I am really on the fence about Willie Randolph’s future. Do I think he deserves to be fired? No, actually I don’t. Do I think the team needs some type of change? Yes, I certainly do. I’m not being seduced by the fact the Mets beat the Rangers 2 games to 1 either. We have been seduced by these false starts once too many times. I don’t have any reason to believe the team has turned a corner.
Regardless of the outcome, I honestly think Mets management is doing a huge disservice going game to game in regards to Willie’s future. Either come out and say that Willie’s the manager for the rest of the season or fire him. All this is doing is creating a huge distraction for the players. Adam Rubin is reporting that the next time the Mets stumble (gee, could that possibly happen in
Clearly, firing Nieto, if it happens, is a warning shot across the bow. Apparently the Wilpons have cleared the way for the firing of Nieto, Peterson, and Randolph but it’s up to Omar to carry out the hit. This is interesting because if Minaya does in fact start firing people, ultimately he is saying that the problem with the Mets is these coaches and the manager. After that, if nothing changes on the field, what then? Who takes the blame next? Certainly neither men, Omar and Willie, can be held accountable for the injuries the Mets have suffered this season and continue to endure. Ryan Church and Moises Alou, the two corner outfielders are still out of action. No one can fault Ryan Church and his aggressive play that led to his concussions but the re-signing of Alou has got to be questioned. At 42 years old and having a reputation of always being injured, betting on Alou to be the everyday left fielder was an extreme gamble.
Luis Castillo with his bad knees was also a bad signing. I would have rather seen the Mets give Ruben Gotay the opportunity to play every day. He’s young and can hit and what is hurting the Mets more right now, defense at second base or the lack of run production? When Omar took over the team, he promised to make the Mets younger and more athletic. Right now the direction seems to be going the other way. On average the Mets have the oldest roster in baseball. That does of course include Orlando Hernandez who has not picked up a baseball yet this season at the major league level.
Willie Randolph is not the best manager in baseball. He makes decisions at times that make you scratch your head. But all in all, I don’t see how he gets the blame for what is happening on the field. To me, it’s more Omar’s fault than it is Willie Randolph’s. Having stated that, I really do not want either one of them fired. Both are good baseball people and deserve to learn from the mistakes they have made. Now before you call me a hypocrite, because I did write the other day that a change needs to be made, I thought about it a lot over the weekend. The only changes that will really make a difference are the ones on the field. I do like the Trot Nixon deal, unless of course the player to be named later is Fernando Martinez. Then I would have a big problem with it. I actually thought Nixon would have been a good fit for the Mets last year when he was a free agent. Who knows, if Nixon was in the clubhouse last September, maybe…
Nixon can still hit, at least facing right handed pitching. The only thing that scares me is that he was playing triple A ball. What other moves can the Mets make in regards to players? Honestly nothing will be that dramatic because the Mets farm is depleted.
This road trip should bring the coaches/manager firings to a head. If the Mets play poorly in
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