Die Hard Sports Fan

That has to have been one of the busiest days in Mets land in a long time.  Unfortunately, three guys lost their jobs.  It’s a new regime now.  Jerry Manuel is the the interim manager of the Mets.  That sounds bad, but what do you expect as a Mets fan?

Mets.com:

Mets name Manuel interim manager - Anthony DiComo reported that the Mets promoted Jerry Manuel to interim manager.

Minaya explains Randolph’s dismissal

Manuel, Randolph share similarities

Mets fans react to Willie’s dismissal

Hurdle talks Randolph dismissal - Rockies manager Clint Hurdle had this to say about Randolph, “He’s a good baseball man. When a door closes for a man of his abilities, another one will open somewhere down the line.”

Mets face uphill climb in All-Star races - Anthony DiComo noted, “In the latest tally of online voting, released Tuesday by Major League Baseball, no Mets player is close to earning an All-Star start at his position.”

Williams proving he could be Draft steal - Kevin T. Czerwinski pointed out that the Mets’ 40th-round pick, Seth Williams, has been tearing it up in College World Series.

Mets sign, seal, deliver win for Pelfrey - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s Mets-Angels game.

DH offers Mets plenty of options - Anthony DiComo put together a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Mets and the Angels.

Newsday:

More than 21,000 miles on Mets since May 1 - David Lennon believes that the players are tired because they have traveled 21,611 miles since the start of May.

New York Daily News:

Pals go to bat for Willie Randolph

Derek Jeter calls Willie Randolph firing ‘unfortunate’

Fans quick to condemn Mets’ handling of Willie Randolph firing

New York Times:

Mets Put Him In. Is He Ready to Play? - Joshua Robinson asks, “Recently the question has arisen: How much does a weary, and slumping, David Wright really help the Mets?”

The Star-Ledger:

Jose Reyes pulled from the game, reacts angrily

Firings and Hirings: A complete look at the Mets eventful day - The Star-Ledger compiled dozens of articles about a very busy day in Mets history.  If you check out the article then you will be able to read all of their articles about today.

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Jerry Manuel is now the new Interim Manager of the New York Mets.  Manuel played sparingly in the Major Leagues from 1975 to 1982, mostly as a second baseman.  He accumulated only 127 at bats and a .150 batting average with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 96 games.  I’m not sure how a Major League player only gets 127 at bats in 7 years, but I guess you would if you had a .150 average.  Manuel, 54, will begin his second managerial stint on Tuesday.  During the 2005 season, Manuel was hired as first base coach for the New York Mets, eventually moving into the dugout to serve as bench coach to manager Willie Randolph.  Anthony DiComo of Mets.com wrote, “Previously manager of the White Sox from 1998-2003, Manuel led the Sox to 95 wins in 2000 and was named Manager of the Year by The Associated Press. He left Chicago with a 500-471 record over his six seasons.”  Word on the street is that his managing style is similar to Willie with a little more fire so I’m not really sure how this change will benefit the team.

Somebody has to coach the Metropolitans tonight.  We would like to wish him the best of luck.

For more on Jerry Manuel, see Newsday, New York Daily News, and New York Post.

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Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News reported that…

The Mets have fired manager Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto, the team announced shortly after 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

Bench coach Jerry Manuel has been named the team’s interim manager, while Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo will join the staff.

That’s the extent of the article, but it’s 3:30 in the morning.  I’m sure there will be tons of articles in a few hours.  I’m upset that the Mets fired Willie, I don’t care one way or the other about Peterson or Nieto.  I’m actually glad that Nieto didn’t get fired by himself which was a rumor.  That rumor confused me because that wasn’t going to make an impact.

The Mets are very classless for firing Willie one night after he flew out to sunny southern California.  The Mets won their game, and three coaches got whacked.  The Mets should’ve fired him at home over the weekend so he can go home and not be bothered.  I’m not looking forward to Jerry Manuel managing my boys in blue and orange.  It is one thing to upset me by firing a manager that I like, but it is another thing to lack class when firing him which is what just happened.  It’s twice as disappointing to me as a Mets fan.  Obviously, Willie has more class than the Wilpons will ever have.  The Wilpons handle things very poorly, and it diminishes my love for the franchise.  One example is how they handled the collapse…they ran and hid.

Like I said the other day, if the Mets fire Willie than I want Bobby V. not Jerry Manuel.  If only Omar had the cajones to admit that he gave Willie garbage to manage then this wouldn’t happen.  Let me know what you think about how the Mets handled this.

