Opinion: Too Early for Panic Move
Many fans and pundits are calling for Willie Randolph’s head right now, blaming him for their “mediocrity”.
But, is it fair to blame Willie for being stuck with a team of immovable, underperforming players? He can’t bench (nor trade) Carlos Delgado, for example. He can’t heal Luis Castillo‘s knees. He has little choice other than to wait for Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Jose Reyes to work out of their funks. This isn’t football, so a pep talk is useless.
Similarly, there isn’t much Willie can do to prevent middle relievers from throwing gopher balls. To his credit, Willie has recently mixed and matched the arms out of the bullpen well, and pushed his starters to go deeper in games.
Take a look at the Detroit Tigers, who many pundits believed were the most talented team in all of MLB. Many “experts” agree that Jim Leyland is one of the best managers in baseball, yet his team is in dead last. Is it Leyland’s fault that last year’s “phenom” pitchers can’t get outs in 2008? That Gary Sheffield is hitting .180?
While the Mets are not playing consistently, it’s only 43 games into the season. The Mets are 2.5 games out of first, and above .500 despite the struggles of “key three” — Beltran, Reyes, and Wright. That’s a sign of optimism, not panic. Eventually, those three will get going — regardless of the manager — and the offense will be fine. Add that to the return of Pedro Martinez, and the future is looking bright.
