The Mets finally fired Willie Randolph. And along with him they got rid of Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto.
Jerry Manuel will serve as interim manager and Ken Oberkfell, Dan Warthen and Luis Aguayo were named as new coaches.
Oberkfell was the manager of New Orleans, the Mets Triple A affiliate. He'll be the new bench coach. Warthen was the pitching coach for New Orleans, he'll replace Peterson.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way, here are my thoughts:
First of all, Willie was not being evaluated on a day to day basis so the fact that the Mets won the last two games, and three of four has nothing to do with it. It makes the timing a little weird is all. But he was fired because of a huge collapse, followed by half a season of mediocrity. Does anyone think the Mets suddenly turned it around in the last few games? No, they just happened to win a few, because they're a .500 team, not a .000 team.
The best time to make the move would have been last Monday, on an off-day, after a devastating sweep. I have no idea why they waited. Maybe a different manager could have squeezed out an extra victory on the homestand with better bullpen management, but I doubt it.
I really have almost no hopes that these changes will lead to a sudden and drastic turnaround. The problems with this team are on the field, the players are the ones who have to improve.
That makes Willie an unfortunate fall guy, hut I'm glad he's gone.
I'm glad Willie is gone because he's so stubborn and refuses to make any major changes that might help the team. "Keep battling" is not a plan for improvement, it's the definition of insanity.
I also think he is a bad strategical manager, especially when it comes to using the bullpen. He is also not aggressive enough with base runners, and too often plays for one run with the sacrifice bunt at inopportune times.
To repeat, I'm glad they made this move, I think it's unlikely to start a drastic turnaround but it had to be done because there were no other ways available to make a major change to this team.
I would have to agree. Willie is a bad in-game manger, and his unwillingness to try anything other than "waiting for my big boys to get hot" is incredibly frustrating.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the Mets mishandled this and look like a Mickey Mouse organization.
I just hope Omar doesn't make a panic trade or move to try and save his own job
Omar should go next
ReplyDeleteVery well put by both Paul and MB. My problem with this is that although this is "interim," I