Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Breaking News

With the Mets 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning against the Angels, sources are reporting that Willie Randolph will be the Mets manager through the bottom of the first.

Update: After the Angels scored in the bottom of the first, the Wilpons have given Omar Minaya the option of firing Rick Peterson and replacing him with the Rally Monkey.

Update: The Mets' 3-1 lead in the third means that Minaya has called off orders to shoot Tom Nieto on sight. Nieto has gone out to the coaching box without his kevlar.

Update: Carlos Beltran has just hit his second home run of the night as the DH to give the Mets a 4-1 lead. Hank Steinbrenner has just been quoted as saying that he no longer likes the DH rule.

Update: Hitting coach Howard Johnson's job is tenous after concern that offensive production has gone down in each of the Mets' last four innings. Two runs in the first, one run on two hits in the second, one run on one hit in the third, and no runs in the fourth. Minaya has said that "Johnson is my hitting coach, and we will continue to re-evaluate as we go."

Update: Mets brass are privately blaming Willie Randolph over Carlos Delgado's decision to come home on a ground ball with runners on first and third, which may or may not have led to two Angels runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Wilpons are reportedly putting together a list of potential replacements for Randolph.

Update: Tom Nieto was reportedly seen in the tunnel putting his kevlar back on sometime during the last two innings.

Update: Luis Castillo's two run single and David Wright's RBI double in the seventh has convinced Omar and the Wilpons that Howard Johnson should remain the hitting coach for the remainder of the game.

Update: The latest implosion of the Mets bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning to close the gap to 8-6 has forced the Wilpons to step up their search for a new manager. Brass is torn between Wally Backman of the Joliet Jackhammers, and Tim Teufel of the Savannah Sand Gnats. Omar Minaya has even suggested a platoon system where Backman would be the manager against righties, and Teufel would be the manager against lefties.

Update: The Mets escaped with a 9-6 victory, Mike Pelfrey's first win in more than a month ... but a ninth inning rally off of Billy Wagner has caused some concern over the job that Willie Randolph is doing. The Wilpons and Omar Minaya have refused to shoot down the notion that the Mets coaching staff will be replaced by the cast of "The Hills" for Tuesday night's game.

36 comments:

Andrew Vazzano said...

I dunno. Figgins just doubled to lead off the bottom of the first.

Willie could be gone by the second out.

Scaevola said...

That Baltimore Chop that put runners on first and third with no outs could spell the end for Randolph.

TW said...

Willie sure is a battler, he got out of the first with his job. He could be manager of the year.

Anonymous said...

Looks like one more update was in order there...

The "Free Willie" movement is now at an end. Be free, Willie, and fly fly away.

James Allen said...

Oh my God, that post was freakin' hilarious and, as it turned out, perfectly timed. That is exactly what Mets games had turned into. They should've fired him a week ago, for crying out loud. This inning by inning disection of games as they related to Randolph's job (which the announcers even were getting into) was getting ridiculous.

TW said...

Jerry Manual spells his name like our rival manager in Philadelphia Charlie Manual, I think Jerry is on the hot seat.

Anonymous said...

Willie Randolph, Tom Nieto and Rick Petersen get fired after the Mets win 9-6 last night. I undertsand about the latter two, but I am sorry, this team is the way that it is because of Omar Minaya. It was not Randolph's fault that you give two years to an outfielder that has spent more time on the DL than has has in left field. It is not Willie's fault that Jose Reyes has not played with the same spark since Willie took him to task. It is not his fault that the entire team tanked last season in September. It is not Willie's fault that Delgado has forgotten how to hit and the player he traded (Jacobs) is blossoming in Florida. It is also not his fault that Beltran is a baby and Pedro is brittle. Minaya should watch his back. He put this "team" together. Good Luck to Willie and to Jerry Manual as your clock started at 12:15 PDT this morning. Rick Petersen--all I can say is Zambrano for Kazmir...

Beezermess

Mike said...

I agree with Beezermess. In fact, here's a post I put up this morning as soon as I saw the news.

Anonymous said...

Wow, just when you think the Mets could not sink any lower than last season's epic collapse, this season comes along and tops it with a managerial/coaching soap opera.

This picture (ironically from a Yankee website) sums it all up:

http://www.replacementlevel.com/index.php/RLYW/comments/are_we_there_yet

Anonymous said...

Heard this morning on Mike & Mike that Fred Wilpon in a statement to Andrew Marchand of 1050 ESPN said that the utimate decision to fire Willie Randolph belonged to Omar Minaya. How 'bout that fans? The owner of our New York Mets, Freddie Coupons, is basically throwing Omar under the bus. Wasn't this supposed to be a organizational decision? The Wilpons make me sick....
Beezermess

Ed in Westchester said...

once again, brilliance.

katherine said...

Excuse me, but WHAT THE HELL????

They fired him in the middle of the night, on the West Coast? After a W?

Was there a DUI? Did he molest somebody? That's why you would ax somebody under those circumstances.

Anonymous said...

Bwahaha! The Mutt$ are the most classless organization in sports!

A true gentlemand and Champion is too good for this team. We love you Willie! THe mutt$ don't deserve your leadership! Come back to New York's only MAJOR LEAGUE team... in the bronx1

Anonymous said...

This is a new low point for the Mets as an organization. I wanted Willie fired but this was just pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Why do so many people cling to this notion that Reyes is somehow underachieving? He has the same stats as 2006 when everybody loved him.

I hate the way the Mets handled this (I personally blame Jeff Wilpon, who's fingerprints, or should I say, whispers, are all over this), but at the end of the day Willie needed to be fired so that this team could move on. The distraction was never going to go away until he was fired.

Ed in Westchester said...

