We all knew that Willie's job was in jeopardy a few weeks ago when he had to meet with Omar, but who would have thought that Minaya would have canned Willie after the Mets won 2 straight and actually won a series?!
Willie Randolph came to New York in 2004 with a fresh start for the Mets. Just 2 years later, he led them to win the NL East and the fans were proud. That was the season that we should have won it all. The following season rolled around and we thought the same thing again, but as I would rather not recall, one of the biggest collapses in MLB history occurred. That is when the loving fans of NY began to have their doubts about Willie.
Too many players were injured and too many times we choked, but at the beginning of the 2008 season, things didn't look so bad for the Mets. While the fans watched every game through clasped fingers, I actually thought Willie and the Mets still had a shot. It turns out, I was wrong and all those scared, suspecting, non-believing fans were right. This June, Minaya took a stand and called Willie out. Many New Yorkers thought that would be the last straw for him, but he emerged, seemingly unscarred. The Mets looked as good as new after that, trying to make sure nothing more would happen to their Skipper. But this only lasted for a short time, just like Moises Alou's appearance this season. Just 2 weeks after this mishap, Wilie was fired. Not only did he lose his job, I believe he lost his dignity. He was let go after a west coast win, which was in the middle of the night eastern standard time. His pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto were also let go.
It is my belief that Peterson should have been the only one of these to be let go at this point, as well as Guy Conti, the bullpen coach. Let me tell you why. All season long, the Met's pitching has been struggling. Starting pitchers such as Oliver Perez have not been able to go more than a few innings. When a starting pitcher does have a good game, the bullpen never fails to blow it. Our starting pitchers are talented enough to go at least 6 innings, but hopefully 7 and the relievers should be able to handle an inning or 2 of work without blowing a 7-3 lead every time. Since the first confrontation Willie had with Minaya and the boys, the hitting has gotten a little better and it seems that the pitching, especially relief and closing, is the reason why the team is losing. The people that coach this aspect of the team should be re-vamped.
Willie is not a great manager, but he certainly is not the worst the Mets or any organization has ever seen. He should have been able to stay at least the remainder of the year. It is not helpful to anyone to put someone new in charge at this point in the season, especially with the record and attitude the Mets have. No one will feel safe since Minaya and his cronies made it seem as though they had faith in Willie and then had a midnight secret society meeting to tell him he must leave after the Mets have made at least a slight improvement.
Bench coach Jerry Manuel will take over for now. In my opinion Keith Hernandez would be an exceptional man for the job, but I believe he is hapy where his is as announcer and would not want the stress that comes along with a managerial job; especailly when he would be taking over nearly halfway through the season.
Keywords: New York Mets, Willie Randolph
