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During his interview a few moments ago on WFAN, Willie Randolph told the show’s host that many of his comments from the infamous Bergen Record article by Ian O’Conner were intended to be off the record, adding, “But, that’s my fault..,I thought I was just blowing off steam.”
…for what it’s worth, willie waited for a good two or three seconds before answering the question…
Randolph continued on by saying:
“I just want to get a few things off my chest. I want to apologize to Mets ownership…to SNY, and to my team for the distraction over the past couple of days. I shouldn’t have said the things that I said. It was a mistake, simple as that. I take full ownership of the things that I said. I said it out of frustration, I just hope that we can put a close to this matter and start winning baseball games. When you win, you make everyone happy, and that’s what we’re here to do. I didn’t mean for it to come out the way it did. I was frustrated.”
According to Randolph, he is frustrated with how his team is playing, and understands the fan reaction – especially after what occured at the end of last season.
Randolph said he does not believe racism is involved with the fan’s perception of him.
Also, regarding the Record, he never meant to suggest that Mets fans are fair-weather fans.
Instead, he says, the fans have every right to express their opinion, adding, “Mets fans are the best in the world.”
Regarding his comments about SNY, and how the fans may percieve him, Randolph said:
“The only problem I have is perception sometimes. You hear people talk about me, but they don’t know me. I don’t mind being criticized, but be factual and be fair. The people that are on the shows are paid to be opinionated, but make sure that if you’re going to be that, know what you’re talking about…Everyone wants to be liked, but that’s not a burning desire for me. I just try to do my job. I’m no different than everyone else, I’m a human being. Everyone has feelings. But I’m here to win a championship…
“This is me, this is how I lead. I don’t concern myself with what people think of how I do my business.”
In regards to Jon Heyman’s report in SI.com that Jeff Wilpon met with him and Omar Minaya, Randolph said:
“Jeff’s very passionate about winning, just like I am. Jeff and Fred are very supportive, and they’re always asking me how they can help us get better. When the game starts, that’s when I feel my best. I love when the game starts because that’s when you can go out there and try to kick someone’s butt.”
Lastly, according to Randolph, the team is not focused on all of this stuff, from SNY to the fans to ownership, etc, they are focused on trying to win as many games as possible, and he and his players believe that when every one sees them be the team they are capable of being, all of this will go away.
…thanks to SNY.tv’s Ted Berg for transcribing parts of this interview, and for helping me get it up on MetsBlog so quickly…
…also, i tend to be very critical of Mike and the Maddog, but they did a fantastic job with this interview…they asked all the necessary and intriguing questions, and did so in a respectful way…great job, guys…
To listen to Randolpoh’s entire 27–minute interview, keep checking WFAN.com.
…Update…5:35 pm…
SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt will be sitting down with Randolph in a few minutes, for a one-on-one interview that will appear on tonight’s Pre Game Show.
he’s not taking back the race thing.. He just said he thought he was talking to a friend and it was off the record. How is that saying that Mets fans are not racists? What is the point of this?
If he would have said and thats why Im tendering my resignation this afternoon it would have been perfect.
He did. Listen to the entire interview. You clearly missed the key points.
I heard the key point, it is as follows:
I meant everything that I said, I am just a moron for saying it to a reporter.
Delgado, et al should be thanking Willie for taking the focus off the fact they they’re all playing like chumps right now.
Crucify Willie all you want, he’s not the reason this team is losing.
he’s never the reason they win either. no downside to firing him.
Anthony,
I thought it was Bill Webb’s fault?
Anthony I’m not trying to call you out but you say I should go back and listen to the entire interview and that I missed key points.
I didn’t miss key points. I heard what he said. When asked whether he though the interview about the race card was on the record.
He said he thought it was off the record and that he was just talking to a friend.
Anthony –
How can you honestly say that Willie is not the reason why they are losing? He is not the only reason, but he certainly is a reason.
mindboggling.
The poor play of the team is the reason the Mets are losing.
Willie can’t pick up a bat, he can’t go out there and pitch. The team is simply not executing, and it has nothing to do with Willie Randolph.
These are grown men and Major League baseball players, if they need Willie to teach them how to play baseball then maybe they should go find another vocation.
Its such a typical reaction by people to blame the manager for a team playing poorly, its much easier to use Willie as the scapegoat rather than address the real problems with this team.
