, they do not have to speak the same language, but they do have to be confident, positive, they have to believe in one another, and they have to all be on the same page when between the white lines.
Right now, the Mets look tight and nervous, they look like they are pressing – and understably so. I mean, they must feel the ‘tipping-point,’ as Klapisch writes – they must sense the tension in the stands, from their bosses, from the press, etc., and since they are human, I can’t help but believe this takes a toll. I suppose some teams can internalize this, and rally around it for good, but more often the team crumbles beneath it.
Assuming my hunch is correct, and Randolph has in fact lost a bit of credibility, then how is he going to keep his team from checking out mentally. How does he get them to respect and understand the warrior-like style he abides by? How does he keep his players from just riding out the season, content with cashing a paycheck and not dealing with media, expectations, fans, etc?
Will replacing Randolph make Jose Reyes pay attention on the base paths, or make him focus more at the plate? Will it make Carlos Delgado a better hitter? Will it make you more tolerant of .500 baseball, and make you hopeful that things will turn around? Will a new manager invigorate the bullpen? Or, inspire better play?
What’s more, how do the Mets keep fans from checking out emotionally? I suspect that most fans will keep tuning in and going to games – but if they begin to lose faith, what does that do for Citi Field, ad buys, ticket sales, etc?
These are all questions the Mets must be asking these days, and I look forward to seeing how they are answered.
Showing some effort is a good way to keep fans happy, even when they aren’t winning.
Losing with overpaid, underperforming superstars (the Met way) sucks; losing with young scrappy players who bust it, but lose, is ok, since there is hope for the future.
I agree.
Willie Randolph lost all his credibility with the Collapse of ‘07. Omar too.
I’m going to back up Omar here. There are certainly things he should be accountable for, such as how bad an aging Carlos Delgado has been (give delgado credit for saving Wright and Reyes errors with his impressive scoops, but negate that for his lack of range and overall unathletic ability). For the most part, this team has more than enough talent to win a World Series.
I think this team has lost many games this year on poor usage of the bullpen. This bullpen is plenty talented enough. While Willie shows SO much confidence bringing struggling pitchers like Sosa and Heilman out, he takes his starters out when they have plenty of gas left. Taking Vargas out for Heilman is completely uexcusable. Vargas was still executing pitches and if you are going to take a starter out after a brilliant effort, bring in your BEST reliever to shut the door. Its clear that at this point in the season, Heilman is not our best reliever.
Heilman does deserve to be on the Mets roster. However, as almost every player goes through highs and lows in a season, Heilman needs to play in non-stress situations so he can refind his stuff.
I some times really get the impression that Willie is more concerned with testing a ball player or trying to force a struggling pitcher (Heilman) to come through in the clutch rather than actually trying to put the hammer down and actually WIN THE DAM BALL GAME!!! Case in point: Bringing in Heilman in a one-one tie after your tripple-A pitcher just pitched his heart out. Forgetting the fact that he should have left Vargas pitch another inning since he looked like he had plenty of gas left, If you are going to remove Vargas at least bring in your best pitcher (Smith) and close the dam thing out. But Noooooooooo, he chooses to bring in his WORST pitcher going through his worst professional stretch for what? to prove a point? to see what he’s made of? What? Will someone tell me. Unbelievable. You never saw Davy Johnson make such stupid decisions. It’s almost mind bogling. Go Willie!
“Frankly, I believe a manager’s in-game involvement is overrated. He’s important, but he’s not as important as we want to think he is. The game is mostly won or lost by the players. ”
Matt,
Why do you continue to undermine the importance of a manager?
The players do determine the outcome, but part of a manager’s job is to put his players in a position to succeed, which Willie does a bad job of, whether it’s not putting your best line-up out or using the wrong pitcher in the wrong situation (everyone knew what was going to happen when Heilman was brought in the other day).
And yes, a team does reflect the manager’s personality. The Mets play with a lackadasical malaise, the kind that Willie always portrays in his post game interviews.
And I hate the always, “it’s not Willie’s personality to flip over tables”, but you could be fiery without being demonstrative.
i think Willie’s leash is not going past the Atlanta series. Another poor showing in the next 2 series and I think he’s done.
How many people would rather have brought in Girardi last year? Oh wait the yanks are below .500 too so that wouldn’t have been a good thing for the Mets.
And a good point was made about teams being over .500 there are currently only 14 teams that are above .500 and the Mets are one of them. That makes 16 teams that are at or below .500. The parity in the league has definetely gotten better.
It was that arguement that let Randloph keep his job last year….
The Mets blew it last year by not firing Willie… you do your job as poorly as he did.. you get fired.. plain and simple..
And now.. surprise surprise.. the product this year is the same…
Willie has to go.. should of hired Jarmillo when we had the chance.. then this would be real easy.
The Mets just need to fire Willie and pull Keith out of the broadcast booth.
Sure, we will miss his comments when we are watching the games. But Hernandez would not put up with any of this BS.
Keith obviously knows everything there is to know about this game and he has the no-nonsense personality needed to straighten out this embarassing team.
I’m with you 100%
So am I!! Keith might not get these over paid pre-modonas to play better but he sure as hell would not put up with all this crap, players will be hitting the “pine” if they showed any lack of hustle or not having their head in the game. Keith’s the man.
The Mets don’t look tight, they look disinterested.
And the Rays just won 6 in a row, Dodgers won like 8 in a row, so there have been more than 3 game willing streaks.
This team isn’t winning with Willie, so there is no harm in making a change, as is always the case, can’t get rid of the players, although getting rid of Delgado would be a dream.
I have said all season that this team is overrated.
I’m confused. Are the Mets overrated or is Willie the problem? Because if they are overrated then Willie is doing his job. And if Willie isn’t doing his job then they aren’t overrated.
“Will replacing Randolph make Jose Reyes pay attention on the base paths, or make him focus more at the plate? Will it make Carlos Delgado a better hitter? ”
No but perhaps a new manager will be willing to shake things up a little more. A new manager might not be as willing to stick with a struggling player(such as Heilman). A manager has quite a bit of influence on a games outcome, from picking the right reliever or pinch hitter, strategy, etc.
At the very least, a big change like that could shake the team out of its apathy.
