Is Willie Randolph in Trouble?

I hear the captain of the Titanic kept an even keel as the ship sank. Same with the pilot of the Hindenburg.

 

Willie makes Dusty Baker look like Bobby Cox.

 

Boom: Even keel is obviosuly not working with this team so maybe it's time to try something a little different. Stop telling us everyday "It is what it is. We just have to get 'em tomorrow."

What it is right now is a potential train wreck and the conductor has no fucking clue how to get the train back on track.

And maybe it's time he get a little more involved with his team instead of telling us "I don't what that was about. You have to ask the parties involved," when one of his players goes ballistic and gets thrown out.
And maybe he can stop lying and say Wagner has a sore shoulder instead of telling us it's back spasms and he only found out in the 9th when he started to warm up, or maybe in was in the 6th, or maybe he knew it before the game. He floated all of that bullshit in one interview last night.

He is totally clueless right now, which is not the sign of a competent manager.

 

Any manager who blows a seven-game lead is in trouble. But spnited is correct about at least one thing -- Fred Wilpon doesn't want to pay someone for not working so I wouldn't anticipate a change. I agree with spnited on most of his theories but I would like to know why the GM is so sacrosanct in this discussion. I see Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya as a tandem and, if one goes, both should go. Omar put the roster together and the bullpen failures should be on his back.

As for Randolph's seeming lack of intensity, that's what we see. We don't know what he's like behind closed doors. But isn't this the same thing many were criticizing Joe Torre for when the team was stinking up the joint earlier this season? When Torre was asked about Randolph's demeanor recently, he flatly said something to the effect that a manager has to be what he is. If he's not loud and in your face regularly, and then changes, it won't work.

Would I like to see a little more passion? Sure. But he can't become Lou Piniella if it's not in his blood to act that way.

The one thing I do differ with spnited on is his contention that the Mets "should be 10 games up." We didn't all feel that way back in April. For what it's worth, I, in fact, picked the Mets to fight the Braves for second place behind the Phillies. And if you don't believe me, try tracing back to April when we had a thread with predictions. I felt the Mets' pitching was going to be a problem back when they were signing Jose Lima and Alay Soler to minor-league contracts.

I am hardly an expert in my retired role but I say the manager comes back for another year.

 

An old, wrinkly, white dude?

 

Agree Casty - the trouble with the Mets is their pitching - specialy their middle relief.

When the Yankees had bullpen trouble in mid year it was Cashman who got the heat - not Torre. Minaya seems to be getting a free pass here.

 

Boom, that's a hell of a good point. Minaya did less-than-nothing during the off-season and at the deadline to strengthen the bullpen and rotation, but hasn't received any criticism. He deserves as much blame for the 2007 Mets' collapse as Willie does.

 

They've spent a lot of money. Don't like all of the moves Minaya's made, but if they blow this one, it's on Willie. It's just as if he absorbed all of Torre's worst habits -- including the overuse of certain relief pitchers.

 

Why couldn't Minaya, not Theo Epstein, traded for Eric Gagne?

Better yet, why didn't Cashman get to pull the trigger on that one?

 

While I won't argue about Willy's in-game management, the bullpen was an issue coming in and it should have been foreseen that it would be a problem down the stretch.

Look at the starting rotation. Who on that roster was going to be able to consistently go deep into games? I don't see a pitcher that will get beyond the 6th. Thus, you are forced to have relievers in every single game for a minimum of 3-innings. The guys that pitch well are used more. At the end of the season that means they are burned out.

The next issue is the outfield. Greene seems to have fallen apart. They bring their young enterpriser rapper back up and when he's playing well things are grand. Now, the kid is having a meltdown and people are wondering who will be in the outfield.

Some of these things should have been foreseen by Omar. They weren't.

I think Gagne might have been fine in the NL. I am just willing to guess that the Wilpons weren't willing to guarantee the money like the BoSox were.

Oh and the Yankees did trade for Gagne.

 

I don't think Cashman's regretting his decision too much now.

 

Because Cash knew he had Joba waiting in the wings.