Probables Tues Game 1 - John Maine v. Tom Glavine Game 2 - Claudio Vargas v. Jorge Campillo Wen Game 3 - Mike Pelfrey v. Jair Jurrjens Thur Game 4 - Johan Santana v. Tim Hudson
I'm surprised that no one has commented on Willie's moronic accusations that SNY is out to get him, and that the fans don't like him (and didn't like Herm and Isiah) because they're racists. These comments occurred right before the Sunday night game against the Yankees. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/y...ritics_who_hurt_me_to_my_core.html?c=y&page=1 This guy can't be fired soon enough as far as I'm concerned. When someone plays the racism card, you know that they've reached the desperation stage. For him to imply that Isiah Thomas was treated badly because he's black shows that he has lost any semblance of a connection with reality.
Hadn't seen this until now but he did make some pretty ridiculous statements when he was on Mike and the Mad Dog last week. Probably safer to go with the fans are racist card then then fans are idiots and crying poverty when you're getting paid several million a year to do your job. Either way, he doesn't seem to be too pleased with the fans. I wonder if he realizes how silly it is to cite a coach that dashed out of town at the first opportunity and another who's regime could generously be described as a disaster, not even getting into the off the court stuff.
I've been against Willie for awhile now, but I'm really starting to come around. The fact is, fans don't know what goes on behind closed doors. You only see what Willie lets you see. Assumptions are made through blogs or fans calling up talk radio and everything gets taken out of proportion. Why people want the manager out is insane. These players are grown men getting paid millions of dollars, coming off of a collapse in the 2007 season. What more motivation do you need? Fans complain when Willie used Jorge Sosa too much, but the fact is, it's not like he has a choice. It was Omar's choice to give Sosa a $2 million deal, not Willie's. He's there, he has to be used eventually. It's fine to disagree with a lot of his in-game moves, but what the hell is firing Randolph going to do? It's pure PR to please the fans, which is why it won't happen during the season. This is the same guy that led us to within a hit of the World Series TWO years removed from a 91 loss season. New York fans want this rabid, in-your-face minded coach which is not how he manages and it is not needed to win. You just needed to look across town during the late 90's and see that it is not needed. What is firing Willie Randolph going to do? Is it going to teach Carlos Delgado how to hit a ball? Is it going to teach Carlos Beltran how to hit in the clutch? Is it going to get Jose Reyes out of his funk? If you're upset with this team, why direct it towards the manager? It's not his fault they can't hit or can't pitch. The fans are using this as a way to dismiss the bigger issues the team has. Give me a fucking break. Time for these players to grow up and play like their capable of.
^this reminds me that i forgot to comment on what may well have been the most ridiculous thing Willie said, namely that it was him that turned the club into "winners" and not the almost complete overhaul of the roster. point is you can't have it both ways, if he's going to sit there and take credit for leading the mets out of the dark ages he's got to take his lumps when the team plays like crap, and like it. the bottom line is that in his time here Willie has shown himself to be a poor in game manager, so why not fire him? worst case scenario the team keeps playing like they're playing, but at least you've already got Willie out the door with Omar probably hot on his heels. he really doesn't add any value to the club and i believe in some cases he detracts so getting rid of him really is a no lose situation. sure they'd have to pay him a little over 2m to sit home next year, but that probably wouldn't even make the top 5 of bad contracts the mets are going to have to eat in the near future.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but supporting Willie more in recent days strikes me as, shall we say, surprising. 3rd and I went back and forth about Willie in 2005, since I thought that as a rookie manager he deserved some slack regarding his ridiculous in-game moves. I had nothing to complain about in 2006, and I didn't complain, although I wasn't happy that he wasn't getting any better regarding his mistakes. After 2007-2008, however, I can't see how anyone can defend him (and the lack of "fire" is low on my list of reasons). What does he bring to the table? He still has no clue how to put his team in the best position to win, his handling of the pitching staff is laughably ridiculous, and the clubhouse is in turmoil. Doing something about that is anything but "pure PR for the fans" - it's trying not to let another wasted year go by, which is what the front office should care about more than anything. This team is 77-76 over the course of almost an entire season, and he has no idea what to do about it. And now he is attacking the team-owned television station and calling the fans racists. No, he can't make Delgado be the player he was 3 years ago, but what exactly can he do? What do the Mets lose by firing his sorry ass?
He doesn't protect his players. THAT is my biggest argument for firing Willie. I'm not saying he needs to get himself kicked out of a game every time one of his players has a hotheaded beef with an ump but, it's his job to defuse a situation. Instead, he too often stands there on the dugout steps like he's there to watch the game instead of managing it. Last year, Lo Duca was suspended for three games for one stupid (roid-raged?) incident. Had he been in the lineup for just one of those games it might have made the difference with the final standings. I can live with the fact that he doesn't know how to manage a bullpen. Every manager is going to have strengths and weaknesses and I've accepted that being one of his biggest weaknesses. I cannot stomach to see a skipper let his players get thrown under the blue bus as often as I've seen it happen on his watch.
I like Willie, he probably shouldn't have played the race card. The fans have been pretty unkind, so I guess this is his way of fighting back. I could see saying I don't think Willie is doing a good job, perhaps it is time for a change. What is said is Willie is an idiot, a moron, etc... His whole family lives in NY I am sure he is hearing all of the stuff and decided to fight back. Poor choice bring race in, but I am not black so I can't say I relate.
i am a Wilie fan and i think we are better with him than without him. he actually has been sticking up for his guys and not throwning them under the bus.this team just needs to let their talent fly and play loosey goosey. we need a reyes triple and great inning ending,rallying killing double play turned by castillo to reyes to delgado with a fist slam. a HR by a reserve and an endy chavez great defensive play and we will start steam rollin again.
What do they gain by firing him? Not a whole hell of a lot, if anything. The next manager is just going to put the same players on the field, and the same results will be put on the scoreboard. The managerial job is way overrated. They get too much credit when teams win and too much blame when they lose. This is clearly the most outrageous statement I've seen. To say that he is not a player's manager is just crazy. Day after day I see post game press conferences where players get killed by the media, and Willie will defend them every time. What the hell do you want him to do?
Isiah was another who loved to play the race card. Sure sign of incompetence. I want this guy out of here. Makes me sick when racists like Willie or Isiah try to claim that people criticize them because they're black, not because they're FRIGGIN' HORRIBLE AT WHAT THEY DO.
Well, I've stated pretty clearly what I think they could gain - someone who is not inept at handling the bullpen, someone who knows when the bunt is a good play and when it is a bad play, someone who drills the players so often that they don't make mindless mistakes on the basepaths, someone who might be able to convince the players that if they play like they don't care, they don't play, whatever their salary is. Would that turn a 75 win team into a 95 win team? Of course not. But it might turn an 85 win team into a 90 win team, and a few wins here or there could be all the difference in the world (as both last year and 2006 (St. Louis) proved). If you really don't think that a manager can do any of those things, then you must have been completely against Randolph getting the contract extension and raise, since that would imply that no manager is worth paying $500,000, let alone $2 million.
Bring Bobby V back home, this has to be the final nail in the coffin for Willie. This takes cluelessness to another level altogether. Just completely unacceptable and worthy of a firing. Willie better gets this team straightened out and fast.
