Tag Archives: Willie Randolph
The Mets are 14-9 since Jerry Manuel took over for Willie Randolph as manager of the Mets.
The team has scored 69 runs in their last 10 games, during which the are 8–2.
Prior to yesterday’s game, Billy Wagner told reporters:
“He can be your friend, but he’s also the boss. You don’t got to like him, but you’ve got to respect him. That’s exactly how I think we look at it.”
Speaking of Wagner, in his recent Rumblings & Grumblings column for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark quotes him as saying:
“I don’t want to bash Willie, because I liked him. But before, it was more of The Yankee Way. It wasn’t The Mets Way. There was no facial hair. You could never have music in the clubhouse. You couldn’t have kids around. Believe it or not, some of us in here actually like kids…We’ve found out it’s pretty easy to play when you stop playing for stats and just go out and play hard and play to have fun.”
According to Stark, “Manuel has loosened all those reins and told his players to ‘play hard, play fearless and have fun.’
Following yesterday’s game, David Wright told reporters:
“We’re getting that attitude back, that swagger, that confidence back that we haven’t had all year.”
Yesterday, as Manuel left the podium following his post-game talk to reporters, the team’s spokesman announced that Omar Minaya would be entering the room with news.
“He’s going to sign me to about a 10-year deal,” Manuel said, while walking off the stage with his booming laugh.
For more, check out Dan Graziano’s column for the Star Ledger, and David Lennon’s report for Newsday.
…leave it to billy to reopen closed wounds…i can’t deny that the team has played much more inspired ball of late and the coaching change is probably a factor, but although i don’t disagree with him, billy should have just left well enough alone…
Lou Pinella will replace Willie Randolph on Clint Hurdle’s coaching staff during this year’s All Star Game at Yankee Stadium, writes Brian Costello in a report for the New York Post.
According to Costello, ‘MLB is working with Randolph to see if he still wants to be involved in the game in some capacity.’
…note to MLB: if you invite willie, i suggest you call him before 11 pm PDT, or before 2 am EDT…again, just a suggestion…
Tagged Willie Randolph |
Mike Puma of the New York Post reports Yankees Vice President Hank Steinbrenner would welcome former Mets manager Willie Randolph back with the team if Randolph is looking for a new job.
Steinbrenner, who did not comment on which position would be available for Randolph, holds no grudge against the former Yankees second baseman for leaving the organization for their cross-town rival, as quoted by Puma…
“If he had left to take over the Red Sox maybe I would have had a problem with that. He’s a Yankee. He’ll always be a Yankee. Even the Mets never completely accepted him because they thought he was a Yankee.”
…hank has said a lot of stupid things in his short tenure as the “new boss” of the Yankees, but he is spot on with his comments about some not accepting willie as a Met…
…i’ve never held it against players/managers who have crisscrossed between the two boroughs, including willie…if willie wants a job with the yanks or any other club, for that matter, so be it…good luck, willie…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Willie Randolph, Yankees |In today’s Daily News, Willie Randolph relays exactly how the firing went down, and his feelings on how it was handled.
Randolph on the moment he was fired:
“As Omar went on this weird chill started to course through by body. I could feel myself going cold. Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe he was talking about me. Maybe I was the one about to get whacked.”
“Omar, are you firing me?” I asked. He looked away for a minute and then met my eyes. “Yeah, I’m going to make a move,” he said. “It’s a hard decision, but I have to make it.”
…wow, this seems like an episode of the sopranos…rarely do you get this type of insight into a managerial firing and i applaud willie for being so courageous…i wish him the best and he’s sure to land on his feet somewhere in the baseball world soon…
…what amuses me about this situation is how the fickle media was so anti-willie before the firing, and now look at him as somewhat of a martyr…i feel like they’re always looking for someone to blame and i think omar will be the next to feel the pressure…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche, Willie Randolph |
The following video clip, courtesy of 
, is of Willie Randolph speaking to reporters as he left the team’s hotel today:
In a column for the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch weighs in on the firing of Willie Randolph, writing that, despite the ‘classless’ way it was executed, the move was justified, and that Randolph’s days at Shea will be remembered as one, long, frustrating tease.’
For all of Randolph’s boasting about unity in his clubhouse, about bonding with his players and bestowing upon them his competitive nature, the Mets were still less than the sum of their
parts. They seemed lethargic, at times even indifferent as they kept blowing leads in a steady, maddening stream… Randolph never connected with any key player other than David Wright.
Klapisch also gives some insight into Randolph’s troubles with the Wilpons, from his comments a few weeks ago about race, to his recent comments about their lack of involvement in the clubhouse.
…look, most of the discussion today will be about how this firing went down, with the ax dangling for weeks and the 3 am mass emailing, and it’s definitely something that needs to be discussed, because it was done in an unprofessional manner…i still don’t know how they could have taken something that they hoped would breathe new life into this team, something that everyone was prepared for, and turned it from a potential positive to a giant vortex of even more negativity…
…but that’s the thing, regardless of how horribly this was handled, at the end of the day, i don’t think this was the wrong decision…
Tagged Willie Randolph |Speaking to reporters a few moments ago outside the team hotel in Anaheim, while wearing a black hat and a black shirt, 
Willie Randolph told reporters that he is very disappointed that he will not be able to fulfill his dream of winning a championship for the Mets and for their fans, adding, “That’s what I’ve always been about.”
