No, I think it’s high time the Mets actually get serious about this, Regis. We’ve been saying that there’s plenty of time to right the ship for . . .oh, a calendar year now? This didn’t sneak up on anyone. The chemistry is horrid, and right now, short of liquidating, the only thing they can do is shake things up by giving Willie his long overdue dismissal. The Wilpons seem impotent right now.

Ok guys….it can all be summed up in 2 words…FIRE WILLIE. I can write about a 10 page essay as to why. People on here have even suggested sarcastically that I write a book. Well, for those of you that choose to read some of them…please feel free to read below…if you have better things to do, just skip it…you get the idea…(I just need to vent)

excerpt from “I Trust My Guys: The Willie Randolph Managerial Experience” by NY Cuban

The Collapse
…so we all lived through what factually can be considered the worst collapse in baseball history. Some may say that argue that the Yankees losing a 3 game lead to the Red Sox was worse, but I beg to differ. This team lost a 7 game lead with 17 games to play. These games were not versus tough opponents, 13 of those games were versus the Marlins and Nationals. We stood by this team, game after game. And every post-game was the same. We heard how Willie trusts his guys. How this team needed to find a rhythm. How it was just one game. And game by game, the time dwindled. But it was all ok, because we heard about champagne and how great it would taste when they won the division. Well, Sept 30th came and went and we all know how that turned out. And then came October 1st and 2nd, and we waited and waited. We waited for the inevitable. Someone had to pay, and it obviously had to be Willie. Well, we were wrong. Omar came on and said that Willie was a winner and he would continue being manager of the Mets in 2008. And just like that, the organization that was on the right path took major steps back. It was like quick sand.

The Mets Go As Reyes Goes
…it is often said that the “Mets go how Jose Reyes goes”. Well, then, Willie deserves much of the blame for ruining young Reyes. Sure Reyes is a bit of a primadona; he deserves criticism. However, on July 7, 2007, the respect young Reyes had for Willie was erased. Reyes check swung at a pitch and grounded it down the third base line. Thinking it would roll foul, Reyes watched the ball stay fair and was easily thrown out at first. Willie was irate and subsequently benched Reyes. Reyes looked at Willie in disbelief, mostly because Beltran and Delgado were notorious for not running things out hard. This was a typical Willie doublestandard where he treated veterans and young players differently. Reyes never looked at Willie the same. He adopted a “who-cares” attitude and struggled for the remainder of Willie’s tenure. The “Mets go as Reyes goes”, which meant the Mets also subsequently struggled for the remainder of Willie’s tenure.

I Know My Team Better Than Anyone
…loss after loss, Willie was questioned about his managerial decisions. Interview after interview, Willie stood his ground that he knew his team better than anyone. For Met fans in the Willie era, there are names that sound like nails on a chalkboard. Think back to 2007. Now say the name Guillermo Mota. How about Scott Schoeneweis? Julio Franco? Night after night, Willie would go to them with some rationale about his gut guiding his decision making. Even after the Collapse, fast forward to 2008. Say the names Aaron Heilman or Jorge Sosa. How does that make a Met fan feel? Time after time, we saw these players fail. The fans knew way before the manager the outcome of the managerial move. Yet, Willie Randolph was steadfast. He was out to prove that he was smarter than the average Joe(…or was he.) …

Willie is not Lou Pinella
…over the course of his tenure, Willie Randolph was always hesitant to stand up for his players and risk ejection. Apparently he felt that his strategic superiority would be drastically missed and his absense would consequently hurt his team. It would be a fine assumption, but it was at the expense of the respect of his players. Willie’s players never got the sense that he was there to defend them. They could clearly have a case with the umpires and Willie would just blandly discuss the situation, nod his head and walk back to the dugout. Well, in a way, Willie did get through to his players; he instilled the same passive malaise that he portrayed in the dugout. By the end of his tenure, the team was a shell of itself, going through the motions game after game…

I Treat These Guys Like Men
…perhaps the biggest flaw in Willie Randolph’s managerial tactics was his refusal to deviate from his personality. During a 2 year span, the NY Mets went 74-75. In this time, Willie continued to affirm his notion that there was no reason to yell or call out his team. “I treat these guys like men” was repeated on multiple occasions. Well, that would actually be commendable if that approach worked for the players on his team. However, perhaps, there were players on the team who needed to be treated differently. Perhaps, Willie should have tried different approaches to find a fit that worked for his team’s personality. Instead, like many tragic figures, Willie was a victim of his own hubris. He expected all players to conform to HIS style and personality. Unfortunately, that conformity was never adopted and Willie continued to be steadfast in his ways…

The End of the Willie Experiment
…in 2005, after 14 interviews, Willie Randolph finally fulfilled his dream. He would be the manager of a New York baseball team; he would be the manager of the NY Mets. After just over 3 years, Willie Randolph was relieved from a nightmare. After being spared his job in 2007, the NY Mets floundered during the first quarter of a season in 2008. The Wilpons became increasingly anxious to see the Mets turn the ship around. After 2007, Willie lost the team’s confidence. Shortly after, the fans turned on him. Even the most ardent supporters could no longer find rationale to keep Willie. In May, after a horrid homestand, the Willie experiment was over…
Upon hiring a new manager, the Mets promptly went on a 5 game winning streak and found a new energy that had been missing since 2006. On the shoulders of Johan Santana, and a re-energized Jose Reyes, the NY Mets won the NL East and returned the NL pennant to Flushing…

He’ll be gone within a month.
Enjoy L.A., Willie.

I know game strategy is overrated (I point that out myself) but there’s one situation that keeps coming up where Willie kills me.

8th inning, Mets down by one, Reyes leads off with a single and Castillo sacrifices. And I just want to scream: “NOOOOOO!”

This isn’t Delgado on first. This is an 80 stolen base guy, one of the premier base stealers in the game. STEAL. SECOND. Then bunt him to third where he can score on a sac fly. If they throw Reyes out and we lose, so be it. Better than losing because he’s on SECOND when the fly ball comes or - like yesterday - he takes a wild gamble in hopes of getting to third.

Yesterday was even worse than usual…. a 7-foot pitcher who takes forever to get rid of the ball and a catcher who can’t throw anyone out and we still don’t challenge. It’s scared, ultra-conservative baseball.

This one is way out there, I heard it once before, but now there is just more evidence to me that something may be there….

Does anyone think that the team sucking since June of last year, and Reyes disappearing have anything to do with Julio Franco being cut.

I laughed at first b/c I wanted him gone, but Willie did not like his “managing” in the clubhouse. But Julio did seem to guide a lot of these players. You didnt hear LoDuca or Wagner complain about the lack of accountability until after Julio was gone.

Out there, but just a thought. I think Willie has to go, but maybe this is just more evidence that WIllie never had control of this clubhouse.

well said ,ny cuban… excellent post..

Willie isn’t going anywhere though if they are 2.5 games behind in the loss column. Although it will be more by the all star break.