Thursday, May 22, 2008

And I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better, When You're Go-one...

Last night, on Mike & The Mad Dog's 5:05 regular Wednesday spot with Willie, he did what he should have done after The Collapse last year -- he apologized. To ownership, to the fans, and to the players. And he sounded sincere and he sounded agonized and he sounded curiously resigned.

Apology accepted, Willie, at least, from THIS fan.

Actually, it may be a good thing that he sounded resigned, because despite the heartfelt and what I thought was effective apology, and despite the fact that I feel for Willie, I truly do, I believe that it's in the best interests of the team for one of two things to happen. And I'm going to say, before I elaborate, that I believe the first has no basis whatsoever in reality, so the second is probably what should happen.

The first scenario involves everyone surrounding the Mets, ownership, coaches, players, fans, and media wiping the slate clean with Willie, and allowing him some leeway and latitude to get the Mets ship righted. And having a little patience.

I believe this scenario has the same chance of happening as does, say, George W. Bush of becoming a flaming liberal, Rev. Al of finally getting it, and Hank Steinbrenner of keeping his trap shut for even one New York minute. Once the proverbial cat is out of the proverbial bag, Willie dear, it just is too hard to put it back. And your apology is something that should have been done long ago, like after last season, and is water under the bridge at this point. Whether or not any of what you said is even true, it doesn't matter anymore. The fact is, you have basically ruined it for yourself in this town, and that, combined with the fact that the Mets have played .500 ball for about a year now, isn't going to get you any brass, or other, rings.

Which brings me to scenario #2. I'm going to make my case that Willie should be relieved of his duties. Nothing personal, Willie, and truly, it doesn't make me happy to say it, but all things considered, I think it's time for you to move on. They say in baseball that winning cures everything. Well, I submit the opposite is also true, that losing makes everything worse. So let's look at the facts, shall we?

Fact #1: the team has played little more than .500 ball for the last year. As I said above.

Fact #2: after around May 15 last year, the team did not play with any energy, sense of purpose, or game plan for the rest of the season, which brings me to:

Fact #3: Willie presided over the worst late-season collapse in baseball history.

Fact #4: the team has played thus far this year with even less energy, sense of purpose or game plan than it did most of last year, if that's even possible.

Fact #5: Willie has thin skin, and has proven he can't handle New York. What does that say to the players? It hardly inspires leadership.

And Fact #6, and the most important one: the team is not winning under Willie.

So in conclusion, members of the jury, I submit that Willie Randolph's time here should come to a rapid end, and that it's time for the Mets to move on.

16 comments:

GaryG said...

This is getting tedious. My choice for mgr? Keith. First rule: Must grow a mustache. 2nd rule: Bust your butt.

How about give the job to Bobby V and bring in Suzyn Waldman to make the announcement on 7/4 that Bobby V will return next year?

Deb said...

Tedious, it is.

And I hate to shoot you down, Gary, but (a) Keith will never manage; (b) you can't force people to grow mustaches, Charley Finley (lol); and (c) obviously, this team can't be forced to bust their butts.

The only way I would have Bobby V back is if he were the last manager on earth, and only then if there were no disgraced little league manager around to take the job, lol.

Anonymous said...

I have changed my mind.

The Mets should fire Omar first, then get rid of Willie.

I am going into detail on my site about why Omar needs to go first. Come check it out, I've posted part 1 of two ("The Case Against Omar")

Anonymous said...

Click on my name above to see my blog.

Deb said...

Metsie, I've already been there, and have commented.

I still think it has to be Randolph first, for many reasons. Not the least of which is BECAUSE of Randolph himself. He has clearly shown he can't handle the New York pressure, he's made himself the center of the Mets controversy, and those things make it really easy for him to be the first to go.

Anonymous said...

I do not accept Willie's excuses.

How could he not know this was on the record?

What he said his how he feels, he wasn't just making all that up for the sake of having a conversation.

He apologized to the guys who write his checks. He sounded like a politician who got caught doing something stupid.

But he never apologized to me (the fans). He accused us of being fair weather fans and he never once addressed that yesterday.

Deb said...

I agree that his assertion that he thought the whole convo was off the record was... troubling, but I do think his apology was sincere, at least, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, there.

That being said, as I said in my blog entry, I truly believe none of this really matters anymore. It's too little, too late, and although I accept Willie's apology and believe it well meaning, it's clear he cannot manage here anymore.

DINGOMETS said...

I like Willie as a person... Seems a nice guy... Did a very good job with this team in 2005 and 2006...

BUT, to me, the sign of a very good manager isn't how he does when the players are all performing and doing great... It's not how the team does in GOOD times...

It's about how well he can adjust when the team struggles, as it has for the past year...

And I, for one, see nothing that Willie is doing as helping this team perform up to their capabilities...

As I said coming into this year, when they made the decision to bring Willie back, if the team is still around .500 by Memorial Day, I'll call for him to be fired...

Well, Memorial Day is 4 days away, and our record is now exactly .500...

So, at this point, I'm in favor of moving on from Willie, and my first choice is the current manager of the Nationals AAA team...

HIRE JOHN STEARNS!!!!

Deb said...

John Stearns, huh? That's one name I admit I haven't heard mentioned. Can you tell me why you think he would be the right guy for this team?

I'm thinking more along the lines of Wally Backman (whom I don't think has more than a hair of a chance at even being CONSIDERED for the job); Lee Mazzilli (whom I think has the exact right personality fit for the job, is a New York natural, gets it, and is young enough to really relate to this team) or Anyone Other Than Someone On The Current Coaching Staff.

So, I'm open...lol.

DINGOMETS said...

Yeah, I have a few reasons:

1) I tend to think ex-catchers make solid managers, as they have to understand both sides of the game... The offense AND the pitching...

2) Catchers, because they don't play every day, also spend alot of time on the bench, just watching...

3) Stearns clearly has ALOT of fire and played with lots of emotion, something I think this team could sorely use right now

4) He has solid experience, both managing in the minors and coaching in the majors...

Deb said...

I always got the impression that Stearns wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, and that to me overrides all of your other very good points.

I know he's managed quite a bit in the minor leagues, but what I don't know is what the prevailing opinion on him and his managerial abilities is. Do you know, ding dong? Maybe Mack does... lol.

DINGOMETS said...

I don't know about that, to be honest... I'd have to read around more...

I know he's been a coach, scout, manager, etc... over the last 15 years, and I believe has been employed pretty much the whole time by a few different teams, which would suggest to me that some people think pretty highly of him...

Deb said...

Well, I just asked Mack, and let's see what he says, lol.

I just don't get the feel for John Stearns as manager, though. I think it's going to be someone either closely connected to the team on a daily basis, or someone totally unconnected in any way, shape or form, lol.

DINGOMETS said...

I'll listen to what Mack and others say about this, but I still think he'd be my top choice, unless somebody can REALLY give me a good reason why he wouldn't be a good major league manager...

Vifam7 said...

Blah, I say fire both Willie and Omar. Omar deserves just as much blame IMHO. Yes, he's acquired some decent players in trades but some of them seem more like luck than Omar's skill.
And Willie's apology? He's probably only sorry for the distraction it caused. I bet he still believes in what he said. And that apology sounded like something the Wilpons made him to do and scripted by the PR Dept.
Either way, I don't care. [u]Just win ballgames.[/u] If this means Billy mouthing off at Delgado and making him mad so be it. If it means Fred and Jr. Wilpon acting like the Steinbrenners so be it. If the players want to sacrifice a live chicken for Jobu because the bats are afraid of the ball, let them!

DINGOMETS said...

I'm not 100% ready to give up on Omar yet, and while he's certainly made mistakes, so has every GM, and the overall talent level he has acquired is FAR greater than it what when we hired him...

In that respect, he has the team heading in the right direction...

I believe the Mets SHOULD be better than .500 based on the talent level of the team...

That said, Omar should also be on a pretty short leash, and I would think that if this year and next year both have the Mets out of the playoffs, that Omar should definitely be replaced...