|
…i have to be honest, i am a little confused by how how some members of the media are reacting, saying things like, ‘The Mets should be ashamed of themselves,’ and so on…it almost feels like they’re more worked up about having missed the story, because they were all basically getting ready for bed when it broke, than they truly are upset with the Mets…their reaction is bordering on fake outrage, at this point…
…also, i do not sense that fans are truly upset with how Willie Randolph was treated – as much as they’re embarrassed because other fans and media are mocking the us…
…i mean, a few weeks ago i ran a poll and the majority of fans wanted willie fired…now, suddenly, he is a sympathetic figure…in reality, i think our collective frustration has less to do with willie, and more to do with Jerry Manuel, who is not seen as a drastic enough change, and more to do with how the organization is being perceived by rival fans and media outside of New York, such as ESPN’s Mike and Mike who called the Mets ‘a laughing stock’ on their radio program this morning…
…i suspect if the Mets had hired, say, Bobby Valentine, and did it in the middle of the night, we, as fans, would be far more supportive and tolerant of how this was handled…
Who cares any more? Play ball.
The reason most fan’s don’t care is because they have
as much class as the organization.
Including you.
What the hell are you talking about? All I mean is this is a baseball team we root for. Let’s root for the players now.
They handled it badly, so what else is new?
Baseball teams always handle things badly.
Let’s get the conversation back between the lines.
I will repeat it again the the ones with so much class,
Who give damn play ball.
I waited a long time for that bum to be fired, and I do not care what time of the dayn it was.
Buzz off troll.
This has been standard operating procedure for the Yankee organization for more than 3 decades. Making winning a priority, firing managers early in the season. Talk about class Yankee fans – your beloved own catcher Yogi wouldn;t even set foot inside the Stadium for 20 years because he was treated so shabby by Steinbrenner. If this isn’t the pot calling the kettle black I don’t know what is. Its just fine when Skankees do it in the name of trying to win but for the Mets – Its “whoa hold on” or “what a class-less move.” Total BS.
Lets Go Mets forever.
This whole thing with Randolph is a joke. I will be talking about this at great length on my Mets radio show tonight at 6:30. Call in and tell me what ou all think.
Matt, you are dead wrong about this. The Mets not only blew this, they made Willie into a sympathetic, even heroic figure in the process.
They forced him to endure questions about his job day after day… and he did it with grace, dignity and humor.
They said he needed to start winning… and he did.
They said the team needed to show more energy, even as they were hanging him out to dry in his own clubhouse… and amazingly, they players responded.
Then they said the weekend series against the Rangers was critical… so the team took 2 of 3 and mounted a furious comeback in the one game they lost.
And they fired him anyway.
I don’t pretend to have sources inside the clubhouse, but I think the Mets lacked the guts to make the move when they should have, so they decided to wait for the next losing streak, or case of player apathy. When they didn’t get it, they tried to CREATE it by sabotaging their own team. And when that backfired, they freaked.
“Oh no, they’ve won 3 of 4… let’s fire him now before they win 10 in a row and we’re stuck with him!”
It was a ridiculous way to handle it. The Mets deserve all the bashing they’re getting.
I agree with you. And Omar said he hadn’t made a decision until he got to the park and /or the Hotel and then he told Willie. If that is true then why was he afraid that ’someone’ was going to get to Willie before him? Also what was this about not firing a guy in uniform? Has a GM ever walked out on the field and fired someone?
Did anyone ask Willie or Omar what led to the Mets collapse last year? Honestly I never heard that question asked. If the players had just stopped playing for Willie than I would want to know why. If it was the injuries to older players and there was no one in the organization to bring up than that is Omar’s fault. If the front office was angry and disappointed about last years collapse that’s understandable and I think they really didn’t want to bring Willie back. Then fine, fire him in a professional way; not in a bush league fashion. What happens if Jerry loses 10-12 games in a row? Personally I think they should have fired Willie earlier or give him til the AS break.
I guess I’m ready to move on and root that this team does better.
WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD ANYONE WANT BOBBY V AS THEIR MANAGER????
“it almost feels like they’re more worked up about having missed the story, because they were all basically getting ready for bed when it broke, than they truly are upset with the Mets…they’re reaction is bordering on fake outrage, at this point…”
Bingo.
I’m amazed at how people don’t see this. I think we’re really seeing the influence of the media on the masses here. Just follow what all the papers and journalists are saying….blah blah blah…it’s obvious that they’re all just frustrated that they couldn’t take advantage of big news like that…
im truly upset . this is no way to treat anyone
EXACTLY. Great call Cerrone. If Willie was fired right…. about….. NOW, they’d all be applauding the move, since they’d have a good 6 hours to get their stories together for the morning newspapers.
Yes, exactly. I’m more concerned about them keeping Manuel and HoJo, who I perceive to be part of the problem.
Newspapers, as Hank would say, are so 1800s. 11am PST, 4am EST, who cares? The Internet is on 24/7, and these guys need to get with the program.
I didn’t think it was time to fire Willie, and I think they made a decision to make a change while not really making a big enough change. I didn’t think it would fix anything, and I definitely don’t think the way they did it will. I don’t think waiting for them to return home would’ve been too late. So even if Omar made the decision last night, he could’ve sat on it and given him one last shot.
It does suck to have to make that flight to get fired, of course, They’re paying him quite a bit to fly back home..
Great points Matt.
Hopefully Omar clears everything up at the press conference and the Mets and fans can move on.
Or not – from someone who tried to follow Omar’s press conference……
Is there a single Mets fan who’s not thinking about Bobby V right now?
It be great, but his boat has sailed.
Umm… weren’t you the same guy who wrote “As a Mets fan, I’m embarrassed this morning, and I feel a little dirty.” just this morning?
FLIP FLOPPER
Sorry Matt. Don’t agree with your anaysis here.
I haven’t read what others wrote, just what’s been written on your blog, and I do feel dirty and cheap. The Mets “family” should have taken care of this in a much better way.
This has nothing to do with Jerry Manuel. Everyone knows that there is no one else available.
Backman is.
It does seem like certain media members are making way too big a deal out of this…it really does feel like they are trying to make a story out of something. It’s a bit much at this point. “A laughingstock”? That just seems kind of harsh. Even Buster Olney on ESPNNEWS a little while ago seemed way too excited to be talking about how disgraceful he finds the Mets’ handling of everything.
Olney is and always has been a Yankee schill. He’s upset his buddy, Willie from the Bronx, won’t be around anymore.
Buster never adds anything of substance, especially when he is talking about the Mets.
Sadly, being referred to as a Laughingstock isn’t harsh enough. I’d call a lineup featuring Damien Easley, Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez, Brian Schneider, Carlos Delgado, and Luis Castillo downright disgusting. Omar needs to pack his bags, and outside of the Zambrano thing, what did Peterson do wrong? Name a pitcher who did worse than his career average under Peterson. He was a strength for this team. The new guy is scary. He reminds me of my middle school shop teacher-No Horseplay! But hey, this guy has coached pitching powerhouses like the the ‘96 Padres, the ‘02 Tigers, and the ‘08 New Orleans Zephers so no need to worry. I’m starting to hate this team
Matt, you nailed it!
The press is acting all indignant becuase they missed the story. They had to wake up at 4 in the morning to cover something that was long overdue (8 1/2 months overdue, to be exact). That’s all. The media could give a rat’s a** about Willie and him having to fly out to LA for one game and then getting canned.
This is strictly the media acting like cranky children becuase someone rousted them from their precious sleep. Boo-Hoo.
Yes, I agree.
I am embarassed, but also worried about the team having to answer twice as many questions because of front office bungling.
I just want to win!
THANK YOU MATT. sure the mets could have handled this better but it should not be the main story here.
Yea, enough already. Bigger things to worry about, like $5.00 gas. Lets play ball and start winning so it distracts from lifes bigger troubles.
I don’t think it’s Manuel, per se. I think it’s that people enjoy getting riled up and venting righteous anger at the Mets (or anyone). The press (especially talk radio) invited it, and people gleefully piled on. People liek to vent at sports teams these days. It’s an excuse to vent, and can be cathartic for them. They also love to feel like they’re sympathetic and on the side of justice. This reaction allows them to (1) feel and express outrage (i.e., act out) and (2) feel like they support the underdog — the recently dismissed manager.
Matt, I respectfully. Even if the majority of fans wanted Willie fired, they certainly didn’t want him fired like this. The manner in which it was handled was embarrassing to the organization, as well as disrespectful to Willie who deserved better. I personally thought Willie deserved more of a chance, at the very least until the All-Star break to try and turn this around.
He alsready had way to many chances.
Good by, and have a nice day Sillie.
I’m surprised Omar is the GM of a team. He’s clueless
right on Cerrone.,. these writers are a bunch of pansies… they feel jilted they missed their headlines.. well.. guess what.. most people get their news from the internet.. not the early morning tabloid headlines
Matt looks like SNY finally caught up to you
Matt, you are all over the map today. Its hysterical. Fans like myself who have followed this team since the late 70’s are sick and tired of the Mickey Mouse antics of the FO. Its ridiculous he was fired via an-email @ 3 am on the 2nd day of a west coast trip. Its that simple.
what the eff are you talking about? i mean generally but also specifically above. willie was fired personally by omar in the team hotel at midnight local time.