Go ahead and fire Willie and see if it makes a lick of difference. See if it makes Delgado turn the clock back 2 years, see if it makes Castillo’s knees any younger, see if it makes Aaron Heilman remember how to get three outs.
Willie Randolph is the the problem people, open your eyes a little and maybe you’ll see where the real problems with this team are.
Is “not” the problem, rather.
Willie addressed the question about race, if and when the transcript is posted, I will point it out to you.
I totally agree.with Anthony.
Many of us have been saying the same things over and over to the Willie bashers. They don’t care. They continue to view the players as unmotivated kindergarten children who need to be led by the hand every step of the way and instilled with desire because these adult men and professional athletes can’t figure it for themselves. It’s total nonsense.
I listened to the interview. It is available for download at wfan.com. Willie definitely retracts the race comments he made and makes a blanket apology.
Anthony, no disrespect buddy but I have to disagree with you when you say Willie is not the reason the team is losing. Actually I think you’re half right. Yes you are right when you say:
“Willie can’t pick up a bat, he can’t go out there and pitch. The team is simply not executing”
But that is an old Cliche’ everyone uses when trying to defend a manager who’s team is not performing well.
This team has more talent than a .500 ball club. So if the talent is there then the problem must be lack of focus and lack of execution. Those are the two things a manager is DIRECTLY responsible for. His job is to make sure the team is focussed and executing on the field and playing hard every single day. Obviously he is failing miserably at this.
Since you used an old Cliche’ about the manager not hitting or pitching, I’ll throw another Old cliche’ right back at you…………………..
“You can’t fire the whole team”……………..or, how about………………
“the buck stops at the manager’s door”
or…………………..
“If a manager is going to get credit when his team is playing well, then he’s should also accept the blame when his team is doing poorly”.
I’m sure I can think of a few more but that should do for now.
THEN WHY EVEN HAVE A DAMN MANAGER!!!???!?!?!
Anthony…I think you need to open your eyes.
This team has not played consistently for 162 games. They have not had a 6 game winning streak since August of 2006.
Sure all of the things you said about the players are true, but it’s the mangers job to get the best out of his players. Willie has not done that successfully. He has not produced a gameplan nor a philosophy that these guys collectively fall into line and follow, and follow for the long term.
He may not directly be the reason why they are losing, but he certianly isn’t helping them win. And there is no gray area here. You either win or you lose. And if you aren’t helping them win, than you are contributing to the losing.
“Willie can’t pick up a bat, he can’t go out there and pitch.” I can’t believe you fed us that line of crap. How myopic. I’m literally shocked that you brought that in here.
I don’t give the manager a ton of credit for winning either. I feel the managers role is much larger when you’re talking about a team with mostly younger players. Willie isn’t going to change a guy like Delgado, or Beltran, or Alou, or Castillo.
These guys are veteran playeres who are who they are, and they aren’t going to change their approach no matter who you bring in to try and be their “daddy”
I defy you to explain to me how you expect this team as it currently configured is going to play any differently with someone else in charge. I hear a lot of fire Willie but I have yet to hear any specific examples of how he’s won or lost a game for them, and how some other manager would do a better job.
What evidence do you have of another manager’s ability to make grown men, veterans who need someone to help them focus and execute, will be better than Randolph’s? This focus and execution that Delgado, Beltran, Reyes, Castillo, and Heilman lack will somehow by unlocked by Jerry Manuel? If you have a better suggestion, I’m all ears, but short of bringing back Vince Lombardi, I don’t see these guys changing anytime soon. They simply need to do their jobs.
Firing Willie just makes a bunch of bandwagon fans happy and changes nothing. Its so painfully lazy to blame the manager. How about you fire some of the players who aren’t performing instead and replace them with someone who will? Players who actually have a direct influence on the outcome of games. I guarantee you that will have a much more immediate and real impact on actual wins and losses.
The players are far more responsible for the performance of late and should be held more accountable than Randolph. You can call it cliche, but thats reality.
This team has more talent than a .500 ball club.
This is one of the biggest fallacies I see. The team definitely is one of the more talented ones in the league, but whether or not they are more than a .500 club depends entirely on the talent level of the other teams they play. It seems that many fans are blind to the fact that teams in the NL East have improved over the last few years, specifically the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins. Teams that may have been in rebuilding mode such as the Cubs and Arizona are also stronger now. And it’s generally agreed there is more parity than ever in both leagues. Revenue sharing is a big reason for this.
