The Mets won 3 out of 4, but it wasn't enough to save Willie Randolph. The Mets organization sent a press release in the wee hours of the morning, confirming that Randolph is out.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Willie Randolph is out as manager of the New York Mets, fired 2 1/2 months into a disappointing season that has followed the team's colossal collapse last September.
Bench coach Jerry Manuel takes over on an interim basis for Randolph, who led the Mets to within one win of the 2006 World Series. They got off to a strong start again last year but plummeted down the stretch and have been unable to rebound.
A preseason favorite to win the NL pennant, the $138 million Mets (34-35) had won two in a row when Randolph was let go early Tuesday morning — making him the first major league manager to get fired this season.
Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto also were fired in an enormous overhaul that came at a stunning time — about two hours after New York's 9-6 victory at the Los Angeles Angels.
I don't get this. Why clean house now? The All-Star break isn't even here yet and the Mets seemed to be on the cusp of turning it around, much like the Yankees are. But when you completely overhaul the team like this, you're pretty much throwing in the towel for the whole season. It seems like such a waste.
Originally posted by It's FalseThe Mets won 3 out of 4, but it wasn't enough to save Willie Randolph. The Mets organization sent a press release in the wee hours of the morning, confirming that Randolph is out.
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Willie Randolph is out as manager of the New York Mets, fired 2 1/2 months into a disappointing season that has followed the team's colossal collapse last September.
Bench coach Jerry Manuel takes over on an interim basis for Randolph, who led the Mets to within one win of the 2006 World Series. They got off to a strong start again last year but plummeted down the stretch and have been unable to rebound.
A preseason favorite to win the NL pennant, the $138 million Mets (34-35) had won two in a row when Randolph was let go early Tuesday morning — making him the first major league manager to get fired this season.
Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto also were fired in an enormous overhaul that came at a stunning time — about two hours after New York's 9-6 victory at the Los Angeles Angels.
I don't get this. Why clean house now? The All-Star break isn't even here yet and the Mets seemed to be on the cusp of turning it around, much like the Yankees are. But when you completely overhaul the team like this, you're pretty much throwing in the towel for the whole season. It seems like such a waste.
(edited by It's False on 17.6.08 0314)
The timing is really, really shady. Why do it at 3 in the morning, but not make anyone available for comment until 5pm Eastern? Why let Willie take the cross-country flight and manage the first game, if he's going to be tossed? Who do you go out and get now?
It was probably needed, they might have been starting to turn it around, but the way they started this year, coupled with the collapse last year made it too much.
The fact that the Mets kept Randolph blowing in the wind for the better part of the season, speaks volumes as to what kind of organization they are. He's too good of a guy, to have that happen to.
And how the hell did they not fire Howard Johnson? He brings NOTHING to the table.
(edited by MisterHenderson on 17.6.08 0845) Reagan Calls Women "America's Little Dumplins!"
Why fire Rick Peterson? He did a great job fixing Victor Zambrano in 10 minutes. Not like that Kazmir kid ever did anything in the big leagues. Instead of firing the manager when you are losing heartbreaking game after heartbreaking game, fire him after winning 3 out of 4. Yet another brilliant move by Omar. Surprised though that he didn't bring in a young whippersnapper like Ralph Houk to manage the team, as Omar does love to bring in youngsters. Can't wait until the Mets have a chance to sweep a big series on the road with Santana, but instead have Manuel break out his brilliant managerial mind and throw some garbage pitcher instead and then watch Santana get beat the next day by the worst team in the league. Five years later, I don't forget.
Originally posted by kwikWhy do it at 3 in the morning
I can't believe how much this "3:15 am" thing has been overblown. It wasn't 3:15 am HERE - it was 12:15 am, a couple of hours after the game ended. You'd think they literally called his hotel room while he was sleeping to fire him.
(Not that the whole thing isn't crappy or anything, I just had to listen to Mike and Trey and Jayson Stark act like they've got ZERO understanding of time zones. Of course, they seem to be right there with the rest of the media on that.)
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
JayJaDean, I am fairly sure the Mets corporate offices are in New York. Firing the guy, at that time of the day was shitty, any way you slice it. Hell, wait until the next day and have a press conference before the game.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeJayJaDean, I am fairly sure the Mets corporate offices are in New York.
Which is obviously true, but the team and GM were in Anaheim last night, which is not in the eastern time zone. Game ends at 10:15 pm PT, they fire him a couple of hours later, press release goes out at 3:15 am ET.
Not to defend it or anything (like why have him fly to the west coast in the first place), but just shouting "3:15!" isn't really accurately portraying the situation.
Holy fuck shit motherfucker shit. Read comics. Fuck shit shit fuck shit I sold out when I did my job. Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck. Sorry had to do it....
*snip*
Revenge of the Sith = one thumb up from me. Fuck shit. I want to tittie fuck your ass. -- The Guinness. to Cerebus
Originally posted by kwikWhy do it at 3 in the morning
I can't believe how much this "3:15 am" thing has been overblown. It wasn't 3:15 am HERE - it was 12:15 am, a couple of hours after the game ended. You'd think they literally called his hotel room while he was sleeping to fire him.
OK I'll run down the list as to why, even though they had to do something to shake up the team, this was the absolute wrong way to do it.
1. It's still the middle of the night when they fired him. They couln't even give him the right to hold a press conference in the early afternoon where he & the office say they 'agree to go their seperate ways' to save face for each other. Instead, they do this in a time where no one would be around to ask them any questions, making them look very shady.
2. They chucked him in the middle of a cruical road trip that could had gotten them over .500 and within striking distance of the Phils (they're only 6.5 out, remember the Phils were 7 out in early sept.). Why, if they wanted to get rid of him so badly, didn't they fired him after the doubleheader split against the Rangers? What was the point of sending him to Anaheim for 1 game to get ousted?
3. They fired him after he *WON* 3 of 4 and last night's game. Again, if they were that desperate to get rid of him, why didn't they when we got sweeped by the Padres last week? It makes no sense to do it when we're winning. This is cutting us off at the knees right as we were starting to build momentum and some players were FINALLY starting to hit like they cared last night (coughOVERRATEDPIECEOFSHITCARLOSBELTRANcough).
Willie may not be the best manager, but I highly doubt he's the reason the team is so messed up. There's simply too many vetrans IMO who instead of adding fire into the team just don't put enough effort and heart into it (Beltran,Deldago) or are too brittle to be dependable for the long haul (Pedro, Alou). We can still compete for the division title, but this feels like a white flag being waved already. I hope Omar's job is on the line now too, because a lot of these signings have not been worth it.
Why not fire him after the doubleheader? Because it's FATHER'S DAY. They wanted to wait until after Father's Day so they waited until Monday and as it's been pointed out, they were on the west coast and the game wasn't over until later. Now I agree they should have pulled the plug on Willie after the San Diego series but still, I don't have a problem with when they did it.
And it is a good move. It's not going to fix all of the Mets problems obviously. The relievers are still having an awful season and Alou is injured all the time and some of the bench players should probably be starting over the guys that are starting.
But the reason getting rid of Willie is a good idea is because of Reyes and Beltran. Willie has been all over Reyes to hustle at all times but when Delgado and Beltran don't hustle they never get any kind of punishment so Willie had completely lost Reyes has a follower. And Beltran clearly wasn't crazy about Willie because he refused to answer questions about Willie while the other players were saying "it's our fault, not Willie's." If a new manager means that Reyes and Beltran are happier and they play like they can then that helps A LOT. The offense then becomes good enough to cover up some of their problems.
Firing Willie could also improve the bullpen because he's just horrible at handling them. If Willie would have stayed on Aaron Heilman probably would've broken the record for most games by a Met in a season and that's why he's playing so bad. Willie has overused him. I know the Mets starters haven't been great so the relievers have to play innings but Willie puts Heilman in during 8 run blow outs.
Now Jerry Manuel wouldn't be my choice. But any change is good. They've actually played a lot worse than their record indicates and they're lucky they still have a shot of winning anything.
Originally posted by QuezzyWhy not fire him after the doubleheader? Because it's FATHER'S DAY. They wanted to wait until after Father's Day so they waited until Monday and as it's been pointed out, they were on the west coast and the game wasn't over until later. Now I agree they should have pulled the plug on Willie after the San Diego series but still, I don't have a problem with when they did it.
And it is a good move. It's not going to fix all of the Mets problems obviously. The relievers are still having an awful season and Alou is injured all the time and some of the bench players should probably be starting over the guys that are starting.
But the reason getting rid of Willie is a good idea is because of Reyes and Beltran. Willie has been all over Reyes to hustle at all times but when Delgado and Beltran don't hustle they never get any kind of punishment so Willie had completely lost Reyes has a follower. And Beltran clearly wasn't crazy about Willie because he refused to answer questions about Willie while the other players were saying "it's our fault, not Willie's." If a new manager means that Reyes and Beltran are happier and they play like they can then that helps A LOT. The offense then becomes good enough to cover up some of their problems.
Firing Willie could also improve the bullpen because he's just horrible at handling them. If Willie would have stayed on Aaron Heilman probably would've broken the record for most games by a Met in a season and that's why he's playing so bad. Willie has overused him. I know the Mets starters haven't been great so the relievers have to play innings but Willie puts Heilman in during 8 run blow outs.
Now Jerry Manuel wouldn't be my choice. But any change is good. They've actually played a lot worse than their record indicates and they're lucky they still have a shot of winning anything.
Yeah, my issue isn't so much that he was fired, but I'm still hung up on the timing, not so much that it was after a West Cost game, just the convenient fact that the NY tabloids are well and truly sent to press before 3:15 in the morning. So, it happens, and we've now had to sit through 14 hours of all this speculation before Omar even opens his mouth. I'm fine with them not firing him on Father's Day, but this isn't a snap decision made after a win. Why have Willie fly cross-country to manage that one game? Why not fire him that morning, have Manuel manage the game? I've heard that there may have been some logistical issues getting coaches from New Orleans to Anaheim, so maybe that's it. Omar's on in about 5 minutes, so let's see what, if any explanation there is.
Yeah, I would put my money on doing it so late to avoid the tabloids today. (havent seen either paper on line yet today)
Sadly, I was having problems getting WFAN in down here today, so for now I've missed what Mike and Mad Dog has said about this. Should be good for entertaining radio when I finally get to listen.
Originally posted by odessasteps Yeah, I would put my money on doing it so late to avoid the tabloids today. (havent seen either paper on line yet today)
Sadly, I was having problems getting WFAN in down here today, so for now I've missed what Mike and Mad Dog has said about this. Should be good for entertaining radio when I finally get to listen.
Originally posted by odessasteps Yeah, I would put my money on doing it so late to avoid the tabloids today. (havent seen either paper on line yet today)
Sadly, I was having problems getting WFAN in down here today, so for now I've missed what Mike and Mad Dog has said about this. Should be good for entertaining radio when I finally get to listen.
I don't know if you knew WFAN streams or not, if you didn't that is to Mike and the Mad Dog's page.
Yeah. I actually record the first couple hours of the show each day to listen to later. (that's why I said "for now" when talking about missing their show live today.)
Replay Radio is great for recording sports talk from around the country and then listening later. That's how I also listen to LeBatard's show and the Sports Reporters.
Is it entirely ruled out that Randolph was offered a chance to keep his job, although his two (hand-picked) coaches were going to be replaced by the guys they called up from AAA anyhow? I was reading that a possible solution - and if Willie decided to go to the mat for his guys, all stay or nothing, that discussion could have been the extra two hours between the end of the game and the press release.
In any case, the timing really does make the Mets look like bushers. Not as bad as Bill Wirtz slipping a pink slip under Billy Reay's door on Christmas Eve, but it's pretty un-classy.
Originally posted by LexusHahaha, I only pray Randolph replaces Manny Acta and turns the Nats around.
It's funny you say that, b/c according to the sports talk radio stations here in the NYC metro area, The Mets front office has such a hard-on for Acta. Personally, I don't see what's so about a manager who is coaching the worst team in the NL east. But then I never saw what was so great about Giradi that they just HAD to give him the NL manager of the year award for a 78-84 record over Willie when he actually won the division.
Originally posted by TheOldManIs it entirely ruled out that Randolph was offered a chance to keep his job, although his two (hand-picked) coaches were going to be replaced by the guys they called up from AAA anyhow? I was reading that a possible solution - and if Willie decided to go to the mat for his guys, all stay or nothing, that discussion could have been the extra two hours between the end of the game and the press release.
In any case, the timing really does make the Mets look like bushers. Not as bad as Bill Wirtz slipping a pink slip under Billy Reay's door on Christmas Eve, but it's pretty un-classy.
Rick Peterson was the CEO of Pitching in the Mets organization prior to Willie arriving.
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