Die Hard Sports Fan

I’m in absolute disgust about how the Mets fired Willie so I want to compliment the media for bashing the way that the Mets fired Willie.  I was half asleep and heard it around 3:30 a.m. on WFAN.  I turned my laptop on and wrote about it as I was half asleep.  Now that I’m awake, I’m going to continue to express myself today.  I’m glad to see that the media sees it as I see it because usually that isn’t the case.

Newsday:

Mets’ handling of Willie cowardly - Jim Baumbach wrote…

Did the Mets know they were going to fire Randolph this past weekend? And did they intentionally wait for the team to head West to get away from their own fans and to go to a place where there will be five times fewer reporters? And why the ridiculous timing?

Here’s the sick part: By announcing at 3 a.m., the Mets undoubtedly figured they’d just miss the last deadlines for New York City newspapers, meaning there would be another 24 hours before the next day’s newspaper is published. So this way maybe something else can happen in the world and they won’t have to see their manager’s firing plastered all over the back pages, because it’s day-old news.

And if you’re a Mets fan, that should make you sick.

Wilpons are worst owners in town - Wallace Matthews wrote…

As a result, The Wilpons today assume sole possession of the title, “Worst Sports Owners in Town,” which is quite an accomplishment considering this town also boasts Charles Wang, Woody Johnson, the long-running reality show known as “The Steinbrenners,” and everyone’s favorites, Dolan & Son.

But not even James Dolan, the poster child for bad ownership, would have handled this as badly as the Mets, or more correctly, The Wilpons, did. From a personal standpoint, his worst crime was making Don Chaney drive to Westchester to run a Knicks’ practice session before wielding the axe. That hardly compares with schlepping a manager and two doomed coaches across the country on a red-eye flight following a doubleheader, only to send them all back again, jobless, less than a day later.

Like him or not, Willie’s firing was brutal - Barbara Barker wrote…

Yet, some firings are more vicious than others. And what the Mets did to Willie Randolph sometime before 3:14 this morning breaks the viciousness meter. And, no matter what you felt about Randolph as a manger, it also breaks your heart.

You can debate all you want whether Randolph deserved to be fired, but there’s no doubt he deserved better than this. He deserved better than to be strung out for weeks, flown 3,000 miles to the West Coast, only to get the ax in a strange hotel only hours after his team beat the California Angels.

New York Daily News:

Mets an utter disgrace for handling of Willie Randolph’s firing - Bill Madden wrote…

And in the history of New York baseball, there has not been a more cowardly, indecent, undignified or ill-conceived firing of a manager. Only the Mets - these Mets who have somehow lost their dignity since Fred Wilpon has chosen to drift further and further into the background - could embarrass themselves like this, firing Randolph, Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto (and just what exactly did he do?) in their hotel rooms in Costa Mesa, Calif., and communicated by e-mail to the beat writers at 3 a.m. Eastern time.

Firing them, after having them fly all the way to the West Coast for a game against the LA Angels, a game which they won, when, clearly, they had made this decision days ago. GM Omar Minaya was the one who executed the firing - while refusing comment - but make no mistake, he was just the messenger. Jeff Wilpon and Tony Bernazard were the ones who really wanted Randolph fired. They just couldn’t figure out how, where or when to do it in order to best lessen the media fallout, and Minaya couldn’t help them.

New York Post:

MIDNIGHT MASSACRE AN AMAZIN’ ACT OF COWARDICE - Mike Vaccaro wrote…

Maybe that seems a simple proclamation. Maybe you think everyone knows about the Internet. Well, the men who run the Mets are quite obviously simple men, and sinister men, cowards cloaked in “no comments,” who have seen the way their baseball team has performed this year obviously decided: People don’t just need to be fired.

They need to be humiliated.

What a crowd, these bums are, all of them, from the Wilpons at the top to Omar Minaya down below, all of them who conspired to botch this firing worse than any firing has ever been botched. Ever. You wouldn’t trust these guys to run a 7-11, let alone a National League baseball team. What a joke. What a cowardly, dastardly joke.

A midnight massacre.

A 3 a.m. thrashing.

Disgraceful. Utterly, completely, disgraceful.

The Star-Ledger:

Graziano: Randolph’s Firing Is a Joke - Just Like the Mets - Dan Graziano wrote…

Willie Randolph is certainly devastated this morning. His first big chance at the job he dreamed of for so long has ended in ignominy. Less than two years after he came within one inning of the World Series, he is fired, and must be wondering if he’ll ever get another chance to manage in the major leagues.

But while Randolph likely can’t take this perspective, he’s well rid of the Mets and the Wilpons, who run their organization so poorly it’s hard to imagine any manager succeeding as long as they’re in charge of it.