As a result, some fans have a distorted view from looking at the Mets team in a vacuum. They see that compared to 2006 when they steamrolled other teams, the talent level is as good this year. So they expect the same results. But they underestimate what other teams around the league have developed into. From 2006 up to now, they didn’t just stand still and stagnate.
On the Castillo play in the 3rd…..Why was Castillo positioned to pull on a 2 strike pitch to Texeira that was set up outside?
Why did the Mets walk only twice yesterday and allow both ATL starters to go deep into the game, but we are calling the pen in the 5th inning?
Why is ATL working to 3-2 counts and the Mets are 4 pitches and out practically every AB?
Players execute. But they execute a gameplan. And they are told to execute or else.
So I ask you, what is Willie’s gameplan? Do you know? Because I’ve been clueless on that question for over a year now.
They don’t need Vince Lombardi. They need someone who has an effective gameplan, and has his players buy into it.
So if Willie gets credited for not giving batters the proper instructions in the situations you mentioned, does he get credit for all the right moves he’s made in Ryan Church’s at bats as well?
Is he only giving proper instructions to Church and David Wright and all the other players he’s giving them bad instructions, which is why they’re underperforming?
Since Willie’s game plan is so poor, why are some players meeting their expectations and others are not? Perhaps its up to the individual players to execute them?
Players execute. But they execute a gameplan. And they are told to execute or else.
LOL, there doesn’t exist a game plan in the world that can return a faded 36-year-old slugger into the feared hitter and competent fielder he once was.
Or one that makes Schoeneweis not susceptible to righthanders.
Or one that restores some of the resiliency to Castillo’s knees.
And if someone doesn’t know why the Mets have to call the bullpen in the 5th inning, then they aren’t watching the games. It’s because a starter reaches a high pitch count in the 5th inning or gets into serious trouble. At any rate, Peterson devises the game plans for the pitchers.
As the manager really doesn’t do anything and has no effect on performance, I’d like to suggest Scarlett Johansen as the next Mets’ manager. Really, what Met wouldn’t be out there busting his butt for Scarlett!!!?
Anthony, do you realize you just answered all of my questions with questions of your own.
we can do this all night, if you want.
Anthony,
I cannot fathom that you equate wanting Willie gone with bandwagon fans. I, for one, recall the Bamburger years and all the intervening decades since and am as loyal to this team as anyone. And, Willie must go.
Does his departure mean all will be well? Hardly. But it turns the page, at least psychologically, from The Collapse. It allows us to evaluate the players and the roster without being able to point to Willie as the main problem. That allows Omar (or, if necessary, his replacment) to re-tool as needed.
This isn’t rocket science. The leader of the team that had the greatest collaps in baseball history and has led a takented (on paper) team to a full year of sub-.500 ball has to go.
It allows us to evaluate the players and the roster without being able to point to Willie as the main problem.
I’m sure you mean “without having to point” …. but one wonders why you have to point to anyone else to see what the problems are with Delgado, Alou, El Duque, Pedro, Castillo, Heilman, Sosa, Wise, Felicaino, Sanchez, Schoeneweis and other players who have prevented this team from performing at a higher level. If a GM can’t see what the problems are, then he is blind, in denial, and incompetent. I’m sure a GM like Theo Epstein and Josh Byrnes can spot the problems very quickly, as can many fans.
This isn’t rocket science. The leader of the team that had the greatest collaps in baseball history and has led a takented (on paper) team to a full year of sub-.500 ball has to go.
Apparently, it is rocket science to those who can’t see that a floundering bullpen and rotation were at the root of the collapse last year (which by the way was not the worst in baseball history — that distinction belongs to the Yankees) … and that talent on paper will play out to .500 ball when the talent on paper of the other clubs in the league is just as good or better.
correction: should read “..but one wonders why you would ever need to point to anyone else before being able to see what the problems are with Delgado, …”
I think people hear what they want to hear. Willie did take back the racism charge. And apologized to all parties.
He’s still thin-skinned and defensive. But his retraction and apology are good enough for me.
I agree, the guy apologized and took back what he said. What more do we want, Blood?
I hear Capt. Queeg trying to cover up his paranoid delusions.
SNY made me look like a bad manager! There were more strawberries, we must search the ship for the key to the storeroom!