How do you know Omar isn’t forcing Willie to play Delgado and who would you rather be playing first base? Marlon Anderson, Damien Easley? Yes everyone wants Nady but the Pirates aren’t stupid, they’re not going to give him up for a struggling Sosa and Heilman. the Mets have no one else to trade for him that would be acceptable to mets fans. What if we fire Willie and bring in someone else and the team plays worse? What do you do then? Give this team a chance until the all-star break, if there still at .500 than Omar will try and make some moves to save his job and if they are under .500 than fine fire willie and hope the new manager has enough time to change the attitude of the team but be prepared to wait until next year. My only concern is if Omar does make a trade at the deadline to save his job and mortgages the future to do so. Can you see another Kazmir trade brewing? Omar won’t care about trading away FMart for Nady if he’s not going to be around next year if they don’t win this year anyway.
GREAT POST MATT!
Finally someone who can post as well as you, huh?
Hell, to even be mentioned in the same sentence with at guy who makes a living with this site has me blushing. You should not have, thanks.
I agree, one of Matt’s best ever posts. Cogent, sober thoughtful, and reflective.
lolllll great turn
Did he really need to include John Maine in the ’soft’ list? This guy pitches his butt off every game. Klapish makes everything sound so dramatic. He had me convinced we were getting A-Rod.
Yeah, not exactly sure how John Maine is soft. Roberto Clemente was one of the nicest guys in the history of the game. Would you say he was soft, Bobby?
I have no idea where he is coming from with that comment. Maine has also pitched well in big spots, including the post season, games against division rivals, and last september. Not my definition of a soft player, anyway.
Maine threw at a guy in his last start, something which only two other pitchers on the entire team (both of whom, Pedro and El Duque, are on the DL) seem to have the courage to do. He’s become a perfectionist, too this year. He’s showing some more emotion and is angry at himself when he doesn’t get the job done (and he usually does; he seems hard on himself). This guy really seems gutty. Why he’s on Klapisch’s “soft” list is totally beyond me.
I have not read the article yet but Klapish always writes about the Mets with his Yankee colored glasses on. They could win the WS and Klapish would write how somehow it was bad for the franchise or that they could have won “better”.
Great post, Matt. Primarily because everything you are wondering about is happening to me. I went to a dozen games @ Shea last year. I have yet to go to one this year, mostly because I don’t want to deal with the stresses of getting there only to have a 50/50 chance at winning the ballgame.
Emotionally, I’ve been a wreck ever since the 06 NLCS Game 7. This team has put me through a lot. Be it my fault (too vicarious) or theirs (underachieving, or like you say, merely .500), it’s getting to a point where I’m starting to peel my emotions back so as to ‘guard’ them from further heartbreak. Apathy, is a good word you use to describe what’s happening.
Once again, great post, Matt…
Very true. Normally I live and die with every game, despite how foolish that is no matter how good or bad a team is. But I’m trying to convince myself lately that I’m disinterested, so that when the Mets perform far under expectations I can say ‘well, we knew that would happen’, as opposed to having my hopes crushed beneath the collapse of disappointment and failure. It’s a shame, really, because I don’t know how we got to this point. Maybe it’s Willie, maybe it’s not, but I think it will take more than firing the manager to bring the excitement and faith back into each and every game.
I completely disagree with the idea that if the Mets held off the Phillies last year, we’re having a different conversation. Chances are, the way they were playing, they’d have been spanked by Colorado and then yes, we’d be having the same discussion.
The issue is being a .500 team over almost an entire season. The details of last season are just icing on the cake.
And I also disagree with the notion that this team is a .500 team. A team that gets beat half its games is a .500 team. A team that gives away half of its losses and never steals any wins is a .600 team with issues.
Willie has presided over a distracted, unfocused, and increasingly fractured squad for over a year. It’s not all Willie’s fault, but someone has to take the shot across the bow at this team.
Outside of Wright and Wagner, I’m beginning to wonder if there’s a warrior or a winner in this entire clubhouse. I certainly know I applaud Wags for calling out Mr. Happy-g0-lucky Delgado who seems to be jetting the clubhouse at a McReynoldsian pace these days. I’ve said for two years that winning is not a priority for this guy.
alou
Matt,
Have to disagree with you about the underachieving part. This team is not playing up to its potential, as seen through the lens of 2006 and 2007. On paper at least, the current team is better than that one which, as you well know, was within one game of the WS, and led its division for most of 2007.
Omar, himself, has said that this team should be playing better than .500. Why would the Wilpons shell out nearly $140 million for a .500 team?
The current Mets are under performing, and when that happens the focus is and should be on the manager.
come on Matt,, the Mets are not a .500 team. You know that…
Is it really hard to believe?
They’ve been .500 for a FULL calendar year. It’s disappointing but it’s reality…
All true, this is a .500 team, over-estimated and over-paid. People have to stop comparing them to the 2006 team. They’re not playing the competition of 2006, they’re playing the competition of 2008 where teams have improved themselves compared to their 2006 teams. I’m sure if this team was playing those 2006 teams they’d be doing just as well as their 2006 counterparts.
Cerrone has been reading too many of the comments here. He’s becoming a symbol of his mostly irrational readership.
That’s absurd. That post was one of Matt’s most cogent, reflective, and rational.
I think he must mean “currently active”. Marlins had a 7 game streak as well, I believe.
If I am willie, I foster a “circle the wagons, us against them” mentality. If the players like him, that could work. But I do not know whether that is the case or not. If they don’t like playing for him, then the end result is obvious.
This should not be a .500 team over 162 games, but you can argue that they were for the first 40 due to the pen, alou, pedro, and some slow starts. Guys should pick it up a bit and play to their averages because the usually do. No one other than church has had anything resembling a hot streak.
Fans have alot invested emotionally, and will “tune out” at some point. The next month is going to be very interesting.
In addition to “currently active” he must also have meant “not including the Blue Jays and Royals”…
I think it was just a mistake.
Your second paragraph is dead-on. If we have in fact reached the “tipping point” Matt mentions, the team either rallies around Willie and starts playing like they’re capable of, or tosses him overboard and hastens his departure. I’m fine with either outcome.
you’re over analyzing it Matt….
I am a patient Met fan. I truly believe that….anyone that has routed for this team for a couple of decades and is still around has to be.