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Tonights game between the Rangers and the Mets was postponed due to the rain and thunderstorms.  That sucks, I was all pumped up and ready to watch it.  It began raining lightly a few hours ago, and then it kept getting heavier.  The thunder has been really loud at times.  Instead, SNY is airing a game between the Dodgers and the Mets that took place on 5/07/1991.

Mets.com:

Perez poised in much-needed victory - Anthony DiComo summarized last night’s Rangers-Mets game.

Team player Anderson gives reminder - Jon Blau wrote up a pregame summary for tonight’s game between the Rangers and the Mets.

Mets ink first rounder Havens to deal - Jon Blau reported that Reese Havens and Brad Holt each signed contracts with the Mets yesterday.  Havens was the 22nd overall pick in this year’s First-Year Player Draft.  Holt was the 33rd pick in the Draft.

Willie focusing on job at hand - Willie said, “I can’t control what’s said or written. I just come to work ready to go. The nights are a little tougher to sleep, and you get up every morning ready to come out and try to find a way to do something to help the team win. It’s been really bizarre.”  Omar said, Willie has my support. I believe that he’s going to get us to play better. I have full confidence that he’s doing everything he can.”

Alou reluctantly returns to disabled list - As expected, Anthony DiComo reported that the Mets officially placed Moises Alou back on the disabled list Friday with a strained left calf.  DiComo also mentioned that the Metsies recalled Robinson Cancel from Triple-A New Orleans to take Alou’s roster spot.

Newsday:

It might be best for all to fire Randolph - Ken Davidoff says that, “there’s only one potentially high-impact move to make, and that’s firing Randolph and replacing him with Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel. And the Mets could do that as soon as Saturday.”  I strongly disagree with Ken here because I don’t think that Manuel is the answer like I said yesterday.

THIS DAY AT THE OLD BALLPARK - Newsday lets us know what took place at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium on June 14 of a year in the past.  “June 14, 1997, at Shea Stadium: Mark Clark pitched seven strong innings and hit a home run off Tim Wakefield as the Mets defeated the Red Sox, 5-2.”

New York Daily News:

Mets are focusing on wins, not manager Willie Randolph

The Star-Ledger:

Saturday Morning Willie Thoughts

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So pretty much everybody in New York knows that John Heyman of SI.com broke the story about how Willie could be run out of Flushing in the very near future, but not as soon as today.  Heyman stated the same thing on WFAN a few hours ago, and on the Mets pregame show on SNY.  Here’s part of the article:

Willie Randolph’s status as Mets manager is extremely tenuous now. General manager Omar Minaya is seriously considering changing managers and at least a couple of the team’s coaches, sources told SI.com. A Mets official indicated that nothing was expected to be decided today regarding Randolph’s status. But that doesn’t preclude something from happening later this weekend. Sources indicate his hold on the job is shaky, at best. Should Randolph be fired, bench coach Jerry Manuel will take over, sources told SI.com.

Personally, I don’t know how Jerry Manuel is going to do.  I’m not really a fan of his.  If the Mets really fire Willie then this Manuel dude is one of the last guys that I want to manage the Mets.  I would prefer that they kept Randolph over Manuel and got rid of everybody on the team except Santana and Wright.  Clean house Omar.  Accept the fact that you do not have a championship caliber team, and so you can fix the problem.  In case Omar ever finds Die Hard Mets Fan, our vote is for Bobby V. of course!

Mets.com:

Yanks-Mets set makeup date for June 27 - The intra-city rivals will meet at Yankee Stadium for a 2:05 p.m. ET game on Friday, June 27, and then face off in the nightcap at Shea Stadium at 8:10 p.m. ET. The original game was to be played on May 16. Schneider playing for Dad every day Mets hope turnaround starts vs. Rangers - Jon Blau wrote up a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Rangers and the Mets.

Newsday:

Wagner blows another save as Mets fall to D-Backs - Mark Herrmann summarized yesterday’s Diamondbacks-Mets game. Mets needing big change could cost Randolph job Could Mets hitting coach Johnson take the fall?

