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With ‘buzz’ leaking out on Friday that Willie Randolph may be fired as early as Saturday if the Mets had lost their game to the Rangers, “Willie Watch” was in full effect, but now the story has turned into an embarrassing situation for the Mets.
Following yesterday’s doubleheader, Omar Minaya told reporters Randolph is the team’s manager ‘today,’ and that Randolph’s future with the club will continue to be evaluated.
Why do the Mets always seem to handle these situations poorly? They always seem to do things in an awkward manner that makes the franchise look foolish and inept.
It’s time for Omar Minaya and company to stop the nonsense, step up and make a decision on Randolph’s future.
This team needs to move forward, either with or without Randolph. However, by allowing their manager to ‘swing in the wind’ on a day-to-day basis, it is impeding their ability to move forward.
Instead of concentrating on improving this team, Minaya is having to answers questions on a daily basis about his manager’s future, which is also putting Randolph and his players in a unfair and awkward position.
Minaya’s indecisiveness is playing into the media’s hand and opening himself up to criticism from all corners of the baseball world.
The team has already handled the Ryan Church situation and subsequent roster moves in an embarrassing manner and now, by allowing ‘Willie Watch’ to enter into its fourth week, the Mets are looking foolish in a season in which they cannot afford to.
Dear Omar Minaya,
Please check the appropriate box:
___ Willie Randolph is our manager for the remainder of 2008. We will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season. Now let’s go win some games.
___ Willie Randolph has been relieved of his duties. Jerry Manuel been promoted to interim manager, and we will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season. Now let’s go win some games.
lol good one toasty. It feels like hes filling one of these out every other week
Forget blaming Willie, I think its Omar who should be on the hot seat!
Seriously, does Willie really have a $138 million payroll to play with?
Pitching staff (missing almost 21 million):
What if Pedro’s (and his $11,813,351) did not tear his hamstring and did not miss a start?
What if El Duque (and his $7,000,000) was not missing in action for the entire year?
(and don’t forget Wise, Burgos and Jvargas (and their $1,200,000, $415,000 and $394,000, respective) that has been missing.
Willie has been forced to use journeyman such as Figueroa, Garza.
Outfield (missing almost 10 million):
What if Alou (and his $7,500,000) did not suffer a hernia and calf injuries and did not miss a start?
What is Church (and his $2,000,000) did not suffer two concussions and did not miss a start?
What if back up Pagan (and his $401,500) did not hurt his shoulder and completely disappear?
Willie has been forced to use journeymen like Tatis, Clark and Nunez, and very green rookies like Evans and Aguilera.
Catcher (missing almost $2 million):
What if Ramon Castro (and his $1,975,000) was available for the entire season?
Willie has been forced to use journeymen like Casanova, Molina and Cancel.
First base (missing (not actually, but figuratively), $16,000,000)
What if Delgado (and his $16,000,000) did not continue to plummet from his pre-2006 levels?
Willie has been forced to play Delgado with his lower number definitely not worthy of the price tag he is owed.
If you tally that up that is $49 million missing from $138, which means Willie has been playing with a $90 million payroll.
Now sure, $90 million is still a decent payroll and all teams suffer injuries and are required to dip into their farm system (or make trades) a, but does Willie really have a farm to dip into?
The answer is no. Omar has traded away the farm to bring in players like Santana and Delgado. Trades that were all applauded at the time.
No one new that Delgado would fall so fast, or that our OFers would all suffer such injuries.
But if anyone is to take blame, it is not the Manager. It has to be the General Manager who affected the transactions that created the current roster and farm team.
I know I have been critical of Willie, but I don’t think he has had sufficient assets to play with due to all these injuries.
Omar gambled on aging players. And unfortunately, those players (Pedro, Alou, Delgado have either spent more of the time off the field than on, or just plain under performed). Especially after 2007, when Alou and El Duque could remain healthy enough to stay on the field, and Delgado was obviously losing his abilities. Omar gambled and remained with these players and keeping them in significant roles. He gambled and lost.
And the combination of the missing players (or missing performance) and lack of adequate substitutes has burdened the healthy players (i.e. Reyes, Wright and Beltran), who have been asked to carry the team on their shoulders.
I think it is unreasonable to expect those players to bear such burden, and believe it is unfair to blame the coaches and Willie either. I don’t believe a replacement Manager will be able to do much better.
Ultimately, Omar fielded this team. It is his bed to lie in, not Willies.
I don’t understand how you know that a better manager could not have made these players play up to their capabilities instead of the opposite. There is no way to know if it is the players Omar got or the person in charge of getting the best out of them until you separate the two, which is why Willie goes first, then Omar. No GM will come in here without his choice of manager, so that is the order it has to go.
I would argue that you CAN expect your 1, 3, and 4 hitters to carry the team. It’s really not that unreasonable. You can also expect Santana, Maine, and Perez to pitch well enough to give you a chance to win every time out. With those factors together, it’s not unreasonable to expect a record that would put the Mets 5 or 6 games over .500 instead of 2 games under at this point in the season. No one is asking for the Mets to run away with the division, but to be competitive with the stars that we have is certainly something to be demanded.
whoever said willie is missing 48 million dollars is just stupid. sure delgado is not playing well, but you cant just say he has zero value and subtrat his 16 million from the payroll. yeah, church, pedro, castro, and pagan have been hurt, but theyve played some part of the year, so again you cant subtract their salaries. your analysis is just very flawed, and if you look at other teams, they are also missing players. atlanta has been riddled with injuries. philly didnt have victorino or rollins for a good month.
having said all this, i dont want willie gone
While i do agree on several of your points the fact is every team has injuries. What i believe will be the reason willie will be gone is his stubborness. Yes omar relied on veteran talent but at the same time omar was trying to win it all(and should have) in 06. What we are seeing now imo is the aftermath. Everyone was playing at such a high level in 06 that everyone said if they dont get it done that year it wasnt going to happen again. This is what we are seeing now. Delgado is not going to put up 06 numbers again but will be average as 1b men goes. Alou is falling apart but you cannot question his ability at the dish i mean the guy is a hitting machine(when hes there). The Santana deal and Delgado deal were no brainer deals imo and they served their purpose(santana is yet to be determined as the year isnt over yet and delgado served his purpose in 06…we have since then gotten the bottom part of the deal). All and all yes omar built this team but also keep in mind how many vets contracts are done this year….Maybe this was omars contigency plan if 06 and the subsiquent years didnt work out…09 will be a fresh year for this club.
I agree. There are a ton of managers who do more with less. Just because your players are injured doesn’t mean you have to lose every game until they come back. That said, a 96 million dollar payroll is plenty to be competitive in every sense of the word. It should also be pointed out, that the bullpen hasn’t had any significant injuries (other than Matt Wise, who wasn’t an integral piece anyway) and the bullpen is what’s been blowing the games. Sure, you can also blame the hitting, which is usually non-existent past the 5th. Are they tired? Are they deflated? We all know these guys are pros and have the ability to hit anything at any time. So who’s to blame really? If there’s a collective failure, there’s only one individual who can bear the blame, and it’s ultimately the team’s leader, the ship’s captain, the one and only….Willie Randolph.
yep i agree. What i want to stress though to everone imo firing willie WILL NOT RIGHT THE SHIP. IMO this team has many more holes than just the manager…in the long run it may help to bring some fresh air to this club but i dont really expect firing willie to suddenly make this team a playoff contender and the team to go off on a 10 game winning streak.
I agree with that as well. This season looks like a lost cause anyway, imo. There are too many “integral” parts of the team that are either hurt 90% of the time or are not performing. Might as well ride this year out and have a TOTAL makeover in the offseason: coaches, manager, GM, 3/4 of the roster….
Magic,
You make an excellent point as to why this team has not been successful.
But I disagree that Omar should be ousted. I don’t think Willie should be ousted.
Lets be honest guys:
We have followed every move this team (Omar) has made, amd for the most part they have been great.
We can’t play Monday morning QB and say these guys are old and broken down.
Who has Omar missed out on while at the helm.
What a couple of bad trades w Bannister, Bell, Blah Blah . .The guys human he has made some great moves.
Name one person who did not like the Delgado trade when we made it. I loved it and if he was performing like he was in 06 we would all still be lovin it. In evaluating the current situation of this team I’d like to see him out of here, incosistent hitting, terrible defense.
He has worked with whats available when it was available.
As for Willie, I like the way he somes off in his press conferences.
He seems like someone I would love to play for.
As for in game decisions he is no where near as horrible as people make him out to be.
Although their is one in game decision that he makes that is inexcusable. His use of Hielman.
I hate when he puts him in and lets him stay out there to give up 5 runs, when he should be takin out after 1 run.
This guy was in the discussion for manager of the year in 06 cause his players performed.
The big difference now:
-bullpens lost it.
-Delgado’s lost it
-injuries
-post surgery
Omar made some great moves when he came in, but he really did put the team in win now mode. The problem with him is, since then, he has remained in the win now mode instead of recognizing the facts and needing to make moves that will help the team not only for one year or half a year, but for 2 or 3 or 4 years. Aside from the Santana trade, starting from early 2007 until now, Omar’s tenure has been a disaster. The Castillo signing was a horrendous mistake – although i have heard arguments that that needed to get done to get Santana over. Fine. What about Alou and El Duque? Where is the help to bolster the ‘pen? Where is that extra starter (Kyle Lohse anyone?) to offer protection in case El Duque and Pedro are hurt and/or Pelfrey can’t perform? He relied too heavily on an old aging team that everyone (probably including himself) knew can’t possibly stay healthy all year. And what do you know – Hernandez hasn’t pitched all year, and Pedro just recently got back. Couple that with Perez’s and Pelfrey’s shortcomings, well, then you got 4 main pieces that were no help to the team the first 50 games. Are you surprised that the record is what it is? I’m not. Omar should have recognized that (a) Delgado can’t possibly fix 2007 in 2008, (b) Hernandez and Pedro are too brittle, Perez hasn’t proven any consistency, and Pelfrey is still learning (c) Alou simply can’t stay healthy at all and (d) you just can’t give Castillo a 4 year deal. Sure, landing Santana was huge. But it should have been huge with inclination toward 2009. This year should have been scratched off as a one year stop gap to a championship in 2009. I don’t think anyone would have had a problem with that. Save some money this year and put it toward Texeira and/or Sabathia.
I guess it’s easy to second guess him now, but as a GM, he really should have seen these days coming. If we kept all the garbage off the books, we wouldn’t win more games, but we’d probably have a much funner team to watch and to follow. The sad part is, there really isn’t anything anyone can do now, the roster is set, the contracts have been handed out. We just have to ride this one out, and hope that there are some smarter moves to be made in the offseason.
bingo
I agree with everything you said except
“This year should have been scratched off as a one year stop gap to a championship in 2009. I don’t think anyone would have had a problem with that.”
I don’t know if you were hearing during the where is Santana going to end up mess but from what I remember most of the fans in here were dead-set on winning a championship in 08, and from what I remember few cared what happened after that. I think there would have been a major angry fan reaction if it had looked like Omar was writing this year off for 09.
I think that if he came out and stated his case for not signing Alou, Castillo, Castro, somehow unloaded El Duque and Delgado for peanuts and got some younger pipeline guys who may or may not have done well, we, as fans, would accept it. I think we’d be ok if our mindset was set by him in the offseason to expect the team to play hard but not necessarily make the playoffs. If he said that they want to get past the old mindset and move forward by creating a young core, everyone would applaud the effort…even with a .500 record.
Our (fan’s) problem is that we were led to believe that this would be a championship team – you say so yourself. BUT it clearly isn’t, and we were all duped into thinking that it was. It’s very hard to get past those kind of expectations – as we’re now being asked to change them.
“If he said that they want to get past the old mindset and move forward by creating a young core, everyone would applaud the effort…even with a .500 record.”
I would have agreed but I’m not sure the majority of the fans would even during the off-season in here people suggested we’d be better off doing that and it seemed like the majority disagreed. It seemed like most fans were dead-set on championship or bust well before any of the major trades were made.
And I completely agree with your last paragraph, which is why it makes me furious when someone associated with the team complains about the fans and our expectations.
yer really upset because you have him using a pitcher from the Tampa Rays and a catcher from the Yankees.
_X_ My head is somewhere else right now and the only thing I can re-evaluate at this point in time is my rectal cavity. Let’s lose some games.
i’m not trying to excuse the Mets…but do people remember that the Yankees did similar things to Torre over the past few years? Its not just us…We already get a bad enough rap as a “mickey mouse” organization by news outlets , other fans and even some of our fans…. don’t make it worse by not looking at other teams who have done the same.
I agree. In the old days this probably always took days. It’s a big decision that doesn’t take hours. It can take days. And if word leaks early in the process, in today’s media world, it looks like a slow process. Whoever is leaking the information should be fired before Willie.
The Yankees let Torre twist in the wind the past two years, but for the most part it’s been after the season ended.
People that say Minaya should be fired need to have their heads examined.
Why can’t anyone see that the good he has done for this team completely outweighs the bad? Pedro, Beltran, Wagner (say what you want about each. each was a major upgrade over status quo).
Trading for Maine, Ollie, Nady, Sanchez, Church. I don’t even need to list all of these. The guy traded Jae Seo for Duaner Sanchez. Case closed.
Because some people feel EVERY move a gm makes must pay off and a gm can NEVER make a mistake. THEY MUST BE PERFECT.
If firing isnt the way to go, the team needs an immediate overhaul or at least a well-thought out blueprint of getting younger and “hungrier”. Delagdo off the books is a huge plus, 16 mil a year can net some young talent. Alou, El D, are the other easy cases of “its time to retire show”. What are some possibilities in everyone’s opinion on ways / routes / players to a newer, fresher organization. Besides firing Willie or Omar, please.
I think putting together a package to acquire Prince Fielder (who I read this weekend may find himself on the block) or Carlos Lee this season. Lee could be an outfielder and a true left fielder for the remainder of the year, then switch over the 1B for the rest of his contract. Prince Fielder is the better solution though. His numbers are down a little bit this year, but again there is your cleanup hitter.
For left field, I would try to stay inexpensive. I would personally not mind starting the year with F-Mart batting 7th or 8th and given the job. So long as he has a respectable spring, that is.
The starting pitching situation is a little tricky though. We have Johan, Maine, Pelfrey all under contract next year. I still think Pelfrey will eventually be the #2 or #3 for this team. We need a legit #2 for next year. Free agent market could net C.C. (my personal favorite). The Mets are going to have lots of money to spend. Why not spend it on a workhorse pitcher? Give Pedro a 2 year extension and make him the 4 or 5?
I just read that with Wang going down, the Yankees might make a play for CC this year with intent of signing him before he hits the market.
I like you ideas, and I think that Maine is having a bla-say (typed phonetically for all you english profs out there) first half. But I do think he can be a legit #2 if he can remember how to make guys swing and miss. (Perhaps a Peterson issue?)
I like the F-Mart in LF idea. Problem with that is a) we have been devoid of “typical” production in LF for quite some time, and I am not sure that he changes that immediately, b) if that is the case, then does it signify a true “rebuilding” process that assures us of 1-2 more seasons of agony, and finally c) is he durable enough (if I can remember, a few stints on the DL already).