Willie,
First of all guy don’t start every sentence of a memorized or read statement with, “I.” It sounds as bad as it looks written.
Second, guy you’re fired. Once you have to apologize for race comments… you were getting fired anyway.
‘You “raced,” your way to the finish line.
Clearly, Maneul auditioned for your job by getting thrown out of the NYY game.
See you by June 10th, Manuel.
Warm Regards,
E B F
PS … I’m “white” and I never thought of you as “black.”… I encourage you to get some cognitive behavioral therapy to control outbursts about what your interpretation of other people’s interpretations may be. It will help you dispute irrational beliefs. I like you Willie, however, I’m just being honest overall.
Good post ebfnyc.
I agree with you, once you have to apologize for race comments the writing is on the wall.
That was probably the worst possible thing he could have said (along with dissing Mets fans) and probably the straw that will break the proverbial cammel’s back.
I get the feeling he is amost purposely self-destructing.
Thanks Pgiro.
“Hey, maybe I’ll go apologize for race comments while my team continues to fail and expect to keep my job.”
I agree with you. Maybe he can’t handle the heat so he subconsciously dropped this bomb.
OR
maybe … but probably not … he dropped a race bomb to NOT get fired. Could he sue for first amendment infringement if he is fired now or is that just an assumption and not applicable? I’m not a laywer. lol.
Still his apology is as lame as his mediocre style and his pensive look from the dugout during all plays.
Also, we can’t trust a word he says after pretending the late 07 Mets weren’t like being shot and stabbed by every possible Spooky Mr Met Darth Vader-like nemesis.
A month or so ago, during the civil rights game, Randolf had permission to talk about the fact that he’s a black person in a game owned by white people.
But now if he mentions it, it’s irresponsible and wrong.
That doesn’t make sense. And it demonstrates how careful people of color have to be while working in a game owned by white people.
And, it’s true what Willie pointed out:
A white manager that can’t control his temper is seen as passionate. A black person in our society who loses his temper is a threat and dangerous.
How many outright racist comments have we had over the years from people in baseball about blacks and latinos?
Let it go. He’s under pressure. And I’m sure that none of you could handle it with such grace and professionalism.
“The Coup” — a rap group that featured an exploding WTC on an album cover.
We have seen very few to no racist comments. No one said he was a threat or dangerous. You obviously try to find racism wherever you look. My advice is to give people the benefit of the doubt, just for one day, and see where it gets you.
I apologize, “The Coup.” Years ago, we did see many, many racist comments, and they were wrong. For years, though, it’s been getting better, to the point where if someone did an Al Campanis today, he’d be driven out of the game . . . you know, like Al Campanis was TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO.
I have a question to all the Willie haters. I know Willie isn’t doing a great job managing. But honestly if we fire him, who are we going to replace him as manager? I don’t think Jerry Manuel can lead this team and I don’t think we can hire the manager of the triple a team and the double a team.
vote for pedro
or darkstar
Sigh. “Haters.” Stretch your vocabulary.
Someone (Manuel? HoJo? Oberkfell?) would take over on an interim basis. The search could then begin in earnest for a season replacement, to be reevaluated at the end of the year.
K. Hernandez short term while they negotiate to bring Bobby V back. Or Oberkfell.
Anyone. Period. Maybe my 12-year old’s Little League coach. Couldn’t do any worse.
Call it spin…call it crap…call it whatever you want…but can this just really be the end of this? He took ownership over the words – he apologized for saying the things he said – let’s move on….please!
Let’s get these next 2 games and go into Colorado with a mini-streak going….
Everybody…say it with me….Let’s Go Mets!
LET’S GO METS!
Agree completely. Let’s put this story to bed and argue about whether or not Jose should be dancing more or less.
Let’s go Mets.
Yes Willie appologized for his comments. He took responsibility for his comments, then denied that he “played the race card” or that he believes race is an issue. Well Willie which is it? So far he said he thought race was an issue. Took responsibility and then denied the comment and said he didn’t believe race was an issue. Huh?
By the way I stand by my comments unless they become a problem then I deny making them or believing what I’m saying.
whatever… hit the citi bricks
Well, he owned up which was good. Hey, it was bound to happen that he would crack like his predecesors. Managing in NY is tough, especially when you’re losing.
he owned up but then later said something different. He said ” he didn’t think mets fans are racists and then later said he just thought he was talking off the record and just talking with a friend.