When you’re around the Mets all the time, your neck starts to hurt because you shake your head so much. Every day, the evidence of organization-wide incompetence hits you right in the face.

I was never a fan of Willie’s growing up because I’m not a Yankee fan.  I didn’t really care one way or the other when he became the manager of the Mets.  Based on his record, he has the second best winning percentage in the history of the Mets franchise.  He handles himself with class, and the Mets showed him none.  This is not the first time the Mets have done something like this, it always happens like this.  Major League Baseball handles themselves poorly as well.  The combination of the two have built up in me over the years.  When that happens, I tend to back off little by little as a fan.  It’s a shame because it makes it harder for me to love the game and love the Mets.  It is the exact opposite with the NFL and the Giants.  The Mara family has more class than any other owners in the NFL so my love for them grows and grows regardless of the record each season.  The Mets are an embarrasement of an organization.

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So Willie managed to make it through the weekend after the Mets won the series against the Rangers two games to one.  Now the Mets are in Cali to take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or something like that.  Not really sure what that means…lol.  That would be like the New York Jets of East Ruthersford.  No matter how you slice it or dice it, it just sounds dumb.  The Angels went from representing the state to representing Anaheim to representing L.A. and Anaheim in my lifetime.  Who knows what they did prior to that.  Anyway, here’s the pitching probables for the series.

• 06/16/2008 - Mike Pelfrey (2-6) - Jered Weaver (6-6)
• 06/17/2008 - Johan Santana (7-4) - John Lackey (3-1)
• 06/18/2008 - Oliver Perez (5-4) - Jon Garland (6-4)

Mets.com:

Mets heave sigh of relief with split - Marty Noble summarized the second Rangers-Mets game yesterday.

Team cycle becoming a factor for Mets - Jon Blau wrote up a pregame analysis for tonight’s game between the Angels and the Mets.

Late-inning heroics not enough - Jon Blau summarized the first Rangers-Mets game yesterday.

Church itching to be back with Mets - Ryan Church stated, “It’s progressing every day, it’s getting better. I haven’t had any spells or anything like that. It’s just one of those things now, waiting out time on the DL.”

Newsday:

Willie deserves better from Jeff Wilpon - Wallace Matthews wrote that,

No one with the Mets has told Randolph he’s in trouble, not to his face, anyway. He must read it in the papers, leaked through Wilpon’s media lapdogs, hear it on the radio, discern it in the lukewarm votes of confidence from his general manager and the ominous inaccessibility of his bosses.

Randolph gets on plane, going day to day - Mark Herrmann pointed out that,

Minaya was asked by reporters if Randolph and the coaching staff will be working when the team plays the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., tonight, and gave only this vague response: “Willie is our manager. That situation is always under evaluation.”

When he was pressed again about the manager and the coaches, Minaya kept repeating the same basic theme. “You know my feelings on it,” he said. “I think we’re not playing to our potential and I would like to leave myself room to evaluate these things.”

Nine years since last hit, Cancel gets a big one - Katie Strang covered Robinson Cancel’s big pinch hit two-run single off Texas starter Kason Gabbard to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning.  Strang also pointed out, “Before his at-bat, fans were chanting Martinez’s name in hopes he’d get another at-bat during his first home start of the season, but fortunately for embattled Mets manager Willie Randolph, he did not oblige.”  That was a gutsy move by Willie, and he’s lucky it worked out.

New York Daily News:

Rick Peterson, Tom Nieto facing ax but Willie Randolph safe - for now - Adam Rubin wrote,

Sources have told the Daily News that principal owner Fred Wilpon and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon have authorized Minaya to make the call on whether to fire Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. Bench coach Jerry Manuel would ascend to manager if Randolph is ousted, while Triple-A New Orleans manager Ken Oberkfell and pitching coach Dan Warthen would join the major league staff.

A team insider speculated that Randolph could survive a first round of firings, saying: “I think the coaches are in trouble. That may be the compromise for now.”

I have no idea how firing the first base coach is going to get this team rolling.  Minaya has to realize that his players are the problem.

Mets bullpen finds a way to save face in second game vs. Rangers

Slow-footed Brian Schneider easily out at the plate - Now that was some poor base running by Brian Schneider.

Brooklyn Cyclones & Staten Island Yankees get farms up & runnin’

The Star-Ledger:

Hola from the OC

Monday Morning Mets Thoughts

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The Baseball Tonight crew at ESPN discuss the job status of Willie Randolph.

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Die Hard Mets Fan would like to wish all of you a Happy Father’s Day.  So the Mets get to play twice on Father’s Day as a result of last night’s rainout.  I guess most of them won’t get to see their families unless they brought them to Shea.  The Mets are getting rocked 8-2 right now in the Top of the 8th.  Maine only gave up 3 runs until he got beat up in the 7th.  Hopefully the second game will be much better than this one.

Mets.com:

Pedro’s return parade rained on - Jon Blau reported that, “Saturday night’s game between the Rangers and Mets was postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1:10 p.m. ET. Tickets for Saturday night’s game will not be honored at either of Sunday’s games, but can be used for any other game during the 2008 season — depending on availability.”

Nixon’s debut to come during twin bill - Marty Noble put together a pregame analysis for both of today’s games between the Rangers and the Mets.

An off-day not on Wright’s mind

Newsday:

Nixon arrives, but role on Mets up in the air

Drug secret helped Mets get Keith Hernandez - Steven Marcus pointed out that on,

The 25th anniversary of the most significant trade in Mets history includes a historic footnote. It might never have occurred if the Mets’ front office knew why the Cardinals were unloading Keith Hernandez.

Years before he became a central piece of the 1986 world champion Mets and gained iconic status in team history, Hernandez abused cocaine, an issue not publicly confirmed until Hernandez and several other players testified in the 1985 Pittsburgh drug trials.

I highly recommend that you read the entire article.

Ex-Met Backman has had one wild ride of late - Ken Davidoff ponders, “As Willie Randolph writhes on the Mets’ skillet, his job in serious jeopardy, it’s interesting to wonder whether Backman would be a candidate to replace him had he made different choices - and whether the Mets should give him a job somewhere in their organization now.”

Minaya’s full autonomy more like fool autonomy - Shaun Powell believes that Omar Minaya doesn’t want to fire Willie Randolph because that’s the manager he hired.  Powell thinks that the Wilpons do want to fire Willie.  Since Omar received full autonomy upon taking over, he would be acting as a puppet if he had to pull the trigger.

Schedule has been brutal to Mets

Randolph hanging on as Mets manager for now - David Lennon and Ken Davidoff wrote, “A person familiar with the situation said late Saturday that Randolph was not likely to be fired on Father’s Day and would be on board the team’s charter to Anaheim, Calif., later Sunday night. But the Mets are still seriously considering a plan to fire Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson in a last-ditch effort to revive this underachieving team.”

New York Daily News:

Rangers soak it all in at Shea - Roger Rubin explained that, “Five members of the Rangers starting lineup and a relief pitcher put on a show for Mets fans Saturday night at Shea and also showed New York what a team having fun looks like. After finding out the game had been postponed due to rain - it will be made up as part of a straight doubleheader beginning today at 1 p.m. - they made the drenched tarp on the field their personal Slip ‘N Slide before exiting to chants of “Let’s go Rangers!”  The article contains pictures of the 5 Rangers sliding on the tarp, and it pretty funny.

Mets show interest in Rockies’ Brian Fuentes, but deal not close

New York Post:

NEVER MORE POPULAR, HERNANDEZ IS THE REAL MR. MET

25 BEST MOMENTS AT SHEA: NO. 15 - “The Mets seemed destined for the World Series in 2006 until they were cut down by the underdog Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. The series went to a decisive Game 7 at Shea Stadium, the first Game 7 there since the 1986 World Series.”  That was depressing.  It was like the MC pressed a mute button as soon as Beltran watched the called strike three go over the plate.

SERBY’S SUNDAY Q&A WITH… Tom Seaver.

The Star-Ledger:

The beginning of a long (and potentially longer) day - Colin Stephenson provided the lineup for the first Rangers-Mets game of today’s double header.

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I’m a Mets fan and a Giants fan so I really do listen to WFAN religiously.  There isn’t a need for me to turn the dial a lot.  My point is that I hear all of the Mets fans calling for Willie’s head.  The reasons are endless.  Some Mets fans don’t think that Willie can manage an NL club the way it should be because he played most of his career in the AL.  Some Mets fans don’t like Willie because he’s a Yankee.  In essence, these fans feel like we have to rent a Yankee to bring the Mets a championship rather than the Mets way like Davey Johnson did it in ‘86.  Also, these fans don’t want the Mets to win a World Series with a former Yankee at the helm because all Yankee fans will say is that we needed their help to win a championship.  These Mets fans don’t want to hear that.  These Mets fans live to piss off Yankees fans.  These Mets fans chant “Yankees Suck!” when the Mets are playing the Royals at Shea.  Other Mets fans don’t like the fact that the Mets had the biggest collapse in MLB history on Willie’s watch.  Other Mets fans don’t like the fact that the Mets are playing under .500 ball for the last year.  Other Mets fans say to bring in a manager with fire.  And maybe is partially correct when he said that some Mets fans don’t like his because he’s ‘black’.

The truth of the matter is that Willie has been one of the winningest managers, in terms of percentage, in Mets history so I don’t think that he should be fired.  I don’t care if he was a Yankee, but I agree that it is extremely annoying to listen to Yankees fans every time the Mets have a successful season.  I don’t care that he’s ‘black’.  I want him to be successful, but it’s unfortunate that the team is not responding to him.  As a lifelong Mets fan, I have seen so much worse than this.  I can recall dozens of seasons where the Mets played under .500, and I understand that the payroll was not $140 million.  I have been to Shea in August when no fans were there because the season was over already.  If Randolph got fired then why would I want to see Jerry Manuel get the job?  I don’t see this as an improvement.  The only replacement that I want right now is Bobby Valentine, but the Wilpons never mentioned that possibility.

I believe that those Mets fans that believe that the Mets should bring in a manager with fire don’t understand why that would backfire.  It’s not that it’s a bad idea, it’s that these players are prima donnas.  These players have been told that they are so great since they began playing sports.  It will not benefit them to scream at them.  I believe that the fact that Willie’s not a screamer may better suit these players than a Bobby Knight kind of guy.

I do think that there may be some disconnect between the the immigrants and the American born players.  On the Mets, the majority of the immigrants on the team happen to be Latino.  By no means am I saying that they all can’t get along.  I’m saying that the Latino players may not hold Randolph in as high regards as the US born players.  Do you think that the Latino players were watching the Yankees to the point where Willie became a hero in their respective countries.  Willie is not a hometown hero to these players.  Willie is a hometown hero to us in New York.  I’m sure the Latino players fell in love with athletes in their own countries, and there is nothing wrong with that at all.  Do you remember when Pedro was compared to Sandy Koufax a few years ago?  Pedro said that he didn’t know who Sandy Koufax was at the time.  After all of the comparisons, he knows who he is now and says that he has great admiration for him.  My point is that I don’t believe that all of the Latino players hold Willie in as high regards as they might somebody else.  They might not play as hard for Willie as they would somebody else.  Just because I mentioned this does not mean that they need a Latino manager.  A player from Venezuela may not have high regards for a manager from the Dominican Republic just as they don’t have high regards for a manager from the US.

I hear a lot of Americans ask questions like, ‘How can these immigrant players not know who Tom Seaver is if he plays for the Mets?’  It seems like a reasonable question because we watch the baseball games here in New York, we listen to the sports talk radio, we check out the all of the websites and blogs, and we take it all in to the point of information overload.  Just to show you that we are as naive as the immigrants are, I can ask you who the all-time leading goal scorer on Manchester United is.  Manchester United is the world’s most reknown sports franchise with over 350 million fans, and I don’t know the answer.  I’m sure that there is some dude in Manchester that is as famous as the Babe, and most of us in New York does not know who it is.

I have a much bigger problem with the players who feel like they have nothing to prove after the collapse.  We know who they are: Reyes, Castillo, Delgado, Beltran, Heilman, Schoeneweis etc.  The players need to develop an edge on their own.  They lack that killer instinct.  I have a much bigger problem with Omar for assembling this team and saying they have ‘championship calibur talent’ after watching them play under .500 ball for over a year.

Like Forest Gump once said, ‘That’s all I have to say about that.’  To sum it all up, I think that Willie should stay.  I think the Mets should really consider a better backup plan than Jerry Manuel.  Changes need to be addressed, but not with the manager.

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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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ESPN talks about Instant Replay in the Majors as well as the latest status on Willie Randolph.

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Ryan Church talks to ESPN about the state of the Mets and the status of Willie Randolph.

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The Mets played great tonight.  I’m sure Randolph was extremely nervous that his tenure depends on Ollie.  Surprisingly, Perez pitched a great game.  The offense put up 7 runs, and beat the Rangers 7-1.

During the Post Game on SNY, Willie fielded a whole bunch of questions about all of the circling rumors about his status.  I felt so bad for him because you can see that he was trying to joke around, but he seemed uncomfortable.

After Willie spoke, Omar announced that the Mets signed OF Trot Nixon from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash and a player to be named later.  Are you curious?  I know I am.  Omar stated that Nixon has been playing in Triple-A, and I had no idea about that.  As usual, Minaya also said that he wanted to add a player with a ‘veteran presense’ and ‘Playoff experience’ to the team.  What’s new about that concept?

Before Omar explained that Nixon was in the Minors, I was excited.  I never knew that.  Trot Nixon of the Red Sox was a blue collar player which is something most of these players on the Mets lack.  However, he has to be in the Minors for a reason.  Hopefully he can resurrect himself.

You can check out Nixon’s profile on MLB.com.  He has a .275 career AVG, .364 OBS, and he’s closing in on 1,000 hits.  Don’t forget about the World Series Ring.

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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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