Lastly, what would we have to give to get Prince or Lee? Probably more than anyone is willing to part with. Neither one of the Brewers or Astros want what we have…IMO
Well carlos lee has only played 5 games at 1b in his career and that was in 99. Prince is locked up i believe until 2011. Not going to come cheap. Fmart is not ready for LF so we need an inexpensive option that will be serviceable. I do agree we need a ledgit #2 guy but i doubt we will land CC. Id wait until the end of the year in regard to pedro 1) health and 2) results
Considering the Yankees will refuse to part with Gen K Part 2, and considering Cleveland may realize that they will probably need to get by the Yankees in the future to succeed, I don’t see that happening, no matter what the “let’s assume the Yankees can get whatever they want whenever they want it” voices say.
Anyway, would be pretty foolish to go for fat CC now after passing on Johan a few months ago.
Well, considering Hank always “wanted” Johan, and Cashman’s chosen three have turned into one (albeit a large one), then Hank could conceivably sweep through and trump that original stance to get CC.
If Omar lands CC in a similar fashion as he did Johan, he’d be a master champion. That said, we’d have to trade the entire farm to get this guy and then sign him to a 100 million dollar extension. That is NOT going to happen. No chance at CC. In regards to Fielder – no chance again. Firstly, this guy is a DH waiting to happen, secondly he’s locked up for the next 3 years. We’d have to trade Reyes AND FMart to get this guy….
Or, we could trade F-Mart, a pitching prospect, and John Maine.
That’s too expensive for a DH waiting-to-be that has lost his power.
So you’re trading your #1 hitting prospect, your best young pitcher and another prospect for a guy who’s gonna be Mo Vaughn in 2 years? Thank goodness you’re not a Mets GM. I don’t even think MLB’08 would allow such a trade….
Yup. About this time in 2005, talk about Sweet Lou coming back to the Bronx was all over the air waves…
Maybe media types like Diet Cokes and the Crackhead Chiwawa need a history lesson before making it sound like the Mets are blazing a new trail here….although, this situation with Willie *is* being handled very poorly.
Agreed – the difference is Mets fans are always the first to throw thier own team under the bus and accuse it of being inept – takes alot more than a manager-watch to knock the arrogance off Yankees fans.
I think the media is overblowing this whole thing. They are asking the questions – it’s not like the Wilpons, Minaya, or anyone else is asking to hold a daily press conference on Willie.
“takes alot more than a manager-watch to knock the arrogance off Yankees fan”
Why do they call it the Bronx Cheer, then?
or…
____ Embarass the fans by being indecisive and call up a record 4th catcher (Gustavo Molina) while demoting Trot Nixon
I was just thinking during yesterday’s game…Raul Casanova had just been DFA’d two days before Nixon was acquired….
So if they also DFA’d Cancel, there’s a chance – however slim – that both could be claimed, leaving the Mets without a 3rd catcher in the system. So my guess is they held on to Cancel in order to make sure Casanova went through waivers.
As for Aguila though, was he optioned or DFA’d? Did we have to clear a 40-man for Nixon? Seems silly to have groomed Aguila all year for a few ABs, but then again that’s the same thing that happened to Chip Ambres last season.
Anyway, point was I think there was a method to the Cancel madness and it was not his pinch-hitting prowess.
While I generally agree, I’m not so sure I can get on the Mets too much about this. In a different media environment, Omar’s statement of support in his manager from (when, a couple of weeks ago?) would have been enough to forestall the “watch.”
I really think this is more of a media-driven thing than anything else, especially in that it plays into the “inept Mets” storyline they love to trot out. Until his comments yesterday, I really didn’t think Omar’d handled this too badly, but he certainly should have just shut his yap and referred reporters to his previous statements on the issue.
Of course, saying “Omar hasn’t handled it too badly” implies that he was right to hire Willie in the first place, which is definitely up for debate at this point (not sure which side I’d be on).
Either way, it’s pretty ugly, and getting uglier, and you’re right, Mike, they’re not helping anything with the current strategy.
I agree with everything you said. This is completely media driven. On Friday all the usual suspects came out firing that Willing could be gone before the end of the weekend. Heyman on M & MD said he would be “shocked” if Willie was still the manager at the end of this week. Well, he survived the weekend. Is there any ACTUAL PROOF that the Wilpons have not given Randolph a vote of confidence. I mean, we really don’t know. We only know what these reporters tell us and half the time it is made up. Then Omar has to come out and answer their questions. I will believe it when I see it, until then, all I care about is getting wins and getting back in the race. I could care less about all of this nonsense and Willie doesn’t seem to care either. He has been more relaxed than ever.
Ya know I have to agree on most of this. In my mind this entire thing started with a rumor from a “reliable source”. In the past, way too often these “reliable sources” have turned out to be quite unreliable. One thing I have always liked about Omar is he prefers to keep quiet about what he’s thinking about – be it coaching changes or trades. At the risk of blaming the media for all of this, it seems that after creating this rumor, now they are pushing him to confirm or deny the rumor and it’s not his way to discuss this stuff. I think the only mistake he made was not to simply state that rumors are rumors and he won’t comment on rumors. It seems to me that it’s way too easy for the media to try to create a story…
Do you guys even watch the press conferences? What are talking about? Yes Omar said that he and ownership support Willie but when asked if Willie will be the manager for the entire season. He wouldn’t give an definitive answer and then YESTERDAY said he continues to reevaluate the situation.
You guys pick and choose what you want to hear
Nobody is “picking and choosing.” He is just stating the obvious, as are the so called reporters. We all know that Willie is on the hot seat. My 10 year old nephew knows that. I don’t need a report from Heyman telling me that. I got it from a 10 year old that same day.
Omar is doing what he has to do in responding to this stuff.
agree 100% mike
mets ownership to send willie randolph to guantanamo bay for some relaxation during the all-star break.
By accident, of course. They’ll think he’s somebody else. And then they’ll forget about him for six years. And then they’ll close GB, free Willie’ll take a walk down the road, he’ll run into the guy in charge of the Cuban National team, he’ll get hired, and…
the other option is that neither Wilpon or Minaya have considered firing Randolph after the latest flop capped by a four day period of Wagnerisms.
Maybe some other no nothing in the Mets organization who never liked Willie just felt like being a tool and tossing out his own musings, or maybe writers with nothing better to do speculated on something that seems somewhat plausible.
Either way it is ridiculous for the Mets to say Randolph is definitely the manager for the rest of the year.
There are no definites, the sensationalism of the story is enough in and of itself as here we are, and on the radio, in the papers on stupid tv shows talking, posting, talking, griping driving ratings galore.
The it’s on Omar/Wilpon to find the idiot leaking and fire them.
(Probably the leaker is Lil’ Jeff WIlpon)
They’re not gonna fire Jeff.
when I said “neither Wilpon” I meant that plural, neither Fred nor Jeff nor Minaya.
There is the distinct possibility that when Minaya, Randolph and the Wilpons met a few weeks ago after which the ownership gave him carte blance to do what he needed to do that they also heard out Minaya on player mistakes that might have been made on his part.
This is not fantasy baseball so you can’t just flip a switch on those moves with no serious reprecussions.
The most famous of which everybody turns to is the Red Sox famous three way trade in which Garciaparra was dealt in 2004. Which was positioned as one of those this deal helps everyone moves.
Releasing a guy needs to be the absolute last resort and you need to have players in place to replace that guy.
Example in 1986 when the Mets released Foster they had Mitchell and Dykstra and Wilson.
Mike, Baby, the expression is “twist in the wind.” While we’re at it, I’d say it ain’t the best metaphor to use given the person you are discussing.
Think about it, I know you conceived it with no malice whatsoever, but think about it just the same.
Let’s Go Mets!
There was no reason at all to make a “twist in the wind” comment. Your just fanning the flames on a fire that doesn’t exist. Ridiculous.
“Mike, Baby, the expression is “twist in the wind.” While we’re at it, I’d say it ain’t the best metaphor to use given the person you are discussing.”
It’s not a metaphor any more, it’s a cliché.
The Mets fans at the game yesterday who booed Willie for pinch-hitting for Pedro in the 6th with the bases loaded are an embarassment. I cannot believe how they are piling on Willie during this ordeal. My respect for Willie has only grown since this whole circuis surrounding the Mets. Willie has handled this thing extremely well, while the Mets brass are making as*-clowns out of themselves.
Having been there, 95% of the fans that stayed for game 2 stayed for Pedro. PHing was the right move, although Cancel does not inspire alot of confidence. I’m glad it worked, but I’d rather see Anderson or Nixon take a stab at hitting the lefty than a guy who hadn’t got a hit since the Clinton Administration.
Maybe Omar will decide to Keep Willie but Fire Willie’s mustache!
lol
maybe willie would do better if he borrowed keith’s mustache
“Why do the Mets always handle these situations poorly?”
The answer is evident- it comes from meddling and inept ownership.
They hire mediocre or less general managers, they meddle, and they always manage to see a situation dragged out to the most embarassing situation possible.
They shouldn’t have an iota of say into the next manager. They should recuse themselves from the search for the next GM and ask MLB for advice (it worked in the 80’s when the Mets were advised to hire Cashen).
The Wilpons can’t run a baseball team. They can run a business fine, but the team part of it – they just always ruin it
NegativeFan…you are so negative.
Straw, you’re sucking up again.
Owners are a convenient scapegoat, but this time, they deserve it. So many gears are moving out of whack that at some point, someone in ownership has to hit the brakes and make an executive decision. No one has. Omar has Willie twisting because the owners (Fred, Jeff, both, or other) haven’t decided anything, and there’s no pat response that Omar is able to provide. He’s obviously not camera-savvy enough to come up with one of his own. They’re afraid to have him say that Willie stays (and thus invoke our ire) and afraid to have him say Willie goes (because they don’t know yet if they want to fire him.) The result looks a heck of a lot like bungling.
Meanwhile, Fred’s still trying to get over Ralph Branca.
MSNBC.com sports section says Wilpon has given the OK to Omar to Fire Willie….
but they are reporting Peterson is done… and may have already been canned…
Trot Nixon = 2008 Richard Hidalgo
The Dog!!!
Just a quick note. I had box seats for the doubleheader yesterday right by 1st base. Actually about halfway through the 1st game I was in the closest possible seat to Delcrapo in the stadium. First off, I just wanna say that some of the photographers are really cool and funny guys. Burkhart is also a really nice guy…
Anyway, my point. Delgado stinks.
I know this is a popular sentiment, but when you watch him really up close it jumps out at you. He doesnt move more than 1 foot in any direction, and FORGET about diving for balls. Its not even that though. He talks to EVERYONE. I mean anyone that makes it to first. The 1st base coach. Kids in the good seats behind him. ANYONE. Its like hes playing in a softball game. Its all just a game to him….a non important game…After the 1st game when he came onto the field to warm up after a bad loss, he was ALLLLL smiles. He was tossing infield practice by whipping the ball around his back….Its just a joke to him, or at the minimum losing does not bother him AT ALL. I mean he grounded into a DPin the 9th that basically ended the previous game like 30 minutes beforehand. I just cant see Jeter being so jovial. Its really starting to piss me off. Hes the guy that always says, “I got it…I got it. I know I know” in regards to how important something is, but you know they dont really care…I think he knows its a big deal, just not to him its not….
Whatever, maybe I’m subjective, but I’m 99% sure that his non-chelant attitute is a major reason why they stink. Hes a cancer on this team….At least after yesterday I’m pretty sure he knows how I feel about him. For 7 hours I had a nice one sided conversation with him… Carlos Delgado hates me….yay….
So you had a pretty good view of Delgado’s laughable effort on the Vasquez single (which led to a run) in the first game, which was the single worst play in the history of first basemen.
Passing the Buck[ner] again?
Would you rather him be unhappy and frowning all the time?
Funny, but he acted the same way in 2006 when all the Mets fans said he was a god-send, for once having a legitimate clean-up hitter.
The point is that he shows emotion when he does bad, but you can’t expect him to be down all the time.
This is my point.
NO!…HE SHOULD NOT BE HAVING FUN….not when he stinks and is costing us wins. NO, he should not be talking to the oposition DURING play….
I had no issue with Pedro kidding on that foul ball down the line, cause he has proven he can play ‘like a kid’ and hustle/care/play well during his career. Kinda like Manny(just remove the work hustle)….
if YOU hit into an rally killing DP to end a game, during another crappy season, where the team is an embarassement, where your managers career is in jeopardy, and there was a doubleheader game right after would YOU be laughing and tossing practice behind your back???
There’s a HUGE difference between ‘enjoying the game’ Which Pedro, Endy, Church, etc do…..and ‘not taking it seriously/thinking its ‘just a game’/not caring’ which to me that bum does….I’m sorry, but the sentiment that ‘losing has become acceptable’ should be tattooed across his huge, lazy A$$!!!
Delgado takes the game plenty seriously, he just is not the slugger he once was.
I love people like you who think they are big and tough because they sat in a crowd of people bad mouthing a big bad major leaguer with zero fear of reprisal.
Jeez….goof ball.
Delgado has never been able to play defense. People read way too much into guys reactions, no reaction is ever “good” when a team is losing. Beltran doesn’t show much emotion = he doesn’t really care, Reyes or Delgado dare crack a smile = they don’t take things seriously, Wright shows emotion = he’s too tense/neurotic.
Exactly my point.
why you gotta have attitute
the only cancer Delgado provides is his drop from being a consistent power threat to a fading occassional pop guy.
nothing more nothing less, I guess you both missed the play where Delgado laid out and snagged that line drive in the first game?
I too was sitting on the first base line, and no one was getting that Sanchez grounder that wears a mitt on there left hand.
He could have dove for effect if it would have made you feel better, but he still would have been empty handed.
First off, (and this has been rehashed here forever), its my right to boo. I didnt say anything about his health, his family, or his well being. I just told him he sucks….many ,many MANY times…for $118 per ticket thats my right….
Secondly, I guess he knew he wasnt gonna come up with every ball that has shot past him this year without diving huh? He NEVER dives….and I’m sorry….laughing and messing around after hitting into a game ending(basically) DP……Sorry I expect some anger 30 minutes later. Not this ‘Hey, if I perform great, if not I tried’ mentality….its not the performance(although that sucks)….its his attitude….I’m not exactly the 1st person to say this team doesnt care…..
Please…
See you are just aboslutely lieing because he made an excellent diving catch just a few innings before.
I am willing to bet you did not even pay the $118 on the ticket, and no one talked about your right to boo, and then you follow it up with saying you told him he “sucked” and I am sure you were much worse than that, in fact unless there were two foul mouthed fools sitting two boxes over from me I am willing to bet it was you and booing would have been the tamest thing you did.
“First off, (and this has been rehashed here forever), its my right to boo. I didnt say anything about his health, his family, or his well being. I just told him he sucks….many, many MANY times…for $118 per ticket thats my right”
What are you, like eight years old? Do you take your ball & go home when you don’t get to hit cleanup, too? Poor boy, $118 & all he can do is boo…boo hoo hoo! Get over yourself or steal your tickets next time. We’ll be spared your self-pitying idiocy.
(If you really are eight years old, please disregard.)
OK….first off “aboslutely lieing” has to set some sort of North American record for awful spelling…the rest of the post for grammar…congrats…you win….
Hey, they invented this “.” thing for ending sentences. You should look into it. It really works.
As I stated. There was a little kid next to me, so I did not curse. I did set a record for using the word ’suck’ over a 7 hour period though….
Know why? He SUCKS…
Wow…
Expecting results for someone making $16 Mil….or at least expecting them to have a desire to win…
Yup…Im a child…
In other news…WELCOME TO NYC….
The hilarious part is that “patrick” just unloaded a post in the other thread criticizing other commentators’ spelling. Unreal.
I stand corrected on lying “toomanyuniforms” another stand up character in hiding.
in the mean time quick typing the the o before the s not really a big deal, but perhaps you would think it “rEdiculous”
AND OH the welcome to NYC line blah blah blah, NYC which is somehow owed and superior to else where
I agree with this in general and have been saying so since last year. Delgado left the team for 10 days last spring (07) when his child was born, and to me he hasn’t been the same since.
Delgado has always been portrayed as an intelligent, principled man. It would seem less that he ‘doesn’t care’ than that baseball is just sliding down the priority chain for him. He’s nearing the end of his career. He’s posted his numbers. He hasn’t won the way he’d like, but he’s probably accepted that fact. And to him it’s just a game now. He loves the camaraderie – on his own team and with opponents. Friday he and Catalanotto were going back and forth like old sisters…but they are former teammates and it seems like Delgado delights in those interactions.
I think he’s lost the fire, lost the killer instinct. He’s a father now, you could see him becoming politically active in Puerto Rico….I just think he has other priorities, and that’s what you were seeing on display yesterday.
Which is all fine and well, if we were not paying him $16MM or whatever to be a little more intense.
This is why I want him off this team – he’s a good man, but not a good leader for this team and not the cornerstone of a winning team. He’s just not. If he was before, its arguable – but he’s not anymore.
Btw – does Delgado still keep his famous notebook?
Well said. While I was reading your post, I tried to remember the last time I saw Delagado writing in his “diary”. I’m sure he takes it seriously, but like you said, he isn’t that determined, infallible slugger anymore, hell bent on punishing opposing pitching. Unforunately, we only got to see 1 season of what people in Toronto saw for so long.
Very very well said…
I dont think hes ‘evil’…I just think (like you said better than I did) that baseball is not the #1 priority in his life, or he is unable to build up the emotions to care about winning…
“The killer instinct” as you state. This team had NONE OF THAT…Example. You can tell that his little ‘chats’ with the pitchers are “A pat on the a$$, and “Relax”, you’ll be OK” speeches. This is NOT what this team needs. They need someone with fire coming over and saying ‘C’mon, buckle down and GO GET HIM! Lets GO!”…
Name the last time someone threw anything in the dugout? Showed emotions about losing. Staying poised in a quality. NEVER showing emotion sucks….and Willie and Co’ NEVER show emotion about winning/losing. Delcrapo is the posterchild for this…
Whatever you want to say about his attitude, its NOT what this team needs. More ‘Ryan Church’ …..less ‘Carlos Delgado’…if you cant see the difference then I dont know what to tell you….
I understand your frustration, but these guys are also “supposed” to be professionals who can handle the ups and downs w/o throwing their helmets like Little Leaguers.
Having said that, I think the perception in the difference between Church’s and Delgado’s effort isn’t about effort at all. What you are perceiving as “lack of effort” is “a declining skill set”. So, while we see Church busting it all day and succeeding, we see Delgado failing where we saw success two years ago. He’s trying and failing, but it’s easier for us to get angry at him and say he’s not even trying.
I’ll make you a deal…
Neither one is acceptable for a team making $138 million. I really dont care if its him being old and not being able to produce, or just complete lack of desire….
He’s a cancer…
I wouldnt say cancer but rather he has become average. Hes not going to have another season like he had in 06 thats just the bottom line. Yes he is declining in skill set due to age but i doubt his “effort” is something to question. He will put up average numbers for a 1b around the league. Thats all thats up with delgado
Exactly. But because of what he HAS done, and what we see now, and the fact that his teammates are for the most part hurt or underperforming, he is a cancer…(?) Not sure the two can accurately correlate.
I don’t think it is fire, it is bat speed, and when it goes, it goes quickly and sadly for a guy who hits like Delgado.
Everyone is searching for undefinable intangibles when it is more than likely a definitive physical decline which happens all the time.
I agree on bat speed, but a more determind player might work harder at making adjustments, like going to the opposite field.
Also – has ANYONE brought up the textbook bunting situation Delgado was in during the 9th inning of game 1 yesterday? I know Willie gives the signs, but the fact that Delgado is still incapable of bunting – inexcusable given the opportunity to exploit that shift teams put on him – handcuffs him.
Frankly I’d have sent Santana up to pinch hit and lay one down in that spot.
down two runs and nobody out, can’t bunt there, just cant
“This is why I want him off this team – he’s a good man, but not a good leader for this team and not the cornerstone of a winning team. He’s just not. If he was before, its arguable – but he’s not anymore.”
Agreed he’s intelligent as hell. But he’s just not conservative enough, politically, to be a “Mr. Baseball” type leader for any team, it would seem (remember the kneejerk “ya wohls” over that God Bless America thing)…yet non-leadership would be just fine if he were to keep up the hitting he’s been doing lately, which is decent.
I can’t resist. Conflating patriotism and fascism is a sign of an underdeveloped intellect. I’ll just assume it was hyperbole, and that you don’t really think that way.
What evidence do we have that Delgado is “intelligent as hell”?
Why do you have to be more “conservative” than Delgado to be a team “leader”? Are the virtues of leadership confined only to conservatives? I’m willing to bet the other guys in the clubhouse couldn’t give two sh*ts what his political views are. He’s not a team leader because he’s disinterested and in decline, not because of his political views. And that’s fine, generally. Such perspective is valuable. Just not when you’re paid $16M to be interested.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmen….
Some of these people need to move to cities where ‘just showing up’ is OK.
Not in NYC. Not when you make $16Mil. If he thinks he gets a break cause hes more established, or because hes ‘Carlos freaking Delgado’ hes sorely mistaken….
Perform. Period. if you cant, contribute in other ways. He does NEITHER…He devalues the team. Hes a detriment…Hes a distraction to winning…..In other words….hes a CANCER….
I see where you are going. Instead of learning to adjust and go the other way, he still tries to pull the ball through the teeth of the shift. I call that stubborn. Not a cancer. I think it’s a reflection of the leadership of this team. The inabilty to adjust, the inability to change the culture, the inability to think of anything but their own self-preservation is what plagues this team from top to bottom.
I am wondering how does a cancer who does not care about winning hit .300 with an 1.000 OPS in the playoffs and get so excited when Endy Chavez makes the catch of his life and doubles off the runner at first, he must be a cancer and only concerned with other things.
And a sign of Delgado’s intelligence is he speaks five languages fluently.
English, Spanish, French, Italian and I heard he understands dumb ass very well now that he has played in New York.
toomany: while singing God Bless America may be patriotic for some who sing it, ostracizing or otherwise punishing someone for not locking step & singing along IS fascist. You thus might want not to try conflating them, & instead separate them as I have. Maybe then your intellect (by your stds) can continue to develop & you’ll be able to comprehend deductive subtleties. & re the conservative bit: haven’t you read (at least!) Jim Bouton? Do you really think team mentalities have changed enough to support “progressive” ideas like “free speech” & “open expression,” or that someone who stood up for such things would be acknowledged as a “leader”?!?!
Besides, the Kate Smith song is the Flyers’ bit, & shouldn’t be bit off by opportunistic PR depts.
oh, yeah: saltzy–no, wait, I mean NYC Mayor saltzy– why don’t you move instead. You reason like a child having a tantrum, your hostility causes you to curse at ballplayers (only, though, if no kids are around, apparently) and while you’re willing to spend $118 on a ticket, you have so little class that you then simultaneously whine & brag about it when things don’t turn out as you would’ve liked.
Poah wittle sawtzy!
Patrick, you’re a riot!
all I am saying is, I can understand being down on his play and disappointed but trying to guess what is going on in this guys head and drawing implications on his level of effort based on his batting performance is beyond short sighted, I have watched Delgado play since long before he was with the Mets, the only thing that has changed about how he handles himself and approaches the game is he is no longer producing at the top of his game, beyond that not a change, he has always been easy going smiley
This is nothing different than what Torre had to deal with for the past few seasons. Its annoying for everyone to have to answer questions about it, but I don’t feel bad for Willie.
The only way to put an end to the talk is either to fire Willie or for the Mets to get red hot. They shouldn’t fire Willie, just to put an end to the media circus, if they don’t think its the right move. And they shouldn’t make a “he has the season” statement either if they don’t really mean it. And even if they do make the comment about him having the season, I doubt that would stop all the rumors and stories from cropping up the next time the Mets have a losing streak.
I guess there is nothing the Mets could offer toronto in return for Alex Rios huh?
Johan Santana.
Seriously, how about Ollie and a minor leaguer for Rios?
but why would they want ollie? he would be gone after this year and then toronto gets nothing.
I’ll take Alex Rios and a lifetime’s supply of HGH.
Power is completely gone.
Fire Tony Bernazard!
I do not think Willie should have been hired.
I do not think that Willie should still be the manager.
I also do not believe that ANYBODY should be treated in the manner that Willie is being treated. Willie is a grown man that has paid his dues many times over in this league. At this point either fire him, or make a public statement that he is going to be the manager for the remainder of the season no matter what.
At this point I do not care as much what the decision is, but rather that it be made fast. Willie Randolph does not deserve to sit in front of a bunch of camera’s every day, performing for his job. He is NOT a clown for our amusement, he is a proud man that deserves to be treated with respect by ownership.
I agree 100%.
How can this circus possibly make the team improve? It’s making me not want to watch games, let alone play.
Did anyone catch Burkhart the other day, said a(n unnamed) player said “I don’t want to be a part of someone [Willie] losing his livelihood.” I imagine that is a very real feeling around the clubhouse, and its irrelevant that Willie is well off financially.
Do it or don’t do it but this is freaking ridiculous.
I agree 100%
Couldnt have been said any better bro 100% agreed
I don’t like saying this, but my opinion about the way this has been handled and Omar’s statements have everything to do with Omar being comfortable in front of the media due to language.
Due to your language, I have no idea what you are saying. Are you saying that Omar’s command of English (or, in your opinion, his lack of command) is contributing to the problem?
BREAKING NEWS..
NY CUBAN DOESN’T CARE ANYMORE ABOUT WILLIE!!!
FIRE OMAR!!! He has lost complete control of this organization. He has made the NY Mets a complete EMBARASSMENT.
Bill Bavasi Fired
The Mariners fired Bill Bavasi today. According to the press release, “Vice President/Associate General Manager Lee Pelekoudas will take over as the interim General Manager.” Pelekoudas will be a candidate in the team’s permanent GM search.
I’m not going to list off Bavasi’s mistakes here; we all know he did a poor job. Looking forward, you have to wonder if Pelekoudas will be more willing to trade Erik Bedard than Bavasi would’ve been. He could also move quickly to release Richie Sexson.
per mlbtraderumors
see. that’s quick.
quick? the team has lumbered to the worst record in the AL and they finally did the obvious.
after a winning record and near playoff berth last year…
Yeah…see I think this is silly. What’s this going to do for the 2008 Mariners?
John McLaren meanwhile has never proved a thing, except that he can hold court in the lamest excuse for a post-game tirade ever. It was like listening to Ward Cleaver lay into the Beaver for leaving his football on the lawn.
We nowhere near as hopeless as the Mariners, and I still totally disagree with this firing. That should make my thoughts on Omar clear.
I don’t think this team should fire anyone. We’ve had injuries, rough travel, and meltdowns on all sides. And we’re 6.5 games out. Let it ride – this season will not be won or lost by the GM or the Manager.
I still vote for getting through the year and then rolling everyones’ heads out the door. Let Willie manage this team because it’s not going to be a good team this year anyway. Then he gets to go away along with the rest of the coaches. And Omar can go too at that point. With the new stadium ready to go, and what will probably end up being a .500 team for this year, there won’t be too many people left to protest.
Agreed. At this point, the sharks are circling. The press wants a story of utter collapse, and will be stalking any new manager, too. Best thing to do — and the best chance for something like success — is to play out the string as is, and let the media fight over scraps. Then, when the team f’ing tanks, they can’t say you were impatient when you s%@^-can Willie and Omar. Sure, some radio hosts will decry the inaction, but stories last only so long without movement.
“BREAKING NEWS..
NY CUBAN DOESN’T CARE ANYMORE ABOUT WILLIE!!!”
We’ll be sure to call Washington & let them know right away so they can adjust a few major policy decisions.
Seriously, why talk about yourself in the third person unless you’re not yourself today?
Sorry…I was hanging out with Rickey Henderson and it rubbed off.
Hilarious!
The reason they LOOK foolish and inept is because they ARE foolish and inept. Many have been saying it for years, and I suppose some even now still don’t believe it. But I’m afraid it’s true. The Mets are just a foolish and inept franchise, hopelessly unable to learn from their mistakes, continuing to make the same ones over and over and over, without the humility or sense to wise up.
Sounds like a Phillies or Yankdeez fan.
Nope, a dyed-in-the-wool Mets fan and blogger. I’ve been a Mets fan since 1970. Go figure.
One thing I’ve learned is that no matter how bad the situation is STAY POSITIVE. Don’t lose the faith. I’m not saying they’ll win the World Series because they haven’t shown us much, but let’s stay positive.
OK – I’m positive that the franchise is hopelessly inept, that better? LOL :) Listen, I love the Mets, but I truly do think that the current ownership is, well, inept and pretty hopeless.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could get fired from my job at any minute. My boss would not tell me that I was his guy for the rest of the year, nor would I expect him to. Like Willie, I have a contract, but if my boss decided that today his company is better with me, but tomorrow it isn’t, then I expect he will fire me.
I don’t twist in the wind every day like Willie, but the work I do plays better than .500. The only reason this is “twisting in the wind” is his results are mediocre (maybe not his fault, but the results are what they are) and it’s a media story. Otherwise, he’s in the same boat we’re all in: get the job done and you should be fine, don’t get it done, and your bosses will evaluate and reevaluate as necessary.
Exactly, well said.
I have been a Willie supporter, but I don’t understand this eternal vote of confidence that is necessary, he was given one with his extension following 2006 that included a 7 figure salary.
The only thing that will piss me off is if the Mets make weak moves. They can try to pull the same rabbit out of the hat and can most of the coaching staff like 1999 and see if Randolph can fix it, or they can fire them all Randolph and all the coaches.
While I usually agree with the way Omar handles things, there have just been too many stories and leaks about this one. They’re going to have to make a statement (he stays– all season, or he’s gone) real soon.
And what’s with the two stages of firings? I don’t ever recall firing the coaches in one wave, and then the manager in the next. Either keep ‘em all or lose ‘em all.
And if Willie goes, I’d like to see Oberkfell manage and Warthen be the pitching coach. I recall how they brought up Bobby V to manage and, at the same time, brought Apodaca with him.
with apologies to willie, if this is what it takes to get the media to direct its attention on omar where it belongs, i’m all for it.
signed, paul depodesta’s #1 fan
This organization looks pathetic.
Fred and Jeff are getting a huge pass and making Omar the fall guy. I don’t think there’s half a brain or a pair of balls between those two.
This IS embarrassing. Willie IS embarrassing as a manager. Omar IS embarrassing for not firing the fool already.
Judging by your handle, you must say this about other things, as well.
I’ve been watching the board all year, and am finally compelled to write…
I wanted Willie fired after the collapse. There was NEVER any accountability and nobody was punished for the collapse, which I can’t believe never happened.
That being said, if he was going to be fired, it should have been the day after his “remarks”. I believe the Wilpons were offended about the racism charges and the comments had no basis in fact.
But now, Willie is being mistreated and turned into a martyr.
What I want is:
1. Willie stays the rest of the year, then is let go (unless, hah, we win the WS)
2. Omar goes right after Willie. You can only coach what talent you have, and Willie has been given a sub-par roster, which has been stated a million times on this board.
3. I want the Wilpons to hire one of the assistant GMs from the Red Sox, the best organization in baseball.
For the time being, it may be time to DFA Delgado, in spite of the fact that he’s playing better. I was at the game yesterday and couldn’t believe he couldn’t grab a grounder two feet to his right.
My two cents.
CS99
oh good grief, the Red Sox the best organization in baseball, just remember that the best organization in baseball would not be the best organization in baseball without a boatload of moves made before 2003, when oft maligned Dan Duquette was still GM, the guy who got Pedro for crap, Damon, Manny, Lowe, Wakefield, Nixon, Mueller, Varitek…
He put together 2/3 of the roster and almost all of the key guys other than Millar and Ortiz.
The current Red Sox front office made way with a lot of Duquettes scouting and drating as well…
Youkilis, Shoppach, Ramirez
Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Buchholtz, Masterson, Hansen, Del carmen, and a host of kids in AAA and AA. They draft extraordinarily well, and spend their money well. They have resources like the Mets but spend their $ a whole lot better.
2 championships in 4 years — we would do well to emulate that organization.
Anyone watching Tiger choke away the U.S. open? Sucks to be stuck at work for this… Tiger = 2007 Mets. I’d say 2008 Mets, but they were never good. Not even average.
You can watch it for free on USGA.com I am!
Not when you’re blocked at work, have no flash and need admin rights to install it. :(
who choked?
To me, Minaya seems unprofessional in public: instead of confidently conveying what he needs to say in appropriate words, he goes extempore & comes off as arrogant & half-illiterate. The end result is Willie dancing like a freed marionette after every win, & that’s just too bad.
Good post and I completely agree. Omar is doing a poor job at handling this. Either Willie is in or he is not and lets move on.
agreed…even Wagner opened his mouth about this…
Omar doesn’t understand that if he says, “Willie is the manger for the rest of the year and then we will re-evaluate” fans and players will not be unhappy.
speak for yourself
The Mets are making a second trip to Colorado before Colorado comes to NY once, before a second trip to Philly, Florida, or Washington, or before a first trip to anyone in the Central Division besides the Cubs.
That’s brilliant scheduling.
that is interleague play wreaking havoc
Wow! Tiger pushes it to sudden death!
It’d do the Mets some good to watch his grit and determination (playing w/ the injury) in this playoff round as an example of how to carry themselves.
Wang likely out for the year for the Yankees…They better get a move on cloning Joba before the sox pull away!
Or the Rays.
Here is the problem I have with this. I’m of the school of thinking that the manager is always in a constant state of evaluation by his bosses – win or lose. Clearly, wins means happy bosses and job security and losing does not.
Omar may not have answered in the best way, but the truth is the discomfort with Willie’s job status is fueled by the media and fan base who is convinced that Willie must go. It is not created by what Omar is or is not saying.
Truth is, Omar can say that Willie will be kept for the whole season. If the decision is made in a few weeks to fire Willie, will he then get blasted for not keeping him like he said he would? That’s not fair. All I can do is take a wait and see approach and hope they turn it around with whomever at the wheel.
however he could make a statement saying willie’s job is secure for the near future. something to get the media to shut up about pestering the players with questions.
Wait a minute, you’re telling me the Mets are handling a situation in an embarrassingly moronic way? Surely you jest
The part that’s embarrassing is the whole organization’s in-ability to circle the wagons and defend one another. Hell, their play not-withstanding, I would respect them from top to bottom more if they acted like they truly were in each other’s corner. No real culture change is ever going to be possible when they all are interested in saving their own skins.
The Mariners are struggling…they fired the GM…OMAR GET OUT
the Mariners are not struggling, they are a joke, last year when their team was surging their manager quit, HE QUIT!!!
just to clarify, Bavasi replaces Pat Gillick November 2003.
In 2003, the Mariners were 93-69 missed the playoffs by 2 games wild card 3 games division
2004 63-99 dead last
2005 69-93 dead last
2006 78-84 dead last
2007 88-74 6 out of wild card and division, manager quits in middle of big winning streak
2008 worst team in baseball
moves under his watch Sexson free agent terrible
Beltre free agent terrible.
Carlos Silva, oye
Jarrod Washburn, oye
Miguel Batista, Jose Vidro, oye oye
The trade for Bedard will be seen as terrible when Bedard exits Seattle.
David Lennon’s Newsday blog literally provides the update that Willie, Alomar, and Manuel were seen leaving the team hotel headed to the ballpark.
Are we serious? I know the Mets could do a bit more to quell the rumors, but are we still doubting this is a media-fueled frenzy of nonsense?! We need updates on them heading ot the stadium?
Thanks David. Tell me when his uniform pants are on. Meanwhile he adds “no sign of Peterson or Nieto.” Yeah, Nieto is on the hot seat. He’s probably in the gift shop.
I hate F-ing golf! Please post on some golf site. The comparison between golf and baseball makes about as much sense as telling the Mets to go watch Braveheart. On second thought, maybe the Mets should go watch Braveheart, but not F-ing Golf!
I like it but I can never get the ball past that &#*@ing windmill.
yeah and I always lose my ball on the last hole
Golf is fun and very stress relieving, but it’s a game and baseball is a sport, so I don’t think comparisons are accurate between the two.
On another note Wang is out for the season for the Yankees. Here’s a trade that could never happen, but would be interesting….Oliver Perez for Phil Hughes
That won’t happen, but why not Ollie for another Yankee prospect? I am not familiar with their system, but they must have an almost ready position player that could help the Mets.
Ah, didn’t you see? Ollie’s comin around.
I’d make that trade after the subway series is over… I’d make that trade in a heartbeat in fantasy baseball. For Minaya and Cashman to sit down and talk trading Hughes for Perez: FAT CHANCE! haha
And Metsblogs #1 savior, Xavier Nady, had an MRI on his shoulder that showed a sprain, but not required surgery.
Perfect for the Mets, he is already damaged! No need to wait for him to get hurt after arriving.
Isnt Ollie our 2nd best starter right now?!?! or is that Pelfrey haha
Nady is not Metsblog #1 savior….that would be Val Pascucci
anyone else psyched that all 3 SP’s for the Angels are Righties??? that means we get to see Trot Nixon for 3 games in a row, I dont care, I like the guy and its nice not having to play Tatis.
However this also means the Mets will lose 2 out of 3 as David Wright will got 1-14 in the series and still not get sit down and then we get to hear how terrible everyone else associated with the Mets is except for Wright.
I mean is it just me? all of our SP’s (with the excpetion of Maine, who hasnt been terrible) have been pretty pretty pretty good for a couple weeks now, our pen is struggling (basically just joe smith who should get sent down, heilman as usual and wagner hopefulyl has bounced back) and both Carlos’ are starting to hit and the top of our order is getting on…the only one who is regressing is DWright and we cant score runs, man is this guy importnant, and man does he either A. need a day off or B. need a new hitting coach
but according to every media report the only coach not rumored to be fired is Hojo…all so Minaya doesnt have to admit he made a mistake last year.
the Mets fired Tom Seaver as an announcer cause he sucked, lets do the same for another beloved Met who sucks in his current position.
The way I am looking at this, Prince Fielder should not come to the Mets. DH in waiting and you can’t blame Ned Yost because he (Fielder) suddenly decided to become a Vegan. C.C. Sabathia will probably cost you Maine, FMart, Kunz and Niese. Thanks but no thanks!! Now if it is true that Bernazard has issues with Willie and he is seen as meddling in the clubhouse, Bernazard should either be told what his role is or be kicked out. What we’re seeing with Delgado is what we’re getting and the Mets will be wise not to pick up the option. There’s a ton of cash coming off the books after the 2008 season so it will be wise to spend it where it should be spent and on players who will bring grit, determination and is not afraid of the NY media or the big stage (in other words, can handle the pressure of playing in NY). Now we all know the draft is a crapshoot but in 2003, the Mets selected Lastings Milledge 12th overall and could have had: Conor Jackson (19th overall), Chad Billingsley (24th overall), Carlos Quentin (29th overall); in 2004, rather than select Phil Humber 3rd overall, they could have selected: Jeremy Sowers (6th overall), Homer Bailey (7th overall), Phil Hughes (23rd overall); In 2005, Mets selected Mike Pelfrey 9th overall, here’s who they also could have selected with the pick: Cameron Maybin (10th overall), Jay Bruce (12th overall), Jacoby Ellsbury (23rd overall), Matt Garza (25th overall), Colby Rasmus (28th overall). I will be more interested to know what the Mets philosophy and their approach when it comes to the type of player they are looking for. It’s fun to look back and say man – the Mets coulda (shoulda, woulda) had this guy. My point is a lot of emphasis needs to go into hard nose players who can flat out hit and have a high ceiling, high risk, high reward potential. By scouting for these types of players, not only you hope that they pan out but you can also fill holes and not have the need to go after aging veterans such as a Delgado or, Castillo for example. You have players that once it is time, they are ready to step up to take someone’s job if they are not performing to their capabilities.
_X_ Willie Randolph is our manager for the remainder of 2008. We will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season. Now let’s go win some games.
_X_ Omar Minaya is our General Manager for the remainder of 2008. We will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season. Now let’s go win some games.
___ Tony Bernazard is our Vice-President, Player Development for the remainder of 2008. We will re-evaluate the situation at the end of the season. Now let’s go win some games.
Nuff said! Now let’s play ball!!
to be fair Minaya was only here for that 2005 draft, and Pelfrey was considered the college pitcher of that draft by many
Unrelated:
Is anybody else excited that the Phillies have to play a series against the Red Sox and then a series against the Angels’ best pitchers?
Really? Are you seriously looking at the Phillies schedule? How about this.. the Phillies take 2/3 at home and lose 2/’3 in LA.. their .500 record will certainly be better or equal to ours. On the plus side, we’ll probably solidify Aaron Cook’s entrance into the All Star game by making hium look like the 2nd coming of Cy Young…
For all of you who think there is a ton of cash comming off the books dont for get both Wright and Reys get raises.
Should still be enough to go after some real studs.
Yeah, that 4.25 million should really cramp the Mets budget. Get real.
Regardless if Wright and Reyes are getting a raise because of the contracts Minaya gave them (buying out arbitration and maybe a year of free agency), that does not matter. There’s more money coming off the books than what Reyes and Wright will get combined in 2009. Even more if Beltran decides to have the cojones by pulling a Scott Boras (like he did with AROD) and opt-out after 2010.
I don’t see any opt out clause. However I do see that 22 million is defered. Last I counted the Mets still had over 40 million to spend on 2 SP, 1B, OF and bench/BP. Thats a lot of money. One of the biggest things will be getting either a cheap option or homegrown talent to take either LF or 1B. Then you can free up much more money to hopefully go after pitching. Something like Garland and Sheets would be nice.
Please FIRE WILLIE already, so all of us Mets fans can finally start “sippin’ champagne!”
“Sources” say that if the Mets can win at least one game in the series and be compeitive in the other two games, they may offer Willie the other half of his airline ticket to Colorado, but possibly still may not. Omar was then quoted as saying something or other about a ship and battling. Either way, we’re in form some mediocre baseball.. whoopie! I’ll be sure to stay up until 1AM watching this miserable collection of has-beens. .
ha…this is how an article in Newsday describe Jeff WIlpon:
Jeff Wilpon, who has made a rise from non-entity in this town to first place among the idiot sons of rich fathers
that is not an article, it is a snot rag piece by a trash reporter who has not class in Wallace Matthews, small minded people like Matthews who are bitter that they don’t live on the other side of the fence often know very little about what they speak or pen, he has been taking unnecessary cheap shots at Jeff Wilpon for years, blaming him for every thing but the plague and 9/11.
rocoton1: dude[tte?], don’t despair–I’ll send you some xanax. it’s still the Mets, man!
The Mets!
Let’s Go Mets!
Their handling of the Willie situation and the Ryan Church situation has been so bush league. If Willie was going to get the ax, he should of got it last week. It’s too late Omar. Bush league, bush league. From their stupid black uniforms, to the way they blast the music at Shea until you can’t here yourself think anymore. The Mets continually insult the intelligence of their own fans. Just go out and play good baseball, that’s all that New York wants.
I agree. Omar and the Wilpons have been an embarrassment. This goes back all the way to after the final game of last year (Glavine: 1/3 inning; 7 runs . . . remember?) when they let Willie twist in the wind before agreeing to bring him back. Where I disagree with you is that if they were going to fire Willie, they should have done it after the last game, last year. But they brought him back while keeping his ass on the grille (i.e. “. . . if he doesn’t get off to a good start . . ” b.s.). You can’t win like that because it’s not fair to the players who then think every pitch or every at bat will get their manager fired. They set him up for rabid fans (you know who you are) who have been locked-up in cages waiting to lynch him for “the collapse.” The cage has been unlocked.
The Mets haven’t gotten off to a good start because of massive amounts of injuries and mishandled situations which resulted from the poor decisions made by Omar and the Wilpons.
They’ve treated Willie worse than cow manure while undermining him at every step of the way. You want to send a message to the real culprits in this mess — Omar and the players — give Willie a two year contract extension.
Firing Willie will make matters worse now, IMO.
Intriguing.
“hear” yourself think…sorry..
To tell you the truth, i think that its not Willie Randolph’s fault. I believe that the hitting coach is responsible. Obviously, if you have Beltran, Delgado, and Wright struggling, you defintely have a problem. Rick Peterson is also not the problem. The mets pitchers have been pitching well as of late.
Firing Willie Randolph will get the Mets nowhere. The Mets just need to get rid of the hitting coach. Point blank.
If the Mets were hitting well DoDo should get no credit, so I am not going to kill him now, only point out that he was put on the staff and then elevated when one of Willies only direct appointments Down was fired for a team doing far better than DoDos.
There are only two solutions, all coaches and Randolph gets his last stand ala Bobby Valentine in 1999.
Or all go coaches and Randolph. Elevating Manuel changes nothing if it is assumed Randolph has lost the players, his bench coach is not brining them back.
Delgado is struggling not because JoJo is a bad hitting, he’s struggling because he’s washed-up. Has lost too much bat speed. He gets lucky once in a while and connects with a meatball pitch for a home-run, but the key words there are “Once in a while”. Hell, you and I can get lucky once in a while just by making lucky contact on a 94 mph fastball.
Beltran is also not struggling becuase HoJo is a bad hitting coach. He’s struggling because No. 1 he’s not a clean-up hitter and No. 2 he has no protection behind. Again, it comes back full-circle to Delgado. Not having a “True” clean-hitter, one picthers are affraid to face, adversely affects the whole line-up up and down. At least with Church, Beltran and Wright should see better pitches. But do you honestly think pitchers in the NL are affraid of facing Delgado? The lack of a productive Right Fielder and Delgado’s decline really weakens this line-up which is why you never see them “tack” on runs and why they leave so many runners in scoring position. It’s an extremely easy line-up to pitch around.
Hey, I’m Giuseppe Franco. I don’t own the team. I don’t know anything about it. I just sign players that were good–-once.
Oh wait, that’s Minaya’s commercial. Long contracts, hoping for past glories and denying the present while deluding himself with lifetime stats. Willie makes some curious decisions—or nondecisions but he’s playing with the crumbling cards that Omar dealt him.
Willie is a convenient fall guy and I won’t cry when he finally gets canned but Omar has to shoulder some of the blame for setting Willie up for failure.