What is it Willie.. It can’t be both..
You never say ANYTHING non-PC when in company of friends? I find that hard to believe
Know what this was? A manager with a spotlight on him making a very dumb mistake…..but it also was a NY beat reporter trying to make a bigger name for himself among the many, MANY other great writers in this city…plain and simple
If I was the manager of a NY team and my job could be online and the friend I was talking to happened to be a reporter, I would be careful about what I said.
Ruach2,
If I am speaking with a friedn and being non-PC, then I am saying what I actually feel, right?
Well, then:
1.) He actually belives that racism and SNY camerawork are to blame for the criticism he is receiving. Somebody cast this guy as Captain Queeg in the remake of The Caine Mutiny. He is a case study in paranoia.
and
2.) His apology is total hogwash and spin to cover up what he really thinks.
I’m listening. He really sounds like a broken man. I feel bad for the guy. Having said that, he deserves to go – not for these stupid comments, but for the way his team has underperformed for the past year.
Yup — and I feel worse for the guys who were passed over to give him the job. He’ll make a fine bench coach somewhere.
Send him out to LA with torre
I am a pacifist by nature with a deep Quaker belief in the sanctity of human life. I wish I had a choice but to FIRE WILLIE.
“Omar – spare this man. This man, William Randolph – Willie, I call him – he’s a great manager back in New York. A city in which, as you probably know, thousands of Met fans are in dire need of a winning ballclub. This man’s firing, I’m afraid, would be a crushing blow to whatever small hopes they might have for a trip to the playoffs.”
That was it? The dental thing?!?
I’m a dead man!
Toasty, I insist on at least a blindfold for Willie here.
That dental speech might be my favorite part in the movie. Especially the look Falk gives Arkin right after he finishes.
I’ll tell you something else Señor Toasty, I don’t believe in this crap anymore.
It used to be like cowboys and Indians.
Now…
I almost died for the international monetary system. What the hell is that???
BTW, my name is Kornpett. I’m a D.D.S. in the greater New York area.
I reside in New Jersey. And I’m a normal
and patriotic American citizen.
Good night. Go Mets.
gents…this quote and further discussion makes me feel proud to be a metsblogger, and moreso, an american, lol
Yes he did.
Listen to the entire interview. You clearly missed the key points.
Maybe he’s pulling an Ozzie Guillen here?
No, I don’t just mean that he’s going crazy. Maybe he realizes there’s a lot of pressure at the moment (duh) and is trying to move the conversation from the team’s struggles to his struggles?
The more we talk about Willie, the less we talk about the players themselves.
Wow. Willie’s advocates can really go to extremes. Yes — making a complete arse of himself was all part of a selfless master plan to take pressure off of the team by creating a media circus.
It can’t hurt.
Willie’s said “the right thing” over and over, every step of the way. To the point that he just appeared silly last year, saying “we’re in great shape”, “the champagne will taste that much sweeter”, etc.
I’m not saying that making an arse of himself is the right move, but for everyone yelling at Willie for being stubborn, at least it’s something new.
I’m pretty neutral on Willie, personally. But everyone’s hero here, Bobby V, was constantly saying the wrong things to the media.
Bobby V was good with a team of overachievers, bad after they had achieved. He gets jealous of his players.
I’m really hoping we win five of six or so and can just put all of this behind us (for now.) If Willie was doing any of this to deflect attention from his team (and I think there’s about a 0.0001% chance that the thought entered his head, but just for the sake of argument. . . .) we can hope he’s learned his lesson — the whole organization is whipped up in any media storm.
worked out ok when he was playing for Bily Martin though
Paid Like Mike Gallego……are you Willie Randolph, or just really satisfied right now?
Posted by Paid Like Mike Gallego
2008-05-21 15:46:35
He probably won’t do this but my advice to Willie would be to apologize for creating an unnecessary distraction. It’s obvious that he’s frustrated with how the team is playing and in turn how the fans and media are reacting to the team’s mediocre play. Tell the fans that he let his frustration get the better of him and that it won’t happen again and that his focus is on doing whatever is necessary to get this team to play much better. Finally, he should tell the fans that he understands and feels their frustration but that he and the Mets will need their support in order to achieve the ultimate goal that we (ownership, GM, manager, players and fans alike) share: winning the World Series.
