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The Willie Randolph Era, in four minutes worth of video:
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Ugh. This makes me feel even more sick to my stomach about the last 3 years as a mets fan. Don’t watch it.
ditto.
LOL they just can’t stop showing this on sny…
One thing i find it so weird that once willie was fired mets fan feel bad about it, I dont understand it because last week there where allot of fans out there that wanted him gone..
WELL THERE IT IS WILLIE IS GONE…
FOR ALL U GUYS THAT WENT TO SHEA AND KEPT BOOOING LIVE IT UP>>>
YOU GUYS GOT WHAT YOU WANTED>>>>>>
It’s over, Mets handled the whole thing like the 2nd class organization that they are, but the move itself was for the best. Hopefully this sparks something because the NL wildcard is for the taking.
We are closer in the division with 13 games left vs. the Philthies. I couldn’t stand watching them win another division title. So, we can either beat them head to head, or lose every remaining game vs. the Marlins and Braves to help their cause. Either one is better than Philthy.
wow, that was depressing.
still the right move, handled terribly – should have all been let go last october.
Shouldn’t the title have been “The Tony Bernazard Era”?
Sorry to beat a dead horse, but if anything we hear about the ‘Zard is true, he needs to go, too. Wake up, Jeff!
That said, I’m behind the move, behind Jerry and behind this team. Jerry: step one: No Zards in the clubhouse. We’ll see what happens.
where did jordan zakarin’s post go?
They forgot that Willie trusted his guys!
Willie makes me vomit. WE SHOULD BE REJOICING TODAY! NOT SECOND GUESSING THE ORGANIZATION!
“IF YOU NEED A FRIEND, GET A DOG”
I woke up this morning, got the news and did a little dance around my room. Today marks the rebirth of the Mets. I don’t care how they did. Was it bad, yes…but he needed to be fired on Memorial Day! That would have gone down easier.
maybe jerry manuel can hire willie as his bench coach :-)
thats dirty.. i tried my best not to see that beltran at bat ever again
I know….That was a filthy, filthy pitch Wainwright threw.
o god i have a horrible pain in the pit of my stomach when i saw beltran strike out looking… jesus that hurts so bad
i mean bases loaded 2 outs in the 9th game 7 of the nlcs you couldn’t write a better script for a grand slam or a line drive right down the 1st base line to win the game… O GOD SOMEONE GET ME A DRINK ..
You know, looking at Reyes standing there — just outside the batters box and not running, I think that was approximately the time the wheels came off the “Willie Train.”
It’s been a downhill glide ever since.
Let’s move on, let’s go Mets.
Someone should show the 08 Mets that celebration video from the 06 N.L. East champions to remind them how good it feels to be on top and how much the fans stood behind them. Also did I just dream this up or did I hear that Willie was on tap to be the NL allstars manager for this year?
2008 METS – NL CHAMPS
Jerry Manuel for Manager of the Year.
At the very least, we could have some laughs as a confused Pat Burrell repeatedly heads to the wrong dugout.
I was a Willie supporter, and coupled with the way things were handled, I couldn’t be more upset.
I was a Willie supporter, but coupled with the way things were handled, I couldn’t be more upset with the way things played out.
sorry double post…
We need a video of Willie’s greatest moments as manager played to the tune of “Wind Beneath My Wings”…
…but then I realized we would only get about ten seconds of video.
Did you ever know that you’re my hero….see ya willie.
excerpt from “I Trust My Guys: The Willie Randolph Managerial Experience” by Albert Aguero
The Collapse
…so we all lived through what factually can be considered the worst collapse in baseball history. Some may argue that the Yankees losing a 3 game lead to the Red Sox was worse, but I beg to differ. This team lost a 7 game lead with 17 games to play. These games were not versus tough opponents, 13 of those games were versus the Marlins and Nationals. We stood by this team, game after game. And every post-game was the same. We heard how Willie trusts his guys. How this team needed to find a rhythm. How it was just one game. And game by game, the time dwindled. But it was all ok, because we heard about champagne and how great it would taste when they won the division. Well, Sept 30th came and went and we all know how that turned out. And then came October 1st and 2nd, and we waited and waited. We waited for the inevitable. Someone had to pay, and it obviously had to be Willie. Well, we were wrong. Omar came on and said that Willie was a winner and he would continue being manager of the Mets in 2008. And just like that, the organization that was on the right path took major steps back. It was like quick sand.
The Mets Go As Reyes Goes
…it is often said that the “Mets go how Jose Reyes goes”. Well, then, Willie deserves much of the blame for ruining young Reyes. Sure Reyes is a bit of a primadona; he deserves criticism. However, on July 7, 2007, the respect young Reyes had for Willie was erased. Reyes check swung at a pitch and grounded it down the third base line. Thinking it would roll foul, Reyes watched the ball stay fair and was easily thrown out at first. Willie was irate and subsequently benched Reyes. Reyes looked at Willie in disbelief, mostly because Beltran and Delgado were notorious for not running things out hard. This was a typical Willie doublestandard where he treated veterans and young players differently. Reyes never looked at Willie the same. He adopted a “who-cares” attitude and struggled for the remainder of Willie’s tenure. The “Mets go as Reyes goes”, which meant the Mets also subsequently struggled for the remainder of Willie’s tenure.