Danny is right. So many in the media are trotting out that maybe Manuel can get Jose "going." Meanwhile, he's been "going" for 2 months now.

TW said...

Truth is that lately games had been lost by coaching mistakes, whether it was not having the faith in Pelfrey or Santana to finish a game, or not sending and then sending Brian Schneider. The bullpen has been shakey throughout the season and Petersen never found a way to stop the bleeding. As bad as the offense was three out of four games in San Diego this team has hit fairly well, Reyes, Beltran and Delgado included since the benching of Delgado some three weeks ago. It's the timing that is ridiculous and the fact that Alomar will probably be put back out at third tonight that I think bothers most of us. Why not do this last Monday when the teamm was off fresh off losing four in a row.

This whole thing stinks like something the Yankees would do. I mean we're all talking about how the Mets are classless for this and Willie has never won a damn thing as a manger. The Yankees basically kicked Torre to the curb after winning 4 World Series in 9 years.

Well, I guess we get what we deserve for hiring a no good Yankee in the first place, bwwahahah.

Anonymous said...

Fire Jerry Manual!

Thought I'd get an early start.

Toasty Joe said...

Danny and Ed, Reyes' defense has completely fallen off the deep end. Not a small thing for your shortstop.

Anonymous said...

Randolph got on Jose Reyes for not running out a ground ball out in September 2007 and he has not been the same since...there is no notion that Reyes in underachieving. The fact is he took a player to task and questioned is passion and Reyes acted like a baby. Did Randolph need to be fired? Maybe, since it is easier to fire a manager than 25players, but at least give him the season. The distractions were caused by the Coupon family and should have been extinguished by Omar Minaya. I guess Omar does not want to be a statistic in the unemployment line....
Beezermess

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Reyes is the problem, not that we are running offensive holes like Delgado, Schneider, Tatis, Chavez and savior Trotman Nixon out there every day.

Anonymous said...

i think Wilpon is russian for "weasel".

Anonymous said...

you know, he did take Reyes to task. Fine. But he never took Wright, Delgado, Beltran or any of the others for constantly jogging out ground balls and fly balls. willie was not consistent.

Anonymous said...

Give me a break, Mutt$ fans! You booed Lastings Milledge and said he didn't 'respect the game' when he showed some passion and excitement and high-fived fans. And yet you all blindly cheer for david wright and his 'hustle' and 'grit'. Now you disgracefully fire a class man and gentleman manager because of his color. Can't you see your own bigotry?

You are exposed for all of the world to see! Thank God I am not a mutt$ fan!

Anonymous said...

We replaced Willie with another black man. I guess the joke's on us, huh fella?

Ed in Westchester said...

While Reyes' defense is down from last year, that is not what the media is talking about. They are talking about his hitting. Most fans are/were as well.

DW makes errors as well, why is no one saying that he is "lacking focus" or that Willie "lost him".

Too much of the BS about Jose is leftover from last season when everyone (including Glavine) blamed him and his dances for game 162. Which is utter horseshit. If the Marlins were so pissed, why didn't they do better in game 161 when Maine dominated them.

TW said...

The thing about Reyes is that he has the potential to be a .310/.390guy with anywhere around 15-20 HRs, and 100 rbis and 120 runs scored. That's the reason why we get on him so much, fair or not.

If he stopped putting his foot in the bucket when swinging at the pitch tailing away from him he loves so much, just to pop it up, he could be that guy.

I occurs to me that maybe no one ever taught him the correct way to approach an at-bat, lay off what you can't drive, take the walk, drive it when its in your area. It sound simple but good hitter don't swing at bad pitches, Tony Gwynn never chased a pitch in his life. Put him on a program where he only swings in his hot zone and when he becomes proficient you actually teach him the art of hitting to the opposite field on purpose, because it is an art.

Then maybe he'll become the player we all piss and moan about.

Anonymous said...

"Give me a break, Mutt$ fans! You booed Lastings Milledge and said he didn't 'respect the game' when he showed some passion and excitement and high-fived fans. And yet you all blindly cheer for david wright and his 'hustle' and 'grit'. Now you disgracefully fire a class man and gentleman manager because of his color. Can't you see your own bigotry?

You are exposed for all of the world to see! Thank God I am not a mutt$ fan!"

a)When did your dad stop buggering you?
b) When did the Yankees org get their first black player?
c) You're proof there is no god.

Anonymous said...

Rumor has it that Omar will be fired at 4am next Saturday morning.

Anonymous said...

You gotta love this sh*t! The Mutts need to have the tarp put over them and have it filled with Black Flag. Start over with the survvors.

Anonymous said...

Mutt$ fans go to the toilet and don't flush it

katherine said...

Toasty, I think Jose is coming out of his funk. I was thrilled by his baserunning last night. I had to listen to the Angels announcers and they were in awe of him. That maneuver in which he faked out the right fielder, drew a throw to first, then high-tailed it to second was GENIUS

TW said...

Reyes commented that it was a mistake

katherine said...

maybe he was just being humble

Anonymous said...

Omar sounded foolish in his press conference today. Repeating the same thing over and over again, not answering the questions and not speaking in complete sentences. He couldn't make up his mind, which is why he botched the whole thing up, plain and simple.

It's also clear his players didn't want Willie around any more.

I thought Manuel, on the other hand, came across very well. Mentioning lack of rest for Wright and Reyes and, more importantly, poor bullpen management. Maybe I'm speaking too soon, but this guy may actually have a plan. We'll soon see . . .

Anonymous said...

In a semi-related incident, Mr Met was awakened around 3:30am with the new about Randolph. He noticed that Mrs. Met was suspiciously not by his side. Concerned, he called her cell phone and was devastated when it was answered by Homer, the Atlanta Braves mascot. A sad and shocking morning all around.