Lol. Personally, I like Willie and hope the team gets hot immediately. If they don’t, he should lose his job. If he were fired today, I’d understand it as well but I feel this subject of his job security has been talked to death. At some point, we just need to wait for the team to either play better or to the date Willie gets fired. Talking about it everyday distracts from where our focus as fans should be which is the actual games.
yup thats how i feel. i like him alot. i like the job he has done and i think its well enough for the team to succeed, and they have not done so.
i still dont understand why the fans are still so upset about last year.
i understand some of the frustration in that this year’s team has played some games that are reminiscent of September 2007. that said, dwelling on the past isn’t going to help the Mets win games in 2008. Red Sox fans (pre-2004) dwelled on past failures too much and helped create an environment that wasn’t helpful for the team (i.e., going to games and waiting for the other shoe to drop). at some point, we all need to move on. otherwise, you end up being miserable all the time. for me, watching baseball is supposed to be fun. sure, it sucks when they lose but the day losses bother me more than they bother the players is the day i hang it up.
Very good interview by willie randolph and he answered all the quetions with legitimate answers and Willie really was on point.
Great. Will work well as an exit interview.
willie apologized to everyone and that transcript is not entirely accurate here is the opening.. There has been a couple of sleepness nights for ah,i talked to my pastor, my family and friends. I just want to be able to speak my peace and get something off my chest. First of all guys. I just want to apologize to Met ownership Fred, Jeff and Sal Katz, SNY and a brief pause and to my team.. never a mention of the fans.
did he offend you somehow?
your darn right he offended me.. his excuse for the the fans were in hiding before he got there. His explanation was laughable and not once did he apologize to the fans for this crap.
mets fans were full of shame at how their team played after the 2000 world series. man, i remember going to a game in sept against the phillies where there were probably 8000 people there. we were not happy with the direction of the team.
xmulderx,
please reply with your address and Mr. Randolph will send you a personal letter of apology. While I think Willie is a little too sensitive. I think fans are being too sensitive with respect to the “hiding” comment. There were Mets fans who were in “hiding” If the shoe doesn’t fit, you shouldn’t take offense.
need writers
metsfansforever.com
wesommer@gmail.com
email me
Willie’s comments will not satisfy all of his detractors no matter what he says, so let’s just move on and support our, yes our team and if they tank then he will be gone but sheesh, put this willie stuff to a rest, PLEASE!
Two ways to put it to rest….start winning games (hasnt happened) Fire Willie….(will happen soon)
That was a pretty quick 180 there. It’s too late, Willie. The bells are ringing; you’ve dicked around long enough.
This long, excurciating goodbye is pointless. Just cut the cord already!
*excruciating
Aside: Shouldn’t the polls start at zero, not 1? Since they are represented as a percentage, right now, the lowest option is one (or 10%) with the highest option being 10 (or 100%). It skews the math and the results. How many of the plurality who chose one today would choose zero if given the option?
i brought this up last night. it is simply a math issue.
Just get rid of him already. Close the circus that this team has become. And…since the game thread isn’t up and I’m out the door…LETS GO METS!!!
I’m taking tonight off. I need a break from this nonsense.
Leave the Poor Man alone… Go Willie~
Yes Go Willie….go far away…………
Anyone who blames all of the Mets’ problems on Willie doesn’t know sh*t about baseball. I’m so sick of the WFAN culture of change for the sake of change. The Knicks have made a lot of changes since 2000 — a lot of good it’s done them.
I didn’t get to listen to the interview yet. Can someone tell me (truthfully) if he seemed like he was sorry for what he said, or sorry that it was printed? From the comments it’s hard to tell. It does make a difference. I’ll listen to it after the game, but I’d like to know which one seemed to be true.
And if he did seem like he was truly sorry for what he said, I hope that can be the end of it. There’s a game tonight. They should forget about the media and go out and win it.
i want him gone…i am one of the fans who was never too fond of him because i always have and always will consider him a yankee…of course it was hard to dislike him in 2006 but i was more upset by the series loss to the cards than by the collapse last season…the only way to put this behind us is to put willie behind us…all this being said of course i still want the mets to win…its a visceral thing…but i will try and pay less attention (which is hard because i have season tix)…i thought this metsfan stuff was supposed to be fun…
Willie said stupid things, but he clearly thought he was off the record. In fact, the Bergen County Record clown is really looking bad right now.
Willie handled this interview correctly. And props to M&MD as well.