I Know My Team Better Than Anyone
…loss after loss, Willie was questioned about his managerial decisions. Interview after interview, Willie stood his ground that he knew his team better than anyone. For Met fans in the Willie era, there are names that sound like nails on a chalkboard. Think back to 2007. Now say the name Guillermo Mota. How about Scott Schoeneweis? Julio Franco? Night after night, Willie would go to them with some rationale about his gut guiding his decision making. Even after the Collapse, fast forward to 2008. Say the names Aaron Heilman or Jorge Sosa. How does that make a Met fan feel? Time after time, we saw these players fail. The fans knew way before the manager the outcome of the managerial move. Yet, Willie Randolph was steadfast. He was out to prove that he was smarter than the average Joe(…or was he.) …
Willie is not Lou Pinella
…over the course of his tenure, Willie Randolph was always hesitant to stand up for his players and risk ejection. Apparently he felt that his strategic superiority would be drastically missed and his absence would consequently hurt his team. It would be a fine assumption, but it was at the expense of the respect of his players. Willie’s players never got the sense that he was there to defend them. They could clearly have a case with the umpires and Willie would just blandly discuss the situation, nod his head and walk back to the dugout. Well, in a way, Willie did get through to his players; he instilled the same passive malaise that he portrayed in the dugout. By the end of his tenure, the team was a shell of itself, going through the motions game after game…
I Treat These Guys Like Men
…perhaps the biggest flaw in Willie Randolph’s managerial tactics was his refusal to deviate from his personality. During a 2 year span, the NY Mets went 74-75. In this time, Willie continued to affirm his notion that there was no reason to yell or call out his team. “I treat these guys like men” was repeated on multiple occasions. Well, that would actually be commendable if that approach worked for the players on his team. However, perhaps, there were players on the team who needed to be treated differently. Perhaps, Willie should have tried different approaches to find a fit that worked for his team’s personality. Instead, like many tragic figures, Willie was a victim of his own hubris. He expected all players to conform to HIS style and personality. Unfortunately, that conformity was never adopted and Willie continued to be steadfast in his ways…
Conspiracy or Paranoia
…On May 18, after a sweep of the rival Yankees, Willie did the unthinkable; he gave an interview in which he sounded completely delusional and paranoid. He managed to insult the Mets home television network, the fanbase, and insinuate that his perception was skewed due to his race. The fallout from the interview was coupled by horrid roadtrip, where the Mets managed to be swept by division rival Atlanta and lost a series to the last-place Rockies. On Memorial Day, upon the return to Shea, Willie was asked to meet with Mets ownership. Although it was speculated that his job was in jeopardy, Willie remained as manager with a firm edict to right the ship…
The End of the Willie Experiment
…in 2005, after 14 interviews, Willie Randolph finally fulfilled his dream. He would be the manager of a New York baseball team; he would be the manager of the NY Mets. After just over 3 years, Willie Randolph was relieved from a nightmare. After being spared his job in 2007, the NY Mets floundered during the first half of a season in 2008. The Wilpons became increasingly anxious to see the Mets turn the ship around. After 2007, Willie lost the team’s confidence. Shortly after, the fans turned on him. Even the most ardent supporters could no longer find rationale to keep Willie. Weeks after the Memorial Day Meeting, the Mets were still floundering near the .500 mark and were 6.5 games behind defending Division Champion Philadelphia. After sparing him his job on Father’s Day, Omar flew to Los Angeles and fired Willie Randolph. The Willie experiment was now over…
Upon hiring a Jerry Manuel as interim manager, the Mets promptly went on a 5 game winning streak and found a new energy that had been missing since 2006. On the shoulders of Johan Santana, and a re-energized Jose Reyes, the NY Mets won the NL East and returned the NL pennant to Flushing…
ok good post but i dont understand how people can say the mets collapse was worst than the yanks 3 game lead aganst the red sox to go to the world series …
i say again THE WORLD SERIES !!!!!!!!! grant it was a horrible collapse and it was one of the worst experiences i have ever been threw as a baseball fan …
but the point is we just didnt make the playoffs and it would have been much more heart breaking if we would have lost in the first round against the hottest team in the mlb at the time THE COLORADO ROCKIES ..
their was no guarantee we were going to win the world series that year but the yanks had 99% chance of going to the world series and failed which is worse .. to see the 07 collapse or say have a 3-0 lead aganst the cardinals and loose 4 straight ??!!… I THINK WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT