Mets beat reporter Eddie Coleman joins WFAN’s Joe & Evan. Randolph joins WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog.
Audio: Eddie Coleman and Willie Randolph
Tag: Willie Randolph
Three More Weeks For Willie Randolph
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Lately there’s been a lot of chat on sports radio, the blogs, mainstream media, and reader comments here about Willie Randolph’s future with the Mets. Much of the talks has centered around Willie’s tenure coming to an end in the near future. That may be the case but it shouldn’t happen in May.
The Mets should wait and see where the Mets are at the end of May. It’s too early to pull the plug on him now. If the Mets had to make a decision today, my suggestion would be to let him go and move on.
The Mets current performance is well below where they should be if you look at the talent they have. The teams in the National League with worse winning percentages to this point are: Washington, Houston. Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Colorado, San Francisco, San Diego. There are some pretty bad teams in that group. Continue reading “Three More Weeks For Willie Randolph”
Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?
The biggest story with the New York Mets over the last week has been closer Billy Wagner ripping Oliver Perez after Perez’ dreadful start against the Pirates on Wednesday. It’s raised many questions about the Mets as a team.
Do the Mets need a team captain?– They could probably use a team captain but I don’t know who would be the logical candidate. They would want someone that’s going to be around for several years like Jose Reyes, David Wright, Johan Santana, or Carlos Beltran. I doubt that it would be Santana. Typically, captains are position players. Wright and Reyes are pretty young to captain a team of veterans. Beltran is usually so quiet that it’s hard to picture him as the team leader. I don’t think that Billy Wagner would even enter the discussion on this topic. Continue reading “Mets Pitcher Billy Wagner: Bully Or Team Leader?”
Ken Rosenthal: Randolph May Be Fired Soon
Fox Sports senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal wrote a column today detailing the managers that are closest to being fired. Willie Randolph, John Gibbons, and Ron Washington make the list. They’re the three that are currently in trouble according to Rosenthal.
I agree with Rosenthal that it’s a little too early to make a decision on Randolph. But Willie just isn’t getting these players to reach their potential. It’s not all his fault, but somebody may have to take the fall if the Mets don’t take charge of the National League East soon. Certainly by the All-Star break.
More On Booing Home Players
Although the blogs have been on this topic for weeks, the mainstream media is still just getting to this story. We, as Mets fans, are frustrated and angry with this team. The last two seasons have left a lot of pent up emotion that can’t be relieved by a trip to a shrink. We need a trip to the playoffs. That’s the only cure for our angst.
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Mike Vaccaro wrote a column on the topic for Fox Sports today and summarizes the current victims of our impatience:
Right now, there are three permanent residents of the wrong side of the wall, which we’ll call the dark side of the swoon: Carlos Delgado is the captain and unchallenged leader, and the farther south of .200 his average dips the more likely he’ll be wearing a “C” on his uniform before long. Aaron Heilman is on that side, mostly because he can’t get out of his own way now. And Willie Randolph is there, too, for long and meritorious service.
Why should we be more tolerant? We’ve got a first class city, a first class payroll, and a first class stadium on the way. We want a franchise that plays like a first place team.
Mets Use Six Pitchers To Beat Atlanta Braves 4-3
John Maine went five innings and got the win today to go to 2-2 on the season. Five other pitchers from the bullpen combined to hold the Braves down over the last four innings. The only scare was Aaron Heilman giving up two hits and a run in the sixth. Heilman was heartily booed by the crowd of 51,000.
The Mets offense seemed to start waking up today too. Willie Randolph canceled batting practice this morning and told the players they could show up late at 11:30am. He’s pulling out all of the tricks in his book to try to get the Mets back on track. Yesterday he made the team take fielding practice before the game which is a rarity these days.
Reportedly Jeff Wilpon visited Willie in his office before the game. yesterday Maybe Willie is starting to get a little desperate and pushing every button he can think of. If it works, that’s great. If not, it comes across as grabbing at straws.
David Wright and Damion Easley both had two hits in the game. Ryan Church hit a triple off Tim Hudson, and Angel Pagan had a pinch hit triple off reliever Jeff Bennett.
Carlos Delgado took another “O-fer” and heard about it from the crowd in every at-bat. They’ve got to move him down to seventh or eighth in the lineup. He’s got nothing at the plate right now. He’s still hitting sixth on his reputation from a few years ago but it’s hurting the team. Willie needs to come to grips with that.
Video: Post Game April 24, 2008
The depressing post game video contains comments from Oliver Perez, Aaron Heilman, and Willie Randolph.
Oliver Perez wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t his best night but he should’ve been given the opportunity to get through the sixth inning. That’s Willie’s mistake. The poor performances of Jorge Sosa and Heilman, and the over-work of Joe Smith, and Pedro Feliciano should force Willie to re-think his strategy.
Willie needs to give the starters more leeway to work out of trouble. The best pitchers on the team are the starters (except for Billy Wagner). He needs to keep his best pitchers in the game longer considering the state of the bullpen.
The Mets Report 