New York Daily News:

Sources: Willie Randolph’s tenure as Mets manager in grave danger - Adam Rubin wrote, “Willie Randolph’s tenure as Mets manager is in grave danger of ending this weekend, sources tell the Daily News. It’s believed that bench coach Jerry Manuel would succeed Randolph if the manager is fired. Randolph has a four-year record of 299-252 with the Mets.”  Manuel is going to be worse than Randolph, but maybe it will work.  Something has to work. After this spell, any positive thinking would be a relief for Mets Billy Wagner is the least of Willie Randolph’s worries In ninth, Mets find bad luck is catching Johan Santana keeps his cool after win is taken away Moises Alou likely returning to DL

New York Post:

SNAKE-BIT BILLY A BUST AGAIN - Mike Puma wrote up a game summary about yesterday’s D-Backs-Mets game. WAGS CARES, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH SANTANA’S GEM GOES FOR NAUGHT ALOU MAY BE HEADED FOR THIRD STINT ON DL WAGNER BLOWS IT AGAIN IN 5-4 LOSS

The Star-Ledger:

Willie’s Warm Seat - Dan Graziano examines the Mets managerial position from all angles. Willie still manager…for now SI: Willie still on hot seat Mets can’t close out Diamondbacks Alou (calf) likely DL-bound again

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Coming off of the Bronx Beatdown, I hope that the Mets go down to Atlanta and sweep Larry and the Braves.  I hope they win 3 out of 4, at a minimum.  I hope that the Mets knock Tom Glavine out of the game faster than he got knocked out of that game against the Marlins.  After this game, I want to hear Tommy say that it was devastating.  I want Chipper to go 0-for-the-series.  And most importantly, I don’t want to hear any Braves fans doing that stupid tomahawk chop chant the entire series which would mean that the Amazin’s swept the Braves with ease.  Here’s a look at the probable pitching matchups:

• 05/20/2008 - John Maine (5-2) - Tom Glavine (1-1)
• 05/20/2008 - Claudio Vargas (0-1) - Jorge Campillo (0-0)
• 05/21/2008 - Mike Pelfrey (2-4) - Jair Jurrjens (4-3)
• 05/22/2008 - Johan Santana (5-2) - Tim Hudson (6-3)

Mets.com:

Mets answer Church’s prayers to play

Perez cures all that ails Mets in Bronx - Marty Noble summarized last night’s game between the Mets and the Yankees.

Mets coach tossed after close call - Anthony DiComo explained why Jerry Manuel got ejected from last night’s game against the Yankees.

Mets head to Atlanta wanting more - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for the first Mets-Braves game tomorrow.

With Alou at DH, Anderson plays left - Marty Noble pointed out that Willie Randolph used Moises Alou as the DH in last night’s game against the Yankees.

Newsday:

Mets’ subway sweep lobs more pressure on Yanks - Erik Boland also summarized last night’s Mets-Yankees game.

Reyes watches and learns for Mets

Delgado shows signs of life

Sore Alou as DH: ‘I’ve got an old body’

Manuel gets ejected instead of Randolph

New York Daily News:

Mets maul Yankees, overcome negated homer to take both games at Stadium - Anthony McCarron put together a game recap for last night’s game between the Mets and the Yanks.

Mets talk a good game, then dominate Yankees in Subway Series

Mets show life in Bronx romp

Umpire admits he fouled up Carlos Delgado home run call - Christian Red got the quote of the umpire that made the incorrect call, and here it is, “I —-ed it up. I’m the one who thought it was a —- foul ball. I saw it on the replay. I’m the one who —-ed it up so you can put that in your paper. Bolts and nuts, I —-ed up. You’ve just got to move on. No one feels worse about it than I do.”  You would think that Bob Davidson would not speak with as much of a potty mouth, but what do I know.

New York Post:

AMAZIN’S SURVIVE SOME FOUL PLAY

OLIVER ON HIS GAME IN BRONX

REYES POWERS UP

WILLIE MUM AFTER BLOWN HOMER CALL

A REAL FOUL-UP

WEEKEND WARRIORS - Mike Vaccaro asks what a difference a weekend makes for the Mets.

New York Times:

Weekend in Bronx Revives Mets

Pole Leaves Mark, but Not on Outcome

The Star-Ledger:

Mets sign Abraham Nunez - Jeremy Cothran reported that “The New York Mets announced today that they have signed infielder Abraham Nunez to a minor league contract and assigned him to New Orleans (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League.”

Back on the road

Yanks better set for future - Steve Politi debates why the Yankees are better set for the future than the Mets.

Fan sees play up close and personal

Mets Sweep Yankees, Look Ahead to Braves

Davidson: I blew Delgado call

Bench coach Manuel has some choice words

Mets blast Yankees 11-2

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