Tag: Davey Johnson

Mets Links: Hall of Fame, Mini Camp, Starting Pitcher

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 26: (L-R) Former members...

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The biggest news this week is that the Mets finally announced the election of Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Frank Cashen, and Davey Johnson into the team Hall of Fame. They’ll go in on August 1 and that’s a date to mark on your calendar to be at Citi Field. It still burns me up that the team seemed to forget about the Hall of Fame, not electing anyone since 2002. You can see the entire list here. How is Johnny Franco not in the Hall?

On the same note, Remembering Shea has a good list of the nine greatest Mets, the next nine to go into the Hall, and the next nine to have their numbers retired. It’s a great post. Take a few minutes to read it. The lists are great but I’m not as high on Jerry Koosman. I’d move him down a few spots, but other than that the lists are spot on.

The Mets are holding a voluntary mini-camp in Port St. Lucie starting on Monday. It’ll be really interesting to see who shows up to that. There should be an announcement within the next day or so about which players will be there. If Oliver Perez doesn’t show up, I’ll be livid. Nobody needs the extra work more than he does.

Continue reading “Mets Links: Hall of Fame, Mini Camp, Starting Pitcher”

Report: Brewers Interested In Randolph, Valentine, And Johnson

Milwaukee Brewers
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The NY Post is reporting that the Milwaukee Brewers are interested in talking to Willie Randolph about their vacant managerial position. Apparently, Davey Johnson is being considered as well. Bobby Valentine has expressed interest in the Brewers job as part of his quest to return to MLB.

The Brewers have a pretty good team but I’m sure they’ll end up losing CC Sabathia. That’ll take them down a notch. And any potential manager has to be wary that they fired Ned Yost with only two weeks left in the season. That was really odd.

Mike Hargrove and Ken Macha are being interviewed as well as Dale Svuem who took over when Yost was fired.

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Time For A New Sheriff In Town

The "Willie Watch, Part Two" is in full bloom now that the Mets have reverted to their pre-Wilpon meeting ways. I really thought that the energy that we saw from the Mets two weeks ago could be sustained… But I was wrong. Now it’s time for Willie Randolph to go.

The Mets problems certainly aren’t completely Randolph’s fault. The players and Omar Minaya deserve some of the blame as well.  I stand by my initial feelings about this team; although there are flaws in the roster, the current configuration should be capable of being a strong contender for a playoff spot. Whether they achieve that goal or not depends on variables such as competition, injuries, and seasonal performance.

Based on that assumption, Willie Randolph hasn’t done the job of motivating the players to achieve their potential. Sure there are players that need to go: Carlos Delgado, Aaron Heilman, and maybe some others. But the roster doesn’t require a complete overhaul. You can’t fire all of the players but you can fire the manager.

My contention is that the Mets need a new manager that is bigger than the players. A manger that isn’t afraid of under performing veterans, and isn’t afraid to move young players into power positions in the lineup. It’s common in college but pretty rare in the pro’s. There are a few examples: Phil Jackson, Bill Parcells, and Terry Francona. These are people that have attained the highest level of success in their respective sports and won championships. They know what it takes to be on top. They know that talent rules over union seniority.

The Mets need a "star" that has a significant history within the organization and has won a championship. No… I’m not talking about getting Doc Gooden clean and bringing him in to manage the team. There are only two logical choices; Davey Johnson or Keith Hernandez. They’ve won here as manager and player respectively. They bring immediate clout to the job. They bring an attitude that winning is the only thing, and lackluster play is unacceptable. It’s time for a new sheriff in town.

Audio: Randolph, Backman, and Johnson

WFAN audio with Willie Randolph doing his weekly spot with Mike and the Mad Dog. Wally Backman and Davey Johnson talk to Boomer & Carton.

Randolph talks about his meeting with Omar Minaya and the Wilpons on Monday. Wally Backman talks about his desire to get back to the big leagues after the D-Backs let him go after four days in 2004. Davey Johnson talks about being the Mets manager when things aren’t going so well

Willie Randolph Audio

Wally Backman Audio

Davey Johnson Audio