Daily Archives: June 13, 2008
In a report for SI.com, citing ‘sources,’ Jon Heyman writes, “Omar Minaya is seriously considering changing managers and at least a couple of the team’s coaches,” including Howard Johnson and Rick Peterson.
According to Heyman, if Randolph is fired, the job will go to Jerry Manuel, “who would be given the season to see whether he can turn things around.”
…thanks to Alon Rothschild for the link…
…from what i can gather, willie has one foot on a banana peel, and the other out the door…he has the support of minaya, and tentative support from the team’s ownership…the way i heard it, willie would get at least through the all-star break, unless of course his team went in to a serious downward spiral…i’m not so sure losing six of seven is such a spiral, but it’s a good start…
This morning on WFAN, host Craig Carton suggested that, not only should the Mets keep Randolph, but they should extend his contract – thus sending a signal to the team’s players stating, ‘You have no choice but to get your act together.’
…i feel bad for willie…i do…i just don’t think he has the right mix of players to fit his strengths as a manager…had Omar Minaya actually built the type of team he said he was going to build when he arrived here, i.e., young, fast, athletic, sustainable, etc., i think willie would have been a perfect fit…but, today, the fact is, the team is losing, and if it continues to lose, willie is going to pay for his player’s sins with his job…
Nevertheless, Randolph appeared to be in good spirits today, while doing an autograph signings at Macy’s.
…Update…1:20 pm…
In report for ESPN.com, citing ‘a baseball man who speaks regularly with Mets management,’ Jayson Stark writes that ‘Randolph is not going to be fired. Period.’
Tagged Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph |
Please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, new stadium, network, etc.:
[Poll=117]
In 65 games this season, during which he has played in every inning, Wright is batting .275 with 12 HR and 48 RBI.
Wright is on pace to hit roughly 30 HR this season, with 120 RBI, 20 stole bases and 100 runs scored.
However, he is batting just .180 in his last 10 games, during which the Mets are 3–7.
Wright has accounted for 11 percent of the team’s total at bats this season, yet has driven in 16 percent of their runs.
He is batting .238 with runners in scoring position, while Carlos Beltran is batting .274.
…wright did not look happy after popping out in the seventh inning yesterday, leaving the bases loaded…in fact, it looked like he was going to kill some one, or himself…he has a look in his eye of late, and his body language, that suggests he is trying to do it all himself, as if he must hit a five-run home run every time he steps to the plate – and he’s genuinely disappointed in himself when he doesn’t come through…
Following yesterday’s loss, despite Billy Wagner’s performance, Willie Randolph mostly talked to reporters about his team’s inability to ‘add on runs,’ saying:
“We’ve been missing a lot of opportunities lately…I think we had bases loaded with one out, another situation with men on first and second and none out, those are the times to keep playing, keep adding on and when you don’t it comes back to bite you.”
…this is true…but, a four-run lead should be enough…
The Mets have had a lead in five of the last seven games, during which they have lost six times.
In the case Randolph referenced, David Wright was up in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out, but could only deliver weak pop-out to second base.
…sure, i’d love to see wright get a hit there, naturally, but how about Joe Smith doesn’t give up two runs in the eighth, which was followed by wagner giving up two more in the ninth…
…one of the problems on this team is that, there is nobody in the bullpen that can just mow a batter down with a fastball…every one out there, even wagner at this point, relies on off-speed pitches, while wishing for pop ups and grounders, etc., which is fine at the start of the inning…however, there are times when a strike out is needed, especially from a reliever late in games, and the Mets do not have a single guy who is built to do this…so, if the on-call pitcher misses with a change-up, like Aaron Heilman or Pedro Feliciano, or smith misses with his slider, the batter gets a meatball to tee off on…
Yesterday, in the ninth inning, and the bases loaded, Orlando Hudson hit a ground ball to Jose Reyes, who fired home for the force out. Ramon Castro had a momentary chance to throw the ball to third base, for a possible double play. Castro did not make the throw.
The inning continued, and the run from third eventually scored, tying up the game.
“I didn’t think we had chance,” Castro said after the game.
…initially, i thought he should have made the throw…however, in watching it on television after the game, it appears that his momentum was pulling him towards first, plus he would have been making the throw flat-footed…it’s one of those plays, in that if the player isn’t absolutely positive he can make the throw, it makes more sense just to hold the ball…
Tagged Ramon Castro |Yesterday, Billy Wagner blew his third consecutive save, allowing two runs on two hits, after walking the lead-off hitter, in a game 
the Mets eventually lost in extra innings.
Wagner has allowed two hits and two runs in each of his last three appearances, all of which were blown saves, during which his ERA has jumped from 0.36 to 2.33 in the span of four days.
Wagner, talking to reporters after the game, said:
“I’m just not getting done. Really, I haven’t got an answer. I mean, it’s frustrating…to go out there and just stink. Sometimes you can go out there and say, ‘stuff happens,’ but this is ridiculous right now. I’m just awful…I’m sick to death just sitting there, to see what our team is doing, and have a chance to win, and I got out there and just suck…I can’t say a bad thing about our team, I suck. I just can’t get it done right now.”
David Wright, on Wagner, talking to reporters after the game:
“Billy is one of the best. He was lights out the beginning of the season. T his is just a little bump in the road. Billy is the least of our concerns.”
…wagner is having a rough patch…it happens…i suspect he has a bit of a dead arm in this is insane heat, because his velocity has been down and he’s been a bit wild…he walked the leadoff batter, which forced him to throw more in the zone, and without the bite or zip he usually has, guys are hitting him hard…earlier in the season, a lot of these hits are pop ups or weak ground balls…now they’re ripped in the corner and scoring runs…he’ll be fine, though…seriously, he’s the least of my worries when it comes to the Mets right now…
In yesterday’s loss to the D’Backs, Johan Santana pitched seven scoreless innings, while striking out 10 batters.
Santana has allowed one run or less in each of his last three starts, during which the Mets are 1–2.
His 2.85 ERA is seventh best in the National League.
Santana, speaking to reporters after the game, said:
“I felt good. I was doing my job, trying to hit the corners and mix up the pitches, but the bottom line here is that we didn’t win. That’s why it’s disappointing, because we lost a game we really needed. Coming into the game, I knew we’d have a pretty good chance to win the series and gain some ground. Unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
…he had a wicked change-up going yesterday…i was sitting in bleachers, essentially behind shortstop, and it was a great angle to see just how much distance there is between his ball and the hitter’s bat…some guys are just not even close, they’re a foot above the ball and a foot in front of it…it stinks losing, but it was a pleasure to actually see him work in person…
…my only complaint is that i would like to see him go deeper in to the game, though i guess that can be said for every starting pitcher…he had thrown 116 pitches by the end of the seventh inning…given the state of the team, how well he was pitching, and how badly they needed a win, i don’t understand why he is not run back out there…at that point, what’s another 10 pitches or so…that’s his job…to pitch…so, let him pitch…
Santana, on being removed from the game, while talking to reporters later in the day, said:
“This is a team effort. My teammates in the bullpen, they know exactly what they have to do. I trust every single player on this team. We had a plan, I was over 100 pitches and they decided that was good enough – and then they bring in the guys. I trust (our bullpen), and they’ve done it before in the past and just because of one game you can’t blame them. It’s just one game. You bounce back and start over again.”
To watch SNY.tv’s exclusive Post Game Extra, hosted by Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, including highlights and quotes from last yesterday’s loss against the D’Backs, click here:
