This video is from the WFAN radio show Mike and the Mad Dog. They play a clip of Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling complaining about the Mets mistreatment of Willie Randolph while broadcasting a Yankees game.
This could also be posted under “Reason #7,482 to dislike the Yankees”.
Now that Willie Randolph is gone and Jerry Manuel is all but guaranteed to be the Mets manager for the rest of the 2008 season, the Mets success or failure will fall squarely on Omar Minaya. The Mets GM has had his share of up’s and down’s since he got here in 2005. There are some differing schools of thought on this topic. Some think that the Wilpons won’t get rid of him no matter how the 2008 version of the Mets performs. And others differ.
Jim Molony of MLB.com wrote a column today and completely agrees with me that 2008 may be Minaya’s final stand with the Mets. The Wilpons have allowed Minaya to assemble a team prepared to win now with a nine-figure payroll. The onus is on them to do what their charge is: to win now.
Molony runs through the litany of bad trades and free agent signings that Minaya has made and there have been quite a few. But what’s more telling is the industry opinion of Minaya’s team:
"They’ve relied too much on old players and it’s cost them," a veteran NL scout said. "They’ve had a lot of injuries, sure, but that’s what happens when you have a lot of older players."
As we’re writing Willie Randolph’s Mets eulogy this week, maybe we should start working on Minaya’s as well.
Image via Wikipedia
Not to be outdone by the Mets, the Mariners fired manager John McLaren today. This follows GM Bill Bavasi’s firing on Monday. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will take over the major’s worst team with a record of 25-47. Their putrid performance mixed with their $117 million opening day payroll proved to be a bad combination for McLaren.
The amazing thing about this story is that McLaren was the SECOND manager fired this season. How could he keep his job for longer than Willie Randolph?
WFAN’s Mike and The Mad Dog lambaste Omar Minaya over the firing of Willie Randolph. They do a good job in this interview of asking the tough questions that a lot of people had about this situation.
The Mets “core” players talk about the decision to fire Willie. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright do the talking. Beltran is particularly insightful about the players causing Willie to lose his job.
Although I’m pretty much done with Willie Randolph at this point, he did have some comments to the mass of media assembled outside of his New Jersey home today. He said that he didn’t think that Omar Minaya was going to fire him. He thought that a couple of coaches were going to be fired. Here are a few quotes:
"No, I thought he [Minaya] was talking about whacking a couple of my coaches," Randolph told reporters in the driveway of his Franklin Lakes, N.J., home.
"That’s why I was stunned," Randolph said. "The way he was talking to me, I thought I was secure for the time being."
"I felt all along this team would play better and we would eventually get into the season and do really well," said Randolph, wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with a Negro League design on it.
"In my mind this happened way, way too early."
I have to say that I’m a little surprised that he came out with some of these comments. I won’t say that he came out swinging but he did have some pointed comments. I thought that his thoughts would be much more subdued in an attempt to position himself for another managerial interview.
Read the full story at the NY Post.
ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney talks about the disorganization within the Mets front office. Specifically, he talks about the well publicized problems with Assistant GM Tony Bernazard and Willie Randolph, the media leaks, and the lack of a chain of command. He also talks about the type of personality that Jerry Manuel brings to the manager’s position for the Mets.
The Mets Report 