He said he’ll miss his players, and then he walked off leaving the hotel with no other words.
Rick Peterson then talked to reporters and, in standard fashion, used a ‘Mets are a House’ metaphor, equating himself to a hardwood floor that is being ripped out of a house in need of work, while Dan Warthen, his replacement, will be the Tuscan Tile of this new home.
…seriously…that’s what he said, and, still, six years later, i have no idea what he’s talking about…what a fascinating guy…i wish him well, and regret that i never had a chance to sit down and talk with him about cognitive linguistics…
For additional coverage, including guests ranging from Dan Graziano to David Lennon to Bill Madden to Jim Duquette, and others, tune in to who will run live coverage up through the team’s press conference at 5 pm EDT
…from what i understand, Jeff Wilpon, and other members of the front office, did not want Willie Randolph to return as the team’s manager following last season’s collapse…
…i believe he and others felt that randolph didn’t deserve to return, and that the entire organization would never turn the page while under the same leadership…also, while randolph is always given given credit for his work ethic and old school style, the sense i get – from people in and connected to the the organization – is that he did not work well with the media, was not aware of how important fan relations can be, he was stubborn with regards to how he could better relate to and motivate players, and he bristled with how upper-management involved itself in on-field decisions…in short, while people inside the organization may have valued his past success as a player and a coach, they have long questioned his ability to be a leader…
…at the end of last season, though, the team’s ownership accepted Omar Minaya’s recommendation to retain randolph, but made it quite clear that this was his decision…which may explain why this took so long to play out over the last week or so…my hunch is that there was a lot of talk in the last week between the front office and minaya on what to do, and how to handle this, all while omar tried to make his case to keep willie on…in the end, though, things got so out of hand, be it on purpose or accidental, that a move had to be made…
…all along, Fred Wilpon continued to believe in willie, mostly because omar did…plus, i sense fred is an honorable, loyal man, who wanted to see willie pull through this…
…however, i believe the final straw came when willie made his comments about race to the Bergen Record…from what i can gather, Fred Wilpon was far more upset with the racial remarks than he ever was with willie’s comments about SNY…in fact, some would argue that his comments about SNY make the network appear more impartial…nevertheless, fred prides himself on the work he has done to help bridge the racial divide in this country, and he speaks quite passionately about it…look no further than the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, which will be the cornerstone to the team’s new ball park, Citi Field…from what i understand, fred was very upset by willie’s comments, regardless of their intent…
…and so, without fred’s support, and omar’s back against the wall, and the team having gone 40–47 since September 1 of last season, the curtain closed on the Willie Randolph Era…
Tagged Willie Randolph |The Willie Randolph Era, in four minutes worth of video:
As a Mets fan, I’m embarrassed this morning, and I feel a little dirty.
I understand why Willie Randolph was fired. In fact, due to the time I spend talking to people connected to the team, I am probably aware of why he was fired better than most people.
The problem is that, like in so many cases during this team’s history, the story today will not be about replacing Randolph with Jerry Manuel and moving forward, it will be about the way this situation was handled – and rightfully so.
On one hand, most things end badly – otherwise they wouldn’t end, especially in baseball.
I have already been sent e-mail from Yankee fans mocking the Mets, which is pretty funny coming from a team that ran Joe Torre and his four rings out of town, and is notorious for the Billy Martin Merry-go-Round.
Nevertheless, the Mets took so long to make this decision that it made them look foolish, classless and disorganized.
For instance, I’m convinced information was intentionally leaked to the media in an effort to force Omar Minaya’s hand, which is quite disingenuous, because I still believe Minaya would have preferred to keep Randolph – all while having to spin the media night after night. There are reporters I have talked who all feel the exact same way.
What’s worse, from what I can gather, several people in the clubhouse, from players to trainers to security guards, all knew Randolph would eventually be fired on this road trip.
Lastly, yesterday, a person I know, who talks with the team’s front office on a regular basis, asked me when I feel Randolph would be fired. I was under the impression that Randolph would be fired on the off day between Los Angeles and Colorado later this week – win or lose. However, the way the question was asked, I could sense it was going to occur a lot sooner than that.
In other words, this was not a secret.
And so, the team’s ownership should stepped up and fired Randolph last week, when it is was obvious they had already reached a decision.
Instead, they dismissed their manager at midnight in a hotel room, after he had just won four of his last six games.
That said, I do not feel bad for Randolph. He will live to fight another day, he’ll get another job in an industry based on a kid’s game, and he’ll earn close to $3.5 million doing so, which is a lot better than you and I will ever be treated.
I know this is all part of the deal, in business, but especially in baseball. But, like I said, it just makes me feel a little dirty and a bit embarrassed knowing that so many people knew of this in advance, and that it occurred in the middle of the night, making it all stink of an extra level of smarminess.
I’m not totally sure why I feel this way, but I do.
I’m probably just being emotional.
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