He was fired in private with Omar after the game. Why would it have been any better to fire him in mid-afternoon. Or right before/after a game when all the media is right there.
yup, SNY got him….oh well, it was fun while it lasted, people are upset cause the manager was fired at 3 AM after the 2nd good hard fought win after a week of hard fought games where our only losses came from Billy Wagner and a game where John Maine was terrible and we STILL slmost came back…this should have been done after the SD series…or at least after a loss, and not be memo @ 3AM.
As I’ve said in an earlier post, I’m more concerned about the fact that the Randolph situation was handled with the same level of indesiceness and apparent bungling as so many other important decisions that have been made by this FO and ownership for years. There’s a perception that the Wilpon-led Mets just can’t seem to get anything done without it becoming a firestorm, and I’m starting buy into that. There have been about 50 different times I expected to go to metsblog and find an announcement that Willie was fired, but strangely, first thing this morning it was the last thing on my mind.
The press may have its own agenda, and I don’t doubt your theory Cerrone. But I also feel there are some fans, who both supported and turned on Randolph, who thought this whole situation was just bizarre. You’re never going to please everyone with a controversial decision, but it just seem like more often than not, the Mets made decisions that welcome ridicule, whether its trading their best pitching prospect for a stiff because some guys in the clubhoue didn’t like him and he was perceived as an injury risk, or letting word leak that they were dumping Howe with only two weeks left in the season.
Matt, I have to disagree with you on this one. In an age where the news cycle is 24/7, newspapers have become irrelevant for the most part when it comes to breaking stories. Trust me, I used to work for one.
Nobody missed the story because soon after they sent that email out, I got a text alert on my phone from the New York Times. Why? Because we live in a 24/7 news cycle now.
If you don’t think the Mets should be ashamed of themselves, where have you been throughout this franchise’s history. This organization has made a ton of boneheaded decisions. And to me, the timing of Randolph’s firing takes the cake.
They let Randolph hang in the balance for far too long. I’m one of the few people on this board who is a Willie supporter. If they were so upset with last year, they should have fired him then, end of story and we wouldn’t be witnessing the greatest circus on earth right now.
Willie is a sympathetic figure because of the WAY this went down, not BECAUSE he was fired. How would you like it if you got a call from your boss at 8 p.m. to hear you’ve been fired after putting in a full day’s work? Think about that for a second.
I am one fan who is truly upset at the way Willie was treated. I’m a firm believer that the bottom line is it’s the players who are responsible and I’ve heard that numerous times from head coaches/managers in my time as a sportswriter. Most fans are always looking for a scapegoat when things go wrong and the manager is an easy target.
And the Mets were considered a laughingstock way before this happened. It’s the way of a depressed organization.
I agree with you. I liked Willie, and I thought it wasn’t time yet. Scapegoat is true, and they could’ve fired him at the end of the season and I woudln’t have complained. But to fire him in June of this year based on September of last year seems silly. The team isn’t in a position where it’s out of it, so I feel like he should’ve given every chance to succeed, which would’ve been a couple more weeks.
Also, if it was really an issue, they needed to get rid of Manuel and really get a clean slate. This isn’t that.
I think there is something to the media creating the story, that’s what they do, and why I have no respect for most of them. With the 24/7 everyone is looking for a new angle or trying to break a story, and this controversy is a way for them to do that. They did the same with the Santana-booing stories, and all it does is undermine guys like Willie and the players.
You totally nailed it.
I wonder what tonights line-up looks like? Any changes you people think?
You want to talk about “fake outrage”, check out Rosenthal’s article on Fox Sports.
“I do not say this lightly: The Mets’ firings of Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto will go down as one of the most disgraceful episodes in sports history.”
Wow. Really?
that’s just plain retarded. all these self-righteous journalists are acting like omar came out and said they fired randolph because he’s black. I”M SICK OF THE MELODRAMA.
What an idiot. The “disgraceful episode” is the Biblical hyperbole.
That guy needs to get laid
That is so silly that it reminds me of Willie the Sillie
The best part of it was he said it would be ok if they waited until 5pm today to make the official announcement. That screams that his major issue was the inconvenience to the media. How in the world would it have been any easier for Willie to get fired this morning/this afternoon than last night??
…also, i do not sense that fans are truly upset with how Willie Randolph was treated – as much as they’re embarrassed because other fans and media are mocking the us…
I don’t see why it can’t be both.