But we all know the ONLY way for Willie to make things right is to win some ballgames.
This team has not had a 6 game winning streak since Beltran’s walkoff against Izzy in August 2006. There is something wrong, Willie. Fix it. And don’t be afraid to ask for help, you stuborn [blank] .
If he said it was off the record, then even though the things he said were wrong, they never should have seen the light of day. If he apologized, then that needs to be the end of it. Win some ballgames and forget about this crap.
yes…I’m on the brink of exhaustion. Imagine how rough it is for Willie and the players?
Just win some games. I would love to root for WIllie, but he has made it so tough this past year. Have a gameplan and MAKE your players execute it, Willie. Stop being outmangaed by the opposition every night.
agreed.
I don’t see how the Bergen guy looks bad. Keep in mind that Willie is lying in order to save his job. Also, this is all on tape, so if I was the journalist, I would produce the tape and then everyone can tell if it was “off the record”.
There was a report in a paper today, I forget which one, where another reporter wrote that he was standing there while the interview was going on, and it looked to him like everything was “on the record”.
If Willie is now trying to blame the Bergen paper, he can expect the reporter to defend himself now, and this will not go away. No journalist is going to let a crazy man like Randolph publically call him a liar.
willie should be fired and replaced with some fire.
Bobby V comes to mind.
The one thing they didn’t ask on the Fan is that after Willie knew the Delgado home run call was bad, why didn’t he go back out and complain until they changed the call or he got thrown out. For 3 runs it was worth it.
Seriously who cares that randolph didnt get thrown out of a game? Over a home run call…it doesn’t prove anything. I still fail to realize how Randolph is at fault for Beltran and Delgado not hitting..its really not his fault that reyes looks lost at the plate.
Can anyone remind me of that big 2-out hit with runners on that Willie didn’t come through on? What about that time Willie took his eye off the ball and it skipped under his glove on what should have been the 3rd out. Oh, and remember when Willie came in the the 7th a 1-run lead and gave up a 2-run homer?
Yeah…me neither, cause it didn’t happen. You know why? Becaue Willie’s a manager, be’s in the dugout the whole time. It’s the players that play the game, and they’re the ones not coming through when in matters. Time to shift the blame to the people who are responsible.
You’re right. Since he doesn’t play he has absolutely no negative effect on this team whatsoever.
No, not no negative effect whatsoever. It’s just that the portion of critisism directed at Willie is much greater than his overall effect on their win/loss record as compared to the players.
Its odd, after hearing Willie’s interview with Birkhardt in the dugout I feel a little better about Willie as a man, and as a manager. But it felt like that conversation you have after the break up, where you clerify what was said, apologize for the insults, and go your separate ways. But Willie is still here… it certainly felt like the end of his tenure as Mets manager.
Willie is so full of crap, it’s laughable. He’s saying anything now just to try to save his job.
How is this any better if he thought his remarks were off the record?! That is insane.
So if he’s running around behind the scenes telling everyone he thinks he’s a victim of racism, then that’s fine. But if he says it on the record, then that’s bad?
Furthermore, he apologized to everyone under the sun, except for the fans.
Randolph is delusional, unstable, and he turned all this into a personal thing with the fans. So good, it’s personal now, I can’t stand him anymore, and I want him canned.
I don’t care who they get, I want Willie fired for being unprofessional, incompetent, and an embarrassment to this franchise.
Willie,
Your spot to get thrown out of a game was the NYY game and the Delgado HR.
I wanted to get thrown out of that game. All of us did. Every Mets fan was thinking that, that was your cue to throw a base, throw a bat, throw something.
Were you afraid Manuel would manage and get the win and look good? In the end he got thrown out in your spot. I guess it was a lose/lose for you.
Then to go blame the Mets fans and race was very silly. You also blamed SNY. Always ask yourself, would Joe Torre say this? He is a master at not saying anything and still looking cool. That’s why he has such a big head and caps dont fit him.
I hope your three-year-contract with the Mets paid enough to keep you from giving seminars about how not to apologize. Let’s go Met’s.
EBF
The team looks lethargic, borderline comatose. Willie has tried every weapon in his vast arsenal of cliches to light a fire under “his guys” but nothing has worked. I know that a manager gets too much blame for losing and too much credit for winning but I’ve never had the feeling that having Willie in our dugout gives us any advantage at all.