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David Wright, regarding today’s drama involving Willie Randolph, while talking to reporters before today’s game:
“As players, we need to pick up our teammates, and Willie is one of our teammates and we need to go out there and play better. Wins solve everything.”
Billy Wagner, on the same subject, also before game:
“If Willie could pitch and he could catch, he would. You know, we have to play well for him. Every one knows, when the team plays well the manager looks good and when you play bad the manager looks bad. It has nothing to do with manager. We haven’t held up our end of the bargain.”
Carlos Delgado, on the current state of the team, talking to reporters prior to tonight’s game:
“I think we need to be responsible, and turn it up a notch and do whatever we need to do on the field to win some games.”
SI.com’s Jon Heyman then asked Delgado what he thinks of the situation, and whether he believes that Randolph should remain as the team’s manager, to which Delgado responded…
“I’ll tell you what I think, we need to play better. This is not about the manager. I’m not in the position to think or not think, they don’t pay me to think. They pay me play baseball.
Asked to answer the part of the question regarding Randolph, 
Delgado told Heyman, “If you wanna be an ass, I can be an ass too.”
Carlos Beltran, asked a similar question, said:
“We have to go out there and play the game. He has done his job. The thing is, when the team is winning, the manager always looks good. When they’re losing, the manager always gets the blame. I believe it should be the players. We’re the ones that are going out there and not playing at the level that we should be playing.”
Asked why more players are not coming out and demanding that Randolph keep his job, Beltran said:
“That’s not in our hands…It’s not my decision.”
…woh…okay, then…well, that is not exactly a whole ton of support now is it…message received…
…the thing is, who cares if some players support willie and some players do not…this isn’t a popularity contest…
…for these guys, it is about winning and playing exciting, entertaining baseball…end of story…if they win and hate their boss, or they lose and love him, it’s all the same…wins, and fun…that’s what counts…i could care less if they all get along…
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you’ll find the exact same comments and worse when Davey Johnson’s head was on the block nearly two decades ago, contrary to Darryl Strawberry’s awful memory of his own misgivings.
same with Bobby Valentine in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 when his job was on the line each and every year.
you also would have heard the exact same (if not much worse) comments from the Giants players a year ago about Tom Coughlin. Worked out for them…
I don’t think the players could have made a response that would not have been picked apart by the media for one reason or another.
I liked that fact that the players took responsibility. That is a healthy team for doing so, and referring to Willie as a team mate.
I for one do blame Willie for certain things, but I do not blame Willie for everything. Is this a run away team? I dont think so. This is a team that was built more on age than youth, and the team (and fans) are paying for it.
Fault has to go equally to Omar for fielding an aged team, and not having adequate back up.
Who could have predicted that Wright would fall off. Or were we wrong to assume that he would continue his hot ways.
Delgado is not the same since 2006. There was no indication that he would return. Though is HR total is quietly increasing, his average is woeful.
Alou cant stay on the field. That is an Omar issue. Especially since Alou was expected to provide offense.
Who could have expected injury to Church? No one. But then again, who would have expected at the beginning of the season, that Church would have the year he is having and not a member of a platoon?
Who would have expected Pedro to get hurt in his first game, or El Duque not to be ready for the start of the season? Omar should have given their track records. Sure starting pitching has not been that bad, but we have been lucky.
Who would have thought Heilman would be such a head case? No one.
Defense, that is an issue. Too many errors. Perhaps Willie should be held responsible for that.
Offense, that is a HoJo issue as well as a Willie issue. Should Hojo’s head role too?
What i am trying to show is that Willie is not solely to blame. There are things that have occurred that are partly Omar’s fault and some no one’s fault.
The media will not let you see that. They are all over Willie, and Matt seems to be on that band wagon.
One thing I hope he realizes is that when he speaks on SNY he is there to speak for the fans, not himself. I hope he reads the responses on with respect to blame and reports accordingly.
so instead of giving credit to the players for saying it’s their responsibility, you’re going to create some sort of controversy and imply that they don’t support Willie. Good job there Matt.
How is it creating controversy? Everyone reading that will obviously take it as the players not rallying to defend Willie. Don’t make Matt out to be something he isn’t. To quote Delgado, if you want to be an a**, I can be an a**, too.
I did not take it that way either.
Uh no. The players comments don’t read to me like they are not rallying around Willie.
Wright, Reyes and Wagner have already been personally supportive of Willie. That’s enough for me.
Wright gave an ambivalent statement saying it’s a separation of powers that decides Willie’s fate. Beltran gave an equally ambivalent response.
Did you see them say this or just read it? I saw it. They definitely came across as not being excited or happy Willie didn’t go.
Did you miss Wright’s unequivocal support of Willie during the last few weeks? Are you saying because he didn’t reiterate those statements today that now they don’t count?
And this is what Reyes said this past week:
“He’s one of the best guys in the game,” Reyes said. “I love Willie. We are the ones to play. He don’t play. He has to make the decisions. We’re the ones performing in the field.”
Wagner has also been clear he doesn’t think Willie should be fired.
John Delcos on his blog said that if there are players who don’t like a manager, usually you would hear whispers by now. He says he hasn’t heard anything.
Also,, you would have players giving anonymous quotes critical of the manager. We haven’t seen any.
There just isn’t any evidence that players don’t like him. There is some evidence that at least a few like him.
Seems like you Willie critics are trying too hard to make something of nothing.
The “something”: a glimmer of hope. The “nothing”: the manager.
Is anybody on the Mets payroll paid to think?
does anyone on the mets payroll know how to think?
Fred Jeff and Omar just made a move that will not only hurt the franchise but will destroy the fans and players already fading relationship.
Shea is going to be brutal, dark and unmerciful. We don’t have much left. David already looks like he’s 55 years old. He’s exhausted from all this. For the future of this team and the young superstars you needed to make a change. David looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. This was supposed to be fun! Now fans are so fed up and the players look like there ready for the offseason. This is too much pressure… Just by dragging this out you are securing that even a new manager will struggle to be able to get these guys going again. David is clearly not ready to be a leader. He’s too young and new york is too intense.
That last line by Matt makes me for the first time question his motive. None of these players said anything negative about Willie. They are right it’s not up to them, it’s their responsiblity to play better.
Matt, it seems like you are trying to spin these comments into a lack of direct support for Willie … as if you personally are upset Willie wasn’t fired today.
But that’s not fair to spin the comments. I bet there are very few managers today where a lot of the players feel personally tied to them. You might have had that with Torre and some longtime Yankees but that’s because he went through a few championship seasons with them. But otherwise, forget it. It rarely exists.
You will always have a few players who directly go to bat for a manager and we’ve already had that for Willie with comments by Wright, Reyes and Wagner. What more do you want?
Exactly has it ever occured that some players are like me and could not care less who the manager is because they realize it’s their problem?
The press will ask all 25 guys looing for what they want…and if they have to run with “Tatis thinks Willie Should Go” or “Nick Evans No Fan of Willie!” they will.
At the end of the day, there was no story coming out of today’s meeting, and these guys are going to do whatever they can to find one.
Seems pretty obvious Delgado was dodging Heyman’s direct question regarding Willie. Also doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Willie has lost the Latino players. Reyes gave a canned comment of support he knows his buddy Wright would’ve given. How he truly feels we don’t know. But w/ all the Bernazard talk that came out last year- it seems somewhere along the line Willie lost the Latin players. Feliciano badmouthed him in 06. Franco was let go, in part, because of it too. Word was he was undermining Willie by 2nd guessing everything he did.
Stupid question for the press to ask, but we can’t expect any better. I’d honestly rather watch more “Beer Money” (where they ask 90% Yankees trivia questions – gotta love SNY) than watch losers like Jon Heyman digging around for a “scoop.” No wonder players hate these guys.
I think Pelfrey has to be pitching for his spot in the rotation if Pedro is truly going to be ready soon. I’d much rather see Vargas – who may have the 2nd most career wins on the current rotation (I’d have to check his numbers vs. Ollie) – than Pelfrey right now. Vargas has proven to be a pro who knows what he’s doing out there…and a nice pickup by Omar.
I read it as them taking responsibility for their actions and deflecting the blame from Willie. I don’t see what you say they’re saying.
blah blah blah blah, BS BS BS BS. Show us something Mets, have the guts to prove everyone wrong since the ownership clearly doesn’t have the balls to fire Willie
Firing people is mean.
OK Jose, way to settle down the boo birds.
I know the team doesn’t have a stretching coach, but do they have a team psychiatrist?
Julio Franco
Another unearned run courtesy of Mr. Jose Reyes. Way to get the homestand started off right, boys.
Finding it very hard to like this kid right now…maybe I need to see one his commercials again to remember he’s supposed to be a superstar.
We all knocked that column by Wallace Matthews (I think), but he really does look like his head isn’t in the game, or anywhere near the tri-state area, in fact.
This team is running to stand still.
They have NO IDEA how to fix this. NOT A CLUE!
Look Mets! Good things can happen when you put the ball in play!
I’d complain about how often this team gets dinked so much if they didn’t strike out so many times themselves. And if they didn’t give away so many outs.
Can’t wait to see Jose swing out of his shoes 3 minutes from now. This is his SIXTH season in the majors and he hasn’t matured a lick.
Happy to look bad for the above.
You don’t look bad. He’s been swinging the bat better, but his fielding and baserunning have regressed to A-ball.
I agree, they need a sports Psychologist to overcome this collective performance anxiety they suffer. They need to find the fun again..
Correction Matt; you couldn’t care less
i hate when people say “I could care less.” It’s so annoying.
are nick evans and kevin burkhardt related???
I just tuned into SNY to watch Beer Money. Why is this crappy baseball team on???
fire the fat bald guy from Beer Money. keep the whore. put her in charge of Mets morale.
with a comment like that, i’m shocked that your handle has anything to do with alcohol.
On ESPN.com their poll question asks if Willie should of been been fired today with 60% saying no and 40% saying yes
The 60% are fans of other NL teams.
lol
Fire.
Who would you prefer to run the team. Who is out there right now that would be a good manager…dont say one of the coaches underneath willie, because they are just as responsible as he is. Dont say Gary Carter because the man obviously does not know what hes doing making comments the way he is. There is no one out there right that fits the mets…if you think so…name people…id be interested to know who you think
Well we tried, but we’re down 6-3. Boo-hoo for us! Sleepy time now. See you tomorrow.
By the way, Mike Pelfrey SUCKS. I’ve seen enough of this big, dumb, doofus and his “good stuff.” MOVE ON.
hey gipper, what happened,willie is still here.haha
OK Let’s talk about race. It’s a fact. Minaya fills the roster with Latino (and aging) players. This ballclub is old. Predominantly Latino. Why doesn’t Minaya just get a Latino manager? Preferably an older Latino. I got nothing against nobody. I wanna see the Mets win a World Series, that’s all. Let’s just come out and say it. New York Metinos all the way. Then there would be a common first language in the locker room, the buffet table would be interesting, they would actually have an identity and think of all the political ramifications!!!!
Ja wohl
The fish rots from the head . . . and it’s not Willie, it’s the Wilpons. They operate scared. They need a team president that oversees the baseball operations, including Omar. (I don’t really know if Saul Katz is just really good at keeping a low profile, or if he’s not concerned with the baseball side, but they need some sort of baseball person as a check on the GM.) I think they’re paralyzed because they can’t tell who to hold responsible and they don’t want to be seen as hasty or “overreacting.” Sometimes, guys, the manager really does have to go, and the team of overpriced veterans really is ridiculously poorly conceived. You’d think the Mets, of all organizations, would understand that. In such instances, the worst action you can take is inaction. I can see having more patience with Omar, but Willie HAS to go, and Omar HAS to be on notice.
Per the topic of the post. Guys, there is no way a player who isn’t a complete arse is going to say in an interview that the manager needs to be fired. There will be a spectrum from lukewarm support to passionate support. Lukewarm support is the worst you’re going to see. Reading the quotes, I agree with Matt. That’s what we saw.
if you fired Willie, who would you like to see as the next manager? I think overreacting would have been firing him after last season, they have given him a chance, so who would you like to see?
Delcrappo……..very funny nickname
OMG how g a y is Giuseppe Franco?
I’m so sick of seeing this f’ing commercial.
It sounds like everyone is frustrated at the press and themselves. It is weird though the way some people don’t directly stand behind Willie, I’m not sure what to make of it despite what everyone says. Billy is the only one solidly behind him, but being the closer, he has a very different perspective.
Finally, something to be proud of at Shea.
God Bless!
Tomorrow, we will pause to remember the perennial contender we thought we were getting 2 years ago.
This team is hilarious.
You can’t compare this to the Giants. Shockey, Strahan, etc….. All said Cougnlin should of been back. I can show the quotes if you like
I’ve never disliked a Met team more than this one right now. Not in 1992, not in 2002, not ever.
This team is an absolute, complete, unmitigated joke. This game was over in the THIRD INNING. I honestly don’t care what they do, becasue as the Wilpon’s try to maintain this absurd, false sense of stability, this team is crumbling down around them, just in time for their new Dodgers Stadium.
This team literally makes me want to vomit.
the ‘win now’ mentality that only the Mess can truly employ.. just doesn’t work. you would think that someone would realize that.
the fact is.. that the debt owed for the magic of 1986 is a lifetime of disappointment… and a nice thorough range of it too. dizzying highs and horrific lows.. but ultimate disappointment.
this team has a lot of dead weight…. from the front office down to luis castillo’s terrific four-year contract.
The biggest problems is Del-Gotta-Go. He NEVER wanted to come to NY and is just riding out his time. He does not like or even respect Omar or Tony B and makes not attempt to conceal that fact. Omar should be blamed for arrogantly trying to force a player to fit where he could not; shouldn’t the fact that Delgado originally chose to go hide out with the Marlins have set off alarm bells?
I’m sick of Gary “upper deck” Cohen talking about this Willie crap during the 8th inning. These guys are driving me nuts at this point. He is too chipper about these mets and dis-interested. The announcers are starting to sound like they don’t care either. What the hell is going on in Shea? The fan’s booing, the team making errors, etc. At least Heilman pitched well after he thought he was going to triple A. The Mets need to send a message and soon. This is going to get worse before it gets better.
And why should they care? The games suck!
Tell me, as soon as the Mets went down 6-3, did you honestly believe that they would mount a comeback? Be honest.
They never do! this team never, ever, ever, ever… EVER mounts a comeback! Down by a couple in the 5th and most fans have no faith.
Is that fun to watch? Is that fun to announce? Hey, if they’re gonna lose every game, at least try to compete!
Maybe the only way to hurt them is if you are at a game and they are down by the 5th is to leave.
Once they see beer sales and concession sales dipping maybe then they will do something.
I bet day of game ticket sales are already dropping.
this is what $137 million buys you.
time to fire Omar and Willie.. and see if you can get some good value for Beltran.
40% of their last 161 games.. they’ve scored 3 runs or less.
Well they sure didn’t show much tonight.
Their words do not match their play which is a vote of no confidence.
I am finally on the side that something has to change. Willie, Hojo, Peterson. Choose one or more.
I’d love to see them justify the 25% increase in tickets after a losing season.
We stink now and it’s time to make a serious visible change. To me, that means fire Willie. There is zero confidence in this man. What is the point of keeping him? A fire needs to be lit under the butts of these players and Willie ain’t the man to do it. The longer the Wilpons wait, the deeper the hole we dig for ourselves. This really sucks. I’ve loved this team since 1962 and now I can’t even come close to enjoying their games. Depressing.
one of my problems with Willie is, all is does is write down a lineup, Church is out, Alou is out, so does he adjust his style of managing? how about using our speed, Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Wright, maybe some hit and runs, stealing more often, instead of waiting for the 3 run homer, how about manufacturing runs,… Pelfrey needs to go down, keep Vargas up, he throws strikes, how about Ken Oberkfell as the next manager? , he knows the organization, plus if you don’t think that the clubhouse is waiting for the axe to fall, your crazy, the team needs that cloud lifted over its head, make Heilman a starter, he seems happier, give him a shot
Wow, what support for Willie! They do a lot of talking and go out and stink up the joint- AS USUAL.
Cretins, one and all.
‘I don’t get paid to think, I get paid to play baseball”……..looks like you’re doing neither, jerkstore.
To all of the Mets: Just shut the f**k up please. You may stink it up playing, but at least I don’t have to listen to your meaningless cliches anymore you gutless pieces of choking scum
It just goes to show you, that this team doesn’t support Willie, Ken Oberkfell , bring him up, a team takes on the personality of its manager, and Willie is boring, and bland, so you have a boring and bland team
TO THE NY METS: YOU ALL SUCK. BEEN A LIFE LONG FAN BUT NOW ..NO MORE.,.HEY FREDDY..JEFFY??? WAS GOING TO PURCHASE 4 SEASON TIX TO CITIFIELD BUT GUESS WHAT? NOT GOING TO DO IT. THIS TEAM IS A DISGRACE. YOU GAVE THESE OVERPAID PRIMADONNAS FAT CONTRACTS: DELGADO (OLD AND DONE); CASTILLO (PLEEEEASE..OK I GET THE SANTANA LOBBY CONNECTION BUT THIS DOOSHBAG IS GETTING HOW MUCH FOR 4 YEARS????); BELTRAN (DOESNT CARE – HE HAS HIS MONEY HE HAS HIS NEW KID…NONPRODUCER) REYES??? (DUMMY…TO MUCH HYPE TOO STUPID ON THE BASES)..I COULD GO ON AND ON..YOUR TEAM SIMPLY SUCKS. WAS PLANNING TO GO TO SEVERAL GAMES..NO MORE. TIRED OF WASTING MY TIME WATCHING THIS PATHETIC IMPLOSION.
HEY METS!!!!!: ENJOY YOUR MONEY. LOSERS. (DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON SANTANA, WHO HAS LOST VELOCITY AND WILL NEVER AGAIN BE WHAT HE WAS) I’M DONE HERE.. BYE BYE METS.
What lungs! What loyalty!
What a bore.
Matt basically has it right — over the past couple of seasons, only Wright and maybe one or two other guys have consistently spoken well of Willie.
Beltran’s remarks don’t surprise me, his relationship with Randolph supposedly has never been great.
Delgado has chutzpah — the organization (besides Wagner) has been kissing his rump in all the right places and he rewards them with thinly veiled non-support for the manager and another oh-fer tonight. He is practically begging for a trade to the American League and I hope they accommodate him. At least his uniform won’t need to be washed.
Today’s meeting translates as follows: We know Willie isn’t the right guy but there aren’t any good options right now (Gary Carter? Keith Hernandez? Take a sedative.). He’s too expensive to fire just for the sake of making a statement, and ultimately it’s on the players anyway.
Hate to admit it, but I find it hard to argue with any of this.
Don’t kid yourselves — the Wilpons aren’t thinking interim manager, they are thinking regime change (which means Omar and Willie both go) but that can’t be done overnight. They also know they have a much better shot at getting the GM/manager combo they want after the season is over. Given what they have at stake over the next few years, it makes no sense to try a short term fix just to pacify Carmine from Queens (”Hey Dog, I dink it’s dat freakin Strawberry, ya know?”).
I thought “Beer Money” was that straight to video softball flick with Artie Lange. Guess I was wrong.
how about Ken Oberkfell, won minor league manager of the year in 2005, has paid his dues, Larry Bowa( he did wonders with Cano, maybe could help Reyes), HoJo, I love you as a player, but a new batting coach is needed, Tony Pena is another option
Oberkfell — keep hearing a lot of good things about him but I just don’t see it happening while Omar is there. And will the vets respond mid-season to a guy whose never managed in the bigs?
Bowa — good baseball man but a seizure waiting to happen, especially with this group. Don’t think so.
HoJo — here I agree with you — nice guy but should be playing charity slo-pitch softball and making occasional appearances on infomercials.
Pena — I guess the assumption is that no one could have done any better in KC. Might be true, but do you make this hire if you’re not sure about the GM?
Thats pretty funny discription of Bowa, but maybe they need that, Bowa is like Valentine, a short term solution, but maybe a little time with Torre has mellowed him out, remember Francona did pretty well after being released from Philly, and the Mets need that clubhouse shaken’ not stirred, somebody who was scrappy, can adjust to injuries, Willie just writes out lineup cards, and I never respected that he refused to go to the minors to manage, Ken Oberkfell had a very nice career as a player, and paid his dues, a la Jim Leyland, Mike Trembley, Trey Hillman, from the qoutes I heard today, nobody respects Willie as a manager, including the fans
Gonna be a long long season….this team was once the most exciting team in baseball but 2006 seems as far away as 1986…
I think the Wilpons are to blame for the current state of the Mets as much as anyone. Since the mid 90s, the Mets have produced a handful of good players from their system. The organization has been very mismanaged from the top to the bottom.
Let’s face it. The Wilpons have been self-serving since day one when they refused to give the Sign Man free season tickets when he was such a prominent figure in Mets history. Now, they are modeling the new stadium after Ebbets Field when most Met fans could care less about the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Let’s go back to 2004. The Wilpons said they did not want Vlad Guerrero because he was too “injury prone.” They also said they were going to be rebuilding for the futrue. Later that season, the Wilpons coerced Duquette into unloading the entire prospect base for 2 very mediocre pitchers (Benson and Zambrano). It was only a year later when they allowed Omar to open up their purse to sign Pedro. This was the first of many signings of brittle, “injury prone” players. It is clear that they panicked because they are opening up their new cash cow and were quickly becoming irrelevant.
The reason why the organization was becoming irrelevant was because of years of bad decisions. It seems that everything was done in a half-assed manner. Let’s make up for the loss of Darrly Strawberry by signing an over-the-hill Vince Coleman and Hubie Brooks. Let’s make up for the loss of Mike Hampton by signing Kevin Appier and Steve Trachsel. It seems that the organization has done the bare minimum to show that they care.
With the new stadium on the horizon, they are trying to change their philosophy on a dime. You can not become a perennial contender in 2 years after years of striving to play “meaningful games in September” for so many years. They seem just as delusional and clueless as Willie.
I agree. Hey Wilpons !!! Blame yourselves. The Mets SUCK!!!!!
Take your Citifield, your overpaid team of primadonnas and stick it all up your A S S We are DONE with the METS.
GO YANKEES!!!!!!
what’s this “we” stuff, go Yankees? its the Red Sox and Rays in that division, you can have your Melky , and you better pray that Posada comes back, are they in any better shape than the Mets?
fire willie
oh