I can’t believe Omar intended to fly all the way out there to fire Willie @ midnight. I’m not even sure he intended to do it after the game – I think it’s possible Omar just went in to fire Willie’s coaches and Willie said ‘enough’s enough, if you don’t support me I’m leaving this circus”
This whole Randolph thing is a joke. The Mets should be shamed of themselves. I will be talking about this at great length tonight at 6:30 on my Mets radio show. Call in and tell me what you all think.
no
Pass.
Have to disagree, the move was the right one, but the way it was handled was really tactless and reflects poorly on a team that already has a reputation for being 2nd class. As a Mets fan that bothers me in the same way the Church fiasco bothered me. I could care less how the media reacts, the media is for parrots who can’t draw their own conclusions.
You really must be confused because you flip-flop more than John Kerry. If you think this is the way to treat an employee then you have just as little class as the Mets front office.
Up yours. Kerry’s cool.
Kapnasty, I was just going to write the same thing!
Hey Matt, what happened to your post from this morning saying you “felt like throwing up” and that you “needed to take a shower” after hearing how Willie had been treated??
Did the Wilpons have a nice big glass of Kool-Aid waiting for you at SNY? Seems like you drank it…
I’m disappointed in you…
Willie’s a good guy – no one ever disputed that. the outrage is about how he was treated, but i also think it has to do with the fact that people realized in the last two weeks that the mets’ problems were caused more by omar than willie. firing him served no other purpose than to keep omar employed longer.
that said, i hope these guys realize that, as players, you do it for each other – the guys on the field. when (if) they realize that, what a wonderful second half we could see…
I posted before I was doing the radio at 6:30 but I meant six. Hope to hear from you. Lets pan the Wilpons!!!!
I am totally going to unload on the Wilpons and Omar tonight dont you worry. They were so out of line with this. Hope to hear some calls on this, including you too Matt.
gimme a break —-bag.
It might be wiser to get this announcement put through as a blog entry so you don’t seem like such a spammer.
Since when is it not OK as an owner of a corporation to fire an employee whenever and whereever the hell you want?!?!?!
This guy had to go, it’s as simple as that. I don’t care if it was 3am, in NY, 11 pm in California, or 6 in the morning in Timbucktoo, for cryin’ out loud!!!!!
The sports media has been insuffrable lately.
‘So, what, if they lose tonight Willie gets fired?????’
‘How can you fire him after they just won 2 in a row?’
‘How can you fire him when Wagner was the one who blew the games?’
‘How can you fire him in California after he (SOB…SOB) just flew ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY???!!!
‘How can you fire him at 3 in the morning NY time…HOW DARE YOU!!!!!’
Take off the daipers and grow up, people. He got fired.
What are “daipers”? Tell me, Mr. Bossman! Set us straight! Tell us how things reeeeeeallly are! What are they? Tell us!!!!!
The media killing the mets is bullcrap. first as Omar said it was 11pm not 3 am second he finally realized it was time. every team fires their manager at some point because it was inevitable doesnt mean it was clasless.
Exactly! It was 11pm, after the end of a game. Why should the Mets have to wait until it’s whatever time EVERYONE ELSE says is a good time to announce the firing? Is there a rule somewhere that says that all firings must be announced in the middle of the day on a weekday so everyone can be nice and comfy?
Again, everyone needs to grow up.
i think there is a bad taste in our mouths for many reasons. I think doing it on the road is lame, omar blaming the media in a back handed way, and then just promoting jerry to coach. If they wanted a change.. they should have gotten rid of everyone jerry was sitting next to willie when he made the calls.
we need a hard nose kind of guy.. maybe lou pinella or jose gullien will become available…lol..
lets just worry about winning some ball games… i am sure willie will find another job. i wouldnt be suprised if you see him with the dodgers with joe again.
That I will agree on. I wish they had a better option than Manuel. Seems more like a lateral move.
With all due respect (or lack thereof; however you want to you look at it…in the words of Omar Minaya PERCEPTION)…I did not like the way the Mets handled the situation with Willie, you do not dangle your manager like that its wrong. Notice how Donnie Walsh waited until the end of the season instead of getting rid of Isiah Thomas (granted it was near the end of the season), but people said this was a smart move. You do not put you’re manager on the line the way they did. You don’t let morons like Tony Bernazard, who from what my sources tell me (and they are pretty acurate), leak information to people. This man was out of line, and Omar weakly chastised him in the press conference (not by name thought). Matt when you say all Mets fans, you are talking about the ones that are on your site along with the 40 some odd thousand fans that make it to the stadium, which you should know, does not constitute a majority. I’ve gone after you before because of this and will do so when I feel necessary. But please, when you state facts (or claim that they are facts) you are not providing samples. I would like you to show everyone, how many people participated in these polls you show online. if i had to guess, the number does not even come close to a majority, so the information is not reputable, infact it could be inaccurate and you know it. So report it correctly, or do not report it at all.
Oh shut up……
Very very well put as far as the “fake outrage” stuff. I can understand to an extent the idea that it should have been done sooner, but then again if its true Omar only made up his mind late Sunday/early Monday then thats not even a problem. But the Rosenthal goes on saying how they should have done it earlier, but if not just made the announcement at the press conference today at 5 pm. But who exactly would that help other than the media???
Matt, I have respected you and your opinions on this blog up to now, but the way you have flip-flopped on this issue today concerns me. I totally agreed with you this morning when you said you felt “dirty” by the way the Mets carried this whole debacle out under the dark of night. But now, after spending all afternoon hanging out at SNY, you have suddenly changed your tune, implying that all of this “outrage” is not really from the fans but is just media hype. Has Jeff Wilpon put out talking points to that effect and you are now following the party line?
I was one of the ones calling for Willie’s head, but I am disgusted at how the Mets carried this out…. totally classless. And I am outraged not because the media has told me to feel that way but because as a fan I think the way the Mets carried this out was disgraceful.
I never wanted Willie fired in the first place I just don’t see how making Jerry the manager will improve the team and I liked Willie. I think he took way too much blame for a team that was too injury prone and poorly assembled in the first place.
Matt-
Willie Randolph deserved to be fired. He did not deserve to be fired the way he was fired. PERIOD.
You can buddy up with SNY suits and get all excited all you want. Nothing will change the fact that the Mets have fired a manager in one of the most classless fashions in baseball history.
Don’t ever post regurgitated Met spin on this site again.
I am upset that Willie wasn’t allowed to finish out this season, the ship was beginning to be righted and if you have enough faith in him to begin the 08 campaign with him, you should see the season through. Also, Peterson is a very smart pitching coach and that was the dumbest firing of the bunch. The staff ERA is very well, and given the inconsistency and injury-prone tendencies of the arms he had, he did some amazing things. The Mets messed up.
The way I see it, much of the confusion can be cleared up by looking more closely at Omar. It seems like ownership made it clear that his job is in real jeopardy so he did the only thing that was a viable option, fire the manager. Although Omar’s job should be in jeopardy since this is the team he built. A manager is a manager, old men set in their ways.
I am an avid reader of Mets Blog and life-long Met fan, but I am completely frustrated for the recent tactic of “speaking on behalf of the fans” that has become common with Matt on this website and on SNY. There are plenty of fans that never wanted Willie to be fired. Although polls on this website have shown that those fans are in the minority, its never been by a hugely substantial margin, and lets face it, polls on this website are far from scientific. When Matt speaks on SNY he would be better served to speak from his perspective and not from his vaguely derived impressions of the perspectives of others. This is so frustrating. This whole week on WFAN, they’ve been talking about how the fans don’t care about how the Mets treated Willie. This is clearly untrue and I’m tired of being told how I feel about things by others.
Why would anyone bother with Matt for his own perspective though? You act like he’s Yogi Berra or something. The only reason anyone asks Matt the time of day is because he runs this blog and he gets flooded with emails from people telling him what time THEY think it is
Matt, I don’t care that Willie was fired. It was the way it was handled by Minaya and the Wilpons that I have a problem with. Minaya can put whatever spin he wants on it but what he and ownership did was show a lack of class and professionalism. When he is fired for the terrible job he has done as a GM, hopefully sooner than later, I hope the owners show the same lack of class and professionalism they showed Willie and fire Omar at 3AM East Coast Time, 12 Midnight West Coast Time.
Hey Matt, this morning you said how as a Met fan you “felt embarssed and a little dirty” about what happened to Willie. Now with this post , you completely change your tune, bring up Bobby Valentine for no reason, what starting to drink the Mets kool aid again? Did Omar’s near tears convince you to change your tune? Stay consistent, this is not the media’s fault, this is THE METS FAULT. The Media has every right to blast the Mets for the way they handled this, no Manager from Art Howe to Bobby Valentine deserved to be treated this way.
Matt, I am so glad that you gave true perspective of how a true fan feels. Most Mets “Fans” nowadays jump on the bandwagon because of a few good players or they hate the crosstown rivals. I too felt a little embarrassed but at the end of the day I felt relieved and I pushed for Randolph to stay but ultimately you have to respect Omar. Mind you, he is the man that brought the Sandman, Beltran and arguably the best pitcher today to the Mets. Although the fans are upset now, it will blow over in a week because this is New York and there is always news to spread.