Mets manager Willie Randolph was fired early Tuesday morning along with pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto.
Randolph had been widely criticized this year following New York's monumental collapse last season. Inconsistency has plagued the Mets and Randolph only made the situation worse, fanning the flames of controversy by insinuating that criticism by the New York media was racially motivated.
The Mets were preseason favorites in the NL east, but currently sit 6.5 games out of first place. Jerry Manuel will manage the team on an interim basis.
Showing posts with label Willie Randolph. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Willie Randolph. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Mets Willie Randolph Asks: 'Where Is the Love?'
During a recent practice session during a home stand against the Dodgers, Mets manager Willie Randolph looked up from the batting cage to see portly Dodgers broadcaster Charlie Steiner ambling over
"Charlie, come here," Randolph called to him. "Give me a hug. I need it."
As the two former Yankees employees embraced, Randolph was in the process of surviving his first MLB rumors gauntlet, spared from being fired by a sudden spurt of player productivity and what would turn out to be a short lived revival in the standings.
Now Randolph finds himself in trouble again as the team continues to fall short of the .500 level, is seven games out and leading only the lowly Washington Nationals.
"It's a bad feeling to get your butt beat," Randolph admitted afterwards.
As Newsday columnist Johnette Howard noted in the next day's editions: Randolph might have added: "Again," as his most recent 10-inning, 5-4 humiliation in Arizona marked the sixth straight game in which the Mets have blown a lead.
Steiner -- host of The Beat on XM Radio channel 175 -- has steadfastly defended Randolph on the grounds that Randolph doesn't swing the bat, throw the ball, make the catches or run the bases; his players do.
The problem is that Randolph sets the tone in his clubhouse, and his clubhouse is run like a retired millionaires club: "millionaires," because they are millionaires; and "retired" because they are retired, at a rock bottom minimum of 27 per game.
The Mets have no vibrancy, no spirit, no fight and no tenacity, and because Randolph seems unable to instill in them any sort of cohesion, character or drive, a change must come in the name of making a change for the sake of a change. You're bright, you're experienced, you're knowledgeable and capable, Willie, but your methods for whatever reason just aren't working and it is time for you to go.
"Charlie, come here," Randolph called to him. "Give me a hug. I need it."
As the two former Yankees employees embraced, Randolph was in the process of surviving his first MLB rumors gauntlet, spared from being fired by a sudden spurt of player productivity and what would turn out to be a short lived revival in the standings.
Now Randolph finds himself in trouble again as the team continues to fall short of the .500 level, is seven games out and leading only the lowly Washington Nationals.
"It's a bad feeling to get your butt beat," Randolph admitted afterwards.
As Newsday columnist Johnette Howard noted in the next day's editions: Randolph might have added: "Again," as his most recent 10-inning, 5-4 humiliation in Arizona marked the sixth straight game in which the Mets have blown a lead.
Steiner -- host of The Beat on XM Radio channel 175 -- has steadfastly defended Randolph on the grounds that Randolph doesn't swing the bat, throw the ball, make the catches or run the bases; his players do.
The problem is that Randolph sets the tone in his clubhouse, and his clubhouse is run like a retired millionaires club: "millionaires," because they are millionaires; and "retired" because they are retired, at a rock bottom minimum of 27 per game.
The Mets have no vibrancy, no spirit, no fight and no tenacity, and because Randolph seems unable to instill in them any sort of cohesion, character or drive, a change must come in the name of making a change for the sake of a change. You're bright, you're experienced, you're knowledgeable and capable, Willie, but your methods for whatever reason just aren't working and it is time for you to go.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Top 10 Classified Ads Clipped by Willie Randolph
10. Become a tractor trailer driver; make big money in three weeks.
9. Immediate openings for McDonald's swing managers. Must pass drug screen.
8. Make money stuffing envelopes at home.
7. Hiring men's 900-line phone actors now. Must be able to impersonate women. Gay helpful.
6. Top dollars for actors in self-mutilation You Tube videos. No crazies, please!
5. If you can draw this dog, the Norman Rockwell Art School needs you.
4. How would you like to earn $250,000 a year and work just one day a week?
3. Boys, girls make money, have fun while seeing the country selling magazines.
2. You may already be rich! Sell the gold in your teeth!
1. Buy palatial homes in best neighborhoods for as low as three dollars, then sell for millions!!!
9. Immediate openings for McDonald's swing managers. Must pass drug screen.
8. Make money stuffing envelopes at home.
7. Hiring men's 900-line phone actors now. Must be able to impersonate women. Gay helpful.
6. Top dollars for actors in self-mutilation You Tube videos. No crazies, please!
5. If you can draw this dog, the Norman Rockwell Art School needs you.
4. How would you like to earn $250,000 a year and work just one day a week?
3. Boys, girls make money, have fun while seeing the country selling magazines.
2. You may already be rich! Sell the gold in your teeth!
1. Buy palatial homes in best neighborhoods for as low as three dollars, then sell for millions!!!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Mets Skipper Willie Randolph Twists in the Wind
Most observers have scoffed at the possibility that Mets manager Willie Randolph will be fired when he returns to New York from the team's current road trip, but former Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez has not ruled out the possibility -- at least by inference.
"I know what he's going through," Martinez said during a recent broadcast of XM Radio's morning baseball show, which Martinez co-hosts with Mark Patrick. "I went through the same thing."
Martinez -- who was 20-33 during his brief tenure as Blue Jays skipper in 2000 -- noted that he found himself in Randolph's position eight years ago when rumors swirled about Martinez's pending dismissal and Martinez received no reassurances from ownership while the team traveled. Warned that he would be called into the front office upon his return, Martinez was fired shortly after arriving.
Randolph has watched the Mets -- in fourth place at 23-23 -- struggle with a mediocre .500 record since last year's All Star break, with managing partner Fred Wilpon reportedly refusing to return Randolph's telephone calls while the team travels.
Wilpon's silence has led to MLB rumors that Randolph will be dismissed during a meeting with Wilpon scheduled next week in New York.
"I know what he's going through," Martinez said during a recent broadcast of XM Radio's morning baseball show, which Martinez co-hosts with Mark Patrick. "I went through the same thing."
Martinez -- who was 20-33 during his brief tenure as Blue Jays skipper in 2000 -- noted that he found himself in Randolph's position eight years ago when rumors swirled about Martinez's pending dismissal and Martinez received no reassurances from ownership while the team traveled. Warned that he would be called into the front office upon his return, Martinez was fired shortly after arriving.
Randolph has watched the Mets -- in fourth place at 23-23 -- struggle with a mediocre .500 record since last year's All Star break, with managing partner Fred Wilpon reportedly refusing to return Randolph's telephone calls while the team travels.
Wilpon's silence has led to MLB rumors that Randolph will be dismissed during a meeting with Wilpon scheduled next week in New York.
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Doctor X -- the 'Baseball Medic' -- is an anonymous U.S. government trauma specialist with a Duke University sports medicine background and more than 20 years experience in emergency medicine. From time to time he considers MLB rumors, events and news reports as they pertain to baseball players' injuries, illnesses and various other disabilities, both on the field and off.
MLB Rumors editor Greg Fieg is a former sports news editor and award-winning writer whose bylines have appeared on the wires of the Associated Press and in numerous publications, including San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio Light, Houston Chronicle and Philadelphia Bulletin. He formerly was posted in various positions on the U.S.-Mexican border with Freedom Newspapers, and was a regular, independent contributor to United Press International.