However, I am hearing, now more then ever, things like this “it’s only 20 games into the season…theres still 60 games left…we play better after the all star break”. I’m hearing excuses.
No…I don’t believe this is a .500 team. This team is playing lazy, uninspired baseball….it’s that simple.
Will Reyes pay closer attention on the basepaths if willie is excused? I don’t know…however, it will certainly send a message to everyone that sloppy, lazy, uninspired ball is acceptable.
Reyes was the best baserunner in the league last year per Baseball Prospectus’ metrics.
Yes, but he made a mistake on the basepaths yesterday and is therefore the worst baserunner in baseball. Try and keep up…
Thank you for that. As ridiculous as it was for him to go for third yesterday, it was still aggressive baseball.
It was a crazy play and probably not a good idea but to be honest if he slides he might have been safe.
i’m not suggesting he isn’t Danny…I’m using an example from Matt’s post to demonstrate that change, especially a drastic change, can certainly motivate individuals in different ways
*that sloppy, lazy, uninspired ball is unacceptable
i didnt go and check any authoritative source or anything, but i am pretty positive that there have been many teams that have had winning streaks longer than 3 this season. i must be misinterpreting.
i have been coming around to the point of view that the mets are merely a .500 team and not a world series contender playing uninspired ball. that being said, they have a much higher ceiling than most .500 teams because they have a few players capable of playing at incredibly high level. These same players have also shown the ability to completely disappear for months at a time. I’m lookin at you beltran & reyes. thats what makes the mets so frustrating. most average teams are full of average players, whereas the mets have great talent, but talent that only makes itself evident in fits and starts.
The most important question yet to be answered with this mets team is who is the real jose Reyes. i believe i am not exaggerating when i say the next 10 years of this franchise may hinge upon the answer. producing as he is presently, the Mets will indefinitely chase the dream of the second coming of ricky henderson, all the while mired in mediocrity.
There is NOTHING more important to the future (the next 10 years) of the Mets organization than getting Jose Reyes straightened out. Have the Mets hierarchy done enough in addressing this? I’m not sure.
We are supposed to be held to a different and higher standard then other teams because of the players we have and because of the payroll.
Teams like the Diamondbacks can get away with not busting out despite their talent because there team is full of young players and they can expected to not reach their potential. The Phillies have not had there best player and MVP for about a month. That is a built in excuse to calm the fan bases down.
We have no excuses. This team was not allowed to get off to a slow start because they should have been motivated and learned there lesson from the collapse and come out like a firecracker this season. Instead it looks like they’ve learned nothing. Wagner says they haven’t been earning there money, but it’s not due to lack of effort. Then what do you call Castillo and Wright not running out balls yesterday. Seems like a lack of effort
A change needs to be made just to renew hope. Just so we can create the illusion that things might be different. Right now we have no confidence in Randolph in what he is selling and this team.
Even if they dominate the Yankees by sweeping them and palying the type of ball that they are supposed to, how can you still not be skeptical. I will still be waiting for the other shoe to drop. You can call that pessimistic but when you have been playing .500 ball for a year now, how can you have faith in this team turning it around and all of a sudden clicking.
Why would it just click all of a sudden. I mean if the collapse wasn’t enough to change this team and turn everything around then I don’t know what will.
Fire Bernazard and DFA Delgado. Give Willie one last chance to make something happen without these two worthless cancers.
What did Bernazard do or say? Did I miss something? While you are at trade Wagner who obviously doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. He’s pitching awesome right now, which means we should get back some serious young talent for him.
Of course this means we have given up the season, but I’m ok with that if it means we can fill holes with cheap, blue chip talent.
get rid of good players! keep the crappy ones! managers determine games and ours is the best!
How about an even bigger spoon full of reality?
Perhaps the tipping point occured in October 2006 with Beltran’s bat on his shoulder watching Wainwright’s curveball go by.
I personally believe it occured when Duanar took a late night snack run in Miami. That created a chain of events, decisions, and acquisitions (some good and some bad) that changed that absolute juggernaut of a team. The offense has not looked the same since.
Regardless, it’s obvious to say that this team surely hasn’t recovered from last September. But I am beginning to feel it goes back much further.
i miss nady
i miss him too. I kinda look at church as the new nady tho. I have not done any stats to compare the two(during their tenure as a met) before anyone bashes me lol
The Dominos:
Taxi Cab =
- Duaner
- Nady
- right handed protection for DWright
+ Perez (up and down, but did help in the playoffs)
+ Bert (not nearly an equal replacement)
+ Heilman moving from 7th to 8th inning set-up
+ Mota in 2006
+ more Mota in 2007
- Bradford out (due to Mota decision)
+ Shoenweiss as another Bradford replacement (and ineffective).
And now we have the mess otherwise known as the 2008 Mets bullpen.
The curse of the taxicab.
Fire Willie
Nice work, Matt, and agreed.
At this point, Willie’s The Boy Who Cried Wolf or, in this case, The Manager Who Cried Champagne. It’s pretty much the opposite of credibility, isn’t it?
Something’s got to change. All things being equal, I’d love to see Willie pull it out, change things up, and bring a championship to Shea. It’s getting harder and harder, though, to see how that’s possible.
Like so many other fans, I’m still waiting to taste that champagne Willie promised, and I’m thirsty enough that I’m willing to drink it with some other manager if need be.
Manager who cried Champagne.
I love it!
Your point about the rest of the league playing similar baseball is well taken, but your conclusion lacks depth. The point is that the Mets should be taking advantage of this fact and running up a huge lead in the division.
Again, the talent is there. The execution is not, and the responsibility to make these players play to their potential falls directly on Willie’s shoulders.
What in the world does Tony Bernazard have to do with anything? That was just weird.
As for Delgado, agree completely, assuming you can line up a legitimate replacement. Don’t talk to me about Mike Carp for a win-now team. I’d love to get Sean Casey from the Red Sox – stand-up, accountable, loved by his teammates, and a professional hitter even if his power is completely gone.
This was a good article, but what waswith the statement about Beltran still looking heartbroken about the Yankees? Purely asinine and typical of Klapisch, who loves to get his digs in at Met fan insecurity. Exactly what part of the 20-22 Yankees and their no playoff series wins wince Beltran’s been a Met does Klap surmise Beltran is heartbroken over?
From the Daily News last September:
That would be Minaya’s assistant GM, Tony Bernazard who, it would appear, is the real power in the front office. Before being hired by Minaya, Bernazard worked in the Players Association as essentially the union’s liaison with the Latin players. Donald Fehr would hold meetings with the players in spring training, outlining all the elements of the Basic Agreement and then Bernazard would recite it all in Spanish (Carlos Delgado once referred to him as “the highest paid translator on the planet”).
As such, many Latin players throughout baseball hold Bernazard in “second father” regard. I’m also told that all of the Mets’ minor league Latin players have Bernazard’s cell-phone number with the understanding they should call him any time if they encounter problems either off the field or with club officials.
What is unique about Bernazard’s situation with the Mets is that no other assistant GM, let alone GM, spends as much time in the clubhouse – which is supposed to be the manager’s domain – as he does. After Gomez was thrown out stealing third for the final out in the ninth inning against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 21, Bernazard was immediately at the kid’s locker after the game – which could not have been very settling to Randolph. But the fact is, once the Mets fired Randolph’s only hand-picked coach, Rick Down, at the All-Star break, they sent a message to the players that the manager didn’t have the juice they had perceived him to have. At the time, Minaya made a point of saying Down’s replacement on the staff, Rickey Henderson, would be a good influence on Reyes. Right.
Until then, Randolph had attempted to instill discipline in Reyes by employing the “tough love” approach. But when a player knows he can go over the manager’s head to a higher authority with a sympathetic ear, the manager’s message starts to get tuned out. And while Bernazard may insist his open fraternization with Senators manager Manny Acta in Washington was no big deal, what kind of message do you think that was to Randolph’s impressionable young Latin players?
Mets sources have told me that Bernazard pushed hard for Acta to get the manager’s job before Minaya settled on Randolph. I have no doubt that if Acta were not under contract to the Nats the next two years, Minaya would not have had that press conference with Randolph yesterday. The same sources insist that, because Randolph had no previous managerial experience, the Met hierarchy expected he would simply do what he was told and go along with the program. They didn’t want a manager who would exert his will. If they did, they would have hired Jim Leyland.
even if this is all true, and willie is just the victim here, he STILL has to go
this isn’t about being nice to willie, it’s about winning baseball games
At this point, I dont think there are that many first basemen who are available via trade(at least ones that wont cost the Mets a premium). It might be best to see if either Evans or Carp can provide a spark, ala Mike Jacobs in 2005.
Well, Cerrone, you want him fired or not?
I must confess, while I think Matt’s piece was excellent…I too was waiting while reading for a conclusion from Matt, yay or nay, on firing Willie.
The key thing is that you said the players are playing tight. There is no reason for them to. There is no way any individual player is going to propel the Mets to 95 wins and there is no way any individual player is going to lose 75 games for the Mets.
It means the focus is on the players too much. Willie should realize this. When his players get booed he needs to step up. When players disagree with each other he needs to step up. He needs to put the blame on himself and make himself the lightning rod. His problem is he doesn’t like conflict. Too bad. Its his time to take the blame. That’s his job.
Its easy to do, and he should have done it awhile ago. Throw a tirade, let the press in on it. Freak out on an umpire. There have been plenty of close calls he could have jumped out of the dugout on. He hasn’t done it though. This is the difference between him and Bobby Cox and him and Lou Pinella and him and Earl Weaver.
Its not so much that it is the concept of firing up his team. Its the concept of taking the pressure off of them that he hasn’t understood. A tirade or two does it.
There also is a difference between someone like Larry Bowa having a tirade and Lou Pinella having a tirade. Bowa is a hothead who freaks out with no purpose. Pinella looks for his spots to freak out. Its all about the team with Pinella. Its all about himself with Bowa.
Knowing how to take the heat is easy. Knowing when to take it isn’t. Willie doesn’t know how to do either. He needs to do both, but I am afraid it is too late for him to learn this.
What the Mets need is someone who is a little more animated but still has control.
I used to like Wally Backman but he is too angry, I don’t know much about Oberkfell. I have an idea that Mazzilli may not connect with the players well. Gary Carter is unproven. Bobby Valentine actually fits this team perfect. He would be taking all of the heat right now and he would have never let this team get like this.
How many world series did the braves win under Bobby Cox with their 14 straight Division titles? One and Pinella has 1 World Series Ring and 3 Division titles in his managerial carerr of 20 years. But a very quiet Joe Torre has won 4 World Series rings, wow getting tossed out of games and yelling at players really translates into winning world series doesn’t it?
Metsrule77,
I get your point. However, you do understand that different players respond differently to different managers? That Torre was the perfect fit for that Yankees team but before that he was a horrible managerial fit for all the other teams he managed? Does this Mets team strike you as similar to the professinal, veterean, self-motivating, all-hustle Yankees of that era? I didn’t think so.
If not, then maybe the bump-on-a-log Torre/Randolph approcah may not be right.
My point is the players are the ones that have to be held accountable, it doesn’t matter how many times the coach argues calls or calls out his team in press conferences if the players aren’t doing their job than how is it the managers fault? There is no saying that if the Mets fired willie and brought someone different in that the team would drastically change and start playing motivated. What if they don’t like the new manager and take another step back, where does that get us? The only chance to win the World Series this year is with Willie, live with it. If he doesn’t suceed this year then fine, fire him and start fresh next year but if you fire him mid-season than your just throwing away this season!
Except for the last season that Bobby V was here of course.
Except that Valentine was in this exact situation in ‘99 that everyone like to point out in this blog.
I thought when everybody jumped on Beltran for getting doubled off yesterday, Willie told them that he had him going on contact. Could swear thats taking the blame and shielding his players.
Everyone wants someone to blame, but I think we need to accept that this team is just underperforming. There’s not always going to be a reason for it. We just need to ride it out. Do you guys remember the 90’s? It was 100 times worse than this and there was no end in sight.
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but this team is one hot streak away from changing everything; and it’s only a matter of time before it happens.
I like it, it has to come.
and if it doesn’t, well we will have an answer and a new manager next year.
I still think we can have the best rotation in the division over the last 100 games. That means alot, and could be the difference in the division.
I’m keeping the faith, at least for the moment…
2 sunshining appologist. What are you doing on this board? Don’t you know the best thing at this point is to lose?
jcervone7,
Sorry, being better than the dregs of the 90s, or late 70s to early 80s, or early 60s, etc is not the bar I’d like to set for this team.
Well, the team’s attitude has finally rubbed off on me. At this point, for the 20 or so games that I have, if I miss a game…its ok. Its only 1 game. I’ll go to the next one. Besides, there is a 50/50 shot of winning, so I rather save on the gas, tolls, and $tre$$ of entertaining 2 kids for 9 innings. I know if I don’t see something from this team, there will be no way I will pay to go to games next year. I’ll probably just find tickets to 1 game, so I can say I saw CitiField, but certainly not to see this product play.
SImple:
If the team is underachieving, Willie has to go.
If the team is truly mediocre- Willie needs to go, Omar needs to be put on notice.
Yup, you are definitively a negative fan.
Seems more realistic than negative, to me.
With all the hype that the Subway Series gets, I really feel that this weekend will carry a lot of weight with any personnel moves. The one thing in Willie’s favor is that the Mets have always played the Yankees well, and if not for fielding a terrible team in 2003, when the Yanks went 6-0, their head to head record would be very close to .500.
If we see sloppy, lacksidasical play, especially under the bright lights, Willie is in big trouble.
Matt,
Yes, we are a .500 team like most of the National League, but we have the highest payroll in our league and with that comes more pressure to win.
I am getting tired of people justifying our .500 record without looking at the facts. The Wilpon’s are justified in their search for results. They invested their money and they want answers.
As far as the WIllie situation; New Yorkers respond to emotion. That is just the way we are. We need people to lead and to ostensibly show what their feeling.
I have not given up hope, and I believe we can turn this around. If we do not then Willie needs to be relieved of his duties and Minaya put on warning.
Until we start showing a 50 million dollar payroll on the ledger compared to 137 million, there is no other course to take.
We have 50 million tied up in 3 players, probably 62 mil if you thrown in Pedro.
Trade Beltran, and when Pedro and Delgado are gone next year, we will be down to a 65 million payroll and then we can suck all we want!
Problem solved!
Not Willie’s fault for Omar overpaying for mediocre talent.
Willie is a nice man, a good man, an honorable person. Not a very good manager. His staff is also proving to be weak. But as Bill Parcells always said, you are what your record says you are. And over the last 160 or so ballgames the Mets are a .500 team. I don’t think they are underachieving. They are performing as they should based on the quality (or lack thereof) of the players and the quality of the manager and coaches. Omar needed to do more in the offseason. Maybe he tried and couldn’t. Maybe he thinks more of his squad than I do. Who knows. But there is still time for radical surgery to fix things. Yes, they’re in the hunt. Unlikely it’s a hunt that ends well. .500 teams don’t generally make the playoffs (73 mets excepted) and almost invariably don’t win World Series.
The stars of this team are not performing. In some cases because of declining skills (Delgado), in some cases because of injury (Castillo, and maybe Beltran) and in some cases for unknown reasons (Reyes, Wright). Those with declining skills should be shown the door (guess the Sosa move didn’t send enough of a message). Those with injury should’t be allowed to play. Those who aren’t getting the job done for other reasons need to be examined inside and out. And the coaching staff is responsible for dealing with that. They haven’t and must go.
Omar can salvage the season if he acts boldly. If he doesn’t, it’s another long nightmare for mets fans. Remember, all the great things that happened to this team since 82 happened because of Nelson Doubleday’s influence. The Wilpons are not great owners. And if Omar fails to act boldly, and prove he is the baseball guy he claims to be, he’ll be gone and we’ll get another Jim Duquette type or Steve Phillips type leading to even more misery.
Omar — act now. Save yourself. Save us.
First of all, the coach matters a helluva lot more in football than baseball. A coach definitely effects the outcome with schemes and playcalling.
But, baseball has alot of nuance. You can’t not play people when they stink, you just can’t, there are so many other factors that fans are not aware of. For example, when Valentin first came to us I believe he stunk up the joint for awhile then he got hot and he was invaluable. Alot of people would have shown him the door, Willie stuck with him and was rewarded.
You just never know.
How wood u like it if us fanz underperformed in our comments?
Whut if wee diddent cair an juss got lazee in our spellin and stuff like dat? De Mets r effectin us 2.
Fire Mingo!
The sad thing is I’m beginning not to care anymore, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m sure the Wilpons aren’t happy with that…..
Matt, you sound like you think Willie should remain at his post? Last season nobody was called out for the debacle, we all saw it coming, and herad the “we are still in first place” stuff, HELL, I even started to beleive it myself. The simple fact is, a change HAS to be made to save the team. By doing nothing at all it send a message that things are OK as they are and that last season in over. That is not the case here. We need the team to change the attitude on and off the field and the only way to do that is FIRE WILLIE And start with someone new. Will it bring us a instant change? I dont know, it might. I like Willie and really wanted to see us win under him, he had his chance, blew it, and now we should all move on. When Willie took the team over in 2005, perhaps it was a team ready to overachieve and they did that in 2006 and at the end of 2007 and now in 2008 bwe are seeing what the team really is? I watch the games and hope they win, but, I dont have much faith that they can win. Lets hope for a sweep of the YANKEES and a start of something good here, and, a new attitude in the clubhouse without WILLIE.
Nice piece Matt.
My take? Willie is done, and should go. Even if it is just to calm the masses and get the team refocused. Managers are often the sacrificial lambs.
I believe that the team is underacheiving, which means the blame goes more to the manager than the GM.
Besides that, there isn’t much a GM can do mid season like this, and Omar is just as good a choice for making a move if needed. Unless the Wilpons want to comepletely blow the team up, Omar at least gets to the end of the year.
So, fire Willie, make a few tough roster moves if needed (certainly reevaluate the entire team). Send down Heilman, trade/DFA Delgado, whatever it takes. Just about anything needs to be on the table, and it can’t be business as usual.
DO this, and see what the team can accomplish. Then the real rebuilding will happen in the off season, and the Wilpons can decide when the season ends if they want Omar to be the contractor on the project!
The only positive is to this whole thing so far is that other teams aren’t pulling away from the Mets as they try to figure out what is going on. I have been riding the fence on the whole “fire willie” thing because the whole team hasn’t been together. Now, since they are still close, they can give him to the end of the month to show some type of improvement.
If, for whatever reason, they fire him then the problems really begin. If you are going to blame Wille then you have to blame the entire coaching staff. HoJo hasn’t done anything for this team. Are the results that Church having because he is a great coach or because Church is actually getting a chance to play?
The Jacket seems to have hurt Pelfrey’s development by changing his pitching approach and taking away his pitches. I would say that Schneider has done more for the team’s pitching this year that Peterson.
I think that come the end of the month there could eb wholesale changes. As far as replacements? That is for another topic.
the writing is on the wall deserved or not. once it hits the media and the owner is being named it’s almost always coming from talking directly to the owner. klapisch isn’t going to give up his access to the wilpons.
they better bring in someone with a track record of winning. tom kelly, for example. i’d bring in buck showalter to replace bernazard for player development as he built the d-back and help built the yanks.
I like them both.
and then we’ll win the world series the year after he’s fired!
lol. at least we’ll have 1!
I agree with most of your post but Tom Kelly? He has a career winning percentages of .478. Yes he has 2 WS rings but he had losing seasons 10 out of his 16 years and even the years that they won the WS he finished with 85 and 95 wins. He by far should not be considered a winner. He’s been gone so long I thought he was old but I guess he is only 57-58. But hey, you are entitled to your opinion. I would much rather give Jarmirllio(sp) or Carter a chance.
i can’t give a new guy a chance. that’s too risky with this veteran team. winning 2 world series with the twins payroll is a pretty big deal :)
Zen,
I love both of those ideas.
Hasn’t Kelly left baseball altogether?
yes. he left baseball and probably won’t come back, but a few million a year is tough to say no too. i mentioned them b/c most good managers and executive have jobs since it’s the start of the season
I don’t believe yet that we’re just a .500 team. i definitely think we’re underperforming and am coming around to the view that Willie should be fired. Of our regulars, Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Perez, Delgado and Castillo and performing much worse than their overall numbers for last year (using ops and era, at least). Granted, Castillo and Delgado are old, so its not surprising, but wright, reyes and perez should all be better given their age and inexperience. We’ve got some players going the other way, with Church, Maine and Pelf improving on last year, but they should generally because they’re fairly young and still gaining experience. Or, to look at it more simply, Pecota projected the mets for 93 wins and a pennant. Granted, pecota is far from perfect, but it does give at least a rough idea of what we could reasonably expect from the team.
oh and obviously the $140 million payroll says something about what the team should be achieving.
True but with all the money you pay for food at the ballpark, wouldnt you think that it should be better also? Just because it costs more doesnt mean its better.
If you don’t think there needs to be a change in the managers position you are simply lost.
or…its their opinion
I mean, i’m on board with firing willie, but dude, allow people to have their own opinion
Met fans and broadcasters, the beat writers, etc., all overrated this team from the beginning (aging &, injury prone players[Degado, Alou, Pedro], suspect pitching – as a matter of fact, out of the starting eight only Wright and Beltran would be guaranteed to start on the Phillies – SS is a toss-up, and the Phillies are arguably better everywhere else).
While the Mets are probably not a .500 team, they are not good enough to run away with division as many on this board unrealistically expected.
Did you really expect the Phillies, who led baseball with 48 come-from-behind wins in 2007, and lead baseball with 10 this season, to just quit and cede the division to the Mets?
Did you expect the Braves, who might have the best lineup in the league when healthy, to roll over and play dead?
Acquiring Santana was a great move, but his acquisition guaranteed nothing.
It’s a long season. and the games must still be played.
Yeah. Victorino/Werth are a lot better than Church….
Ryan Church ???
I think him vs Jenkins or Victorino or Werth…. if anything is a toss up..
and Schneider might even be a toss up bro…Coste? Ruiz? they aren’t exactly Ty Cobb
The key word was “arguably”.
The second part is actual production.
Church is having a career year so far, but if he regresses to the mean, RF is a tossup between him and a Jenkins/Werth platoon. Look at the platoon splits.
Victorino plays CF.
Catcher? Schneider is a good defensive catcher, but the platoon of Coste/Ruiz is better offensively. Schneider’s career OPS+ is 83. Ruiz’s is almost identical (82) – Coste’s is 113.
I used the Victorino argument mainly cause he was playing RF last year and I know the phils had started him in RF this year when he first came back.
I still think the Schneider vs Phils catchers is a toss-up
I’m sorry I just read on about the braves..
The best lineup in WHAT league?
Ok, Tex, Larry..McCann is very above average…
Kotsay???????
I’ll give you Francour when hes playing well is graet too
and …Matt Diaz??? Kelly johnson? They might be met killers , but in the grand scheme of things….not so much
And Escobar…has great POTENTIAL! but thats it so far
I’m torn on Omar. I would love to get the confidence rating of OMar because the moves he has made have been good and bad. He gets a lot of credit for the signings of FAs like Pedro, Beltran and the trade for Santana but the question is should he? The Pedro signing has been a complete bust. They paid him $52 million dollars for 27 wins over 3+ years. I love him and loved the signing at the time but the reason he has gotten these deals done (Wagner included) is he overpaid and went an extra year when other teams were not willing to do so. Anyone could do that. The Perez and Maine deals were nice but right now Nady would look pretty good in the middle of this lineup. The Maine trade is essentially the only deal he should get credit for. Mixed in with some bad deals and signings, my confidence sinks each day. Hey at least we have Castillo and his knees for 3 more years after this.
I’ve gotta say i’m still pretty happy with Omar right now. He made some bad deals last year and gave away some pitching that could’ve helped us, but this off season he made some critical moves that we’d really be in trouble without. I mean, can you imagine this team without church, schneider and santana? You have to give him credit for those. Sure, we gave castillo too many years, but there wasn’t really a better short-term option at 2nd and the deal’s not so huge itll really handicap us down the road. Yeah, Alou will only play half the season, but I would’ve been happy to see the mets pay twice as much for a full season of the kind of production he can give us. And sure, delgado sucks, but i can’t knock omar for not trading him without knowing what we actually could have gotten for him.
It should be required that one Mets fan is in the dugout and clubhouse for each game. A true Mets fan. Someone who watches every game and is struck with every run of emotions during a game.
Then these players will get a clue. Right now, they are zombies with no emotion. Cheers to Billy Wagner.
And in regards to Willie. I know its not in your demeanor, but its time to throw a chair or Gatorade cooler. If you’re going down, go down in a blaze of glory. Show us you care. Your players may actually respond to you.
Or how about this silly little idea. One of your “superstars” doesn’t run hard on the bases and slacks off, sit him the rest of that game and then the next one.
Where are the repricussions for sloppy play? They need to understand that its 110% all the time every time. Period.
Its clear they are left off the hook to easy and it needs to change.
I agree with pulling a player. But I think Willie should do it on the field. Go out to their position with Marlon Anderson following you and yank them for not diving at a ball or go out with Endy following you and pull the slacker from the bases. And I think he ought to do it every time a player doesn’t hustle until the team gets the message.
After Maine won the other night, I had this odd feeling – last win of the Randolph era. I had the feeling that after constant fluttering (no win or losing streak > 3), the Mets were about to embark on a bad losing streak. To be specific, 11 games, of which #11 would be the first game of a new manager, who would win his second game.
With Vargas, Pelfrey, Yankees coming up, and bad writing on the wall, I had this hunch. I still think I am far off base, but what never occurred to me, is that there could be so much noise after just 2 games.
At this point, if the Mets get swept this weekend, I expect Willie is out of a job on Mon or Tues.
I honestly feel that since these guys have been playing baseball forever, their individual performance, of course, falls straight on them, not the manager.
I do believe it is the managers job to keep his players focused and excited to play though. Right now, what concerns me most of all, are the players attitudes and I feel this comes directly from Willie. A “spark” is nowhere to be found. I feel Willie is too passive. Nobody ever sees him get heated in a press conference after horrific games like yesterday’s. He always has the mindset of “Oh well, it happened, lets try again tomorrow…”
Now, I dont know what happends behind closed doors between him and the players, but I cannot picture him ever yelling or throwing things around the clubhouse like a Lou Pinella would. Now, I’m not saying he should throw things, but if my job was on the line because people arent running hard and/or people are making bad decisions and its costing us games, I sure as hell would let them know about it. There need to be consequences for poor playing. Delgado, if he doesnt hit, should bat 7th or 8th! Castillo should have been pulled yesterday. All the players take everything for granted and its an extension from 2006. Wright took for granted that the fly ball was going to be an easy out yesterday. Last year they took for granted that they were going to win the division being so far ahead so early and in 2006, they expected to make the World Series because they were the favorite. They think they are all better than they are but in reality they are only as good as their record, right now theyre just okay.
-Okay doesnt cut it for me as a loyal fan and okay shouldnt cut it for Willie. If it does, he needs to go.
Matt
As always enjoy your perspective and insight. Nice post and understand your frustrations.
Regarding Willie….ask yourself really what is the downside to replacing him at this point. In my opinion the job of a manager is
1. to lead and/or inspire his players
2. assembling a lineup which gives the team the greatest chances or position to win
3. make in game decisions to facilitate winning
4. maximize the production of his players
5. spokeman for the team with regards to the general public, fans, and media
While in some criteria I would rate him as adequate…others I would give Willie marginal to failing grades at best.
That said….I wonder as well whether this team is as talented as we believe or appears to be on paper. Is it bad chemistry? Is it the atmosphere of losing? Complacency? Or a combination of all factors creating this perfect storm???
The truth is I believe we need to fire Willie to ACTUALLY SEE WHAT WE HAVE with regards to this team and move on from there.
Perhaps all we need is a spark….perhaps we need tweaking….maybe its a complete overhaul…and while we blog, and blog…none of us TRULY know.
So lets start with the first step. I want to enjoy watching this team again..
you nailed it. Once Willie is gone, you start working out the rest of the bugs, but he has to go first to clear the air.
Plus, any players hiding behind the Willie situation will clearly be on the front line of accountability.
Remember when Willie didn’t want to use Joe Smith on Wednesday because he needed him for the day game? How’d that work out?
He is clueless.
You mean because Wise had pitched 2 days in a row and Scho was unavailable and he knew Pelfrey was pitching the next day and might need relief? You mean then?
I think he is referring to the game that we had a chance to win until willie worried more about the next game instead of the game they were playing. that game, remember it?
I do and I watched the post game comments and Willie said he didn’t want to use Wise because he had pitched 2 in a row and that Scho was unavailable leaving him shorthanded in the pen. He said he actually wanted 1 2/3 inn out of Heilman.
I hate Heilman as much as the next guy but as long as he is on the team he’s gonna get used at some point.
I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable to think you might want to save a reliever or two for a Pelfrey game. Because c’mon who actually thought Pelfrey would pitch as good as he did yesterday. Buehler?
Isiah Thomas for Mets manager.. at least he has The tenacity, dedication and unyielding will to win that have marked every facet of Isiah Thomas’ life.
he also makes better popcorn
At this point you have to start tinkering with things to find the problem. We have already fired the hitting coach before and I would not fire a pitching coach midseason so next up in the beaker is Mr. Randolph. If that does not work then you try something else. I am not saying Randolph is a bad manager but I would think that almost any manager could get the same results this season.
In my opinion, the decision has already been made. Too many things are already seeing the light of day and landing in our laps.
Honestly, what I think we are seeing right now is our normally conservative ownership eating up a few more weeks before they do what they already know they are going to do. Also, they’re probably holding out just long enough for Omar to flip on Willie, and once that happens they tell Omar to go public and pull the trigger. Then it’s over.
In exchange for doing that aspect of his job, and for having a basically very good reputation as the GM over the past four years, Omar will land a new contract with a short leash, a new manager, a new ballpark, and some different faces on the field. If things get better, he stays on for as long as he wants.
It really doesn’t matter who’s right or who’s wrong if the decisions have already been made. And in my opinion, they have.
Cerrone makes some very good points.
I’m not trying to make excuses for this team but I think the offense will pick up a little bit more consistantly once we have consistant warm weather. Plus right now D Wright is in a little bit of a slump which you know he will come out of. In big RBI situation’s he usually comes through which he did not in this last series. I don’t think that will last
People of course wanna jump on Willie for the comments he made during the downward spiral of last season but I just thought he was being so stubborn in not giving up confidence in his team. Call me nuts but I had no problems with his “champagne” quote from last year. Yes people I do know it doesn’t sit will if the team doesn’t go out there and deliver on the quote. But I just think Willie truly believes in his guys….Will it cost him? Maybe, Maybe not. But the fact of the matter is that the Mets know they hold themselves to a higher standard….And they must live up to that. Last time I checked you don’t usually get a pat on the back for being mediocre in New York.
Lets go mets.
Will it cost him? It already did. his apathetic attitude during the end of the season last year led to the collapse. it sure as hell cost the rest of us! that champagne quote is a microcosm of the issues that willie has. it was arrogant and dismissive and ended up making him look like a (bigger) fool! he did nothing to stem the tide.
Draft Barry Bonds
really……..people are still with that………isnt he going to jail soon
Yeah, this team doesn’t have enough negativity surrounding it now. Bonds would certainly fix that.
No, the government has no case that is why they keep refiling the charges. Either way has one more season, I dont want to hear anymore BS about the clubhouse culture, which was a load of crap to begin with. He is a hitting machine. Sign him for one year. Problems solved.
Just another guy Wagner will point to for not talking to the media.
I don’t want to sound as though I am completely unconcerned, or am being too blindly optimistic, because I am worried about the direction of this team. I merely point out, as a point of reference, that the 2000 New York Mets were 20-20 on this date.
I’m just saying.
What? 20-20 under Bobby V? I wonder what his metsblog confidence rating was.
I sometimes wonder what this blog would have been like in May 2000, or in June of 1999 when the Mets fell to 27-28. Again, I’m not trying to be polyannish here, but at the same time we need a little perspective.
Yeah, I remember ‘99 when the coaching staff got fired. Everyone thought it was going to be Bobby V and were surprised when it wasn’t . Then he was ripped for allowing it to happen. Meaning for letting his coaches take the fall and not saying, “If my guys go I go.”
they probably should have a players only meeting before this series. Willie is not going to be capable of firing up the Mets to play his Yanks.
As much as I hate to see HoJo go(especially since he’s in my name) . I think he’s hitting instruction is failing. Rarely do they seem to have a good approach at the plate. A change is surely needed. It is still hard for me to grasp over the last 150 games tht we are indeed a .500 team.
on the Reyes play I like the aggressiveness but am unsure why he didn’t slide, even though it was a great though over to third I don’t think they could have tagged him out if he went down, was the third base coach watching? is everyone uninterested? I like the players Omar generally brings to the team and probably 90 % has worked out, so I’d keep him but this coaching staff needs a shake up and hopefully that will result in the players refocusing.
I don’t understand why you’re so wishy-washy, Cerrone. All season you’ve defended the Mets and their .500 ball, as if the fact that the rest of the National League sucks is some kind of excuse.
The Mets ARE underachieving. On paper, they should be owning the division and league right now. Unless you think the series win in AZ was a fluke, then that’s probably the standard they should be playing to right now. And they’re not.
You’re approaching the credibility thing as if it’s a question. It’s not. Willie’s got none of it. The Mets are 73-75 since last June 1. That’s pathetic. To act like this is all somehow acceptable because the Mets are a game over .500 and only 2 games out of first is the same as how a lot of fans excused the listless play for the majority of last season by repeating the “we’re in first, so it’s cool” mantra. And we saw how that turned out.
Take a stand, man. Your a fan, not a scientist.
and they dont play the game on paper.
Accountability: Who Wants to Hold It?
Bloggers wouldn’t be taken seriously if they didn’t demonstrate honesty, respect, passion, loyalty, and accountability. The person-place-or-thing we write about should be looked straight in the eyes as if we were speaking with them in-person.
Team sports and individual sports have their differences and similarities. One big-time relation is accountability.
I’ve personally had adventures with both dating back to when I was 2-years old. Surely, I don’t recall my athletic career beginning so young, yet, I’m always going to believe my Dad, who states how I was quickly handed a tennis racket while I stood clueless on the tennis court.
Moreover, 28-years later, I’m writing about the importance of accountability with all sports—individual and team. Players, coaches, and of course – fans, decide whether or not the appropriate level of accountability is being held. Who wants to hold it? Who wants to be the lead-by-example leader?
The New York Mets—players and coaches—are finally looking like an accountable team. In addition, their recent success blends accountability with consistency. Two difficult actions that together, should be a contender for being the best.
The Wilpon’s, Omar Minaya, and Willie Randolph have not acted alone with turning a team who was one-win away from a World Series to a .500 ball club. And, there’s a reason why we call it a team sport. We certainly won’t overlook the players, who make things happen on the field, and have the most control over whether or not a game is won or lost.
The closest contact with these players happens to be the manager. The one-person of late spending the most time working with these players seemed to be the trainer! Jokes and injuries aside, the person is Willie Randolph – manager of the NY Mets.
I have Omar accountable for his actions, and I hold Omar accountable for making sure that Willie has support, guidance, and resources. The rest truly rests with the manager and his players.
Let’s analyze something that we can relate with other than sports. Our jobs. As an employee for a business, we’re accountable for our job duties. Furthermore, we’ll more than likely report to someone in a leadership-oriented position. Moreover, our supervisor, manager, leader, boss, or any other descriptive word you’ve probably named that person – under your breath of course – has someone of their own to view as their leader, boss, manager, or supervisor.
The Leadership Chain. The Accountability Link. Leaders providing support and resources in effort to succeed. It’s all rather simple to follow, and it’s quite similar to professional sports.
The Metropolitan players are held accountable to produce at the highest level – game-in and game-out. The players will have their “supervisor,” or to sound more clear – Manager Randolph. Willie is accountable for his players, while effectively displaying leadership, support, emotion, and guiding his team towards success.
Willie has his “boss or bosses,” who go by the names of Minaya and Wilpon respectively. The breakdown is very clear, and as with any business, the person who is either near the top or on the top of their leadership chain will provide resources that trickle down the same leadership chain.
The Wilpon’s provide money. Minaya provides players. Willie provides direct leadership, structure, team-building, trust, motivation, emotion, dedication, and support to the players. Finally, Players provide production, leadership, emotion, dedication, and excitement.
The New York Fans provide everything you could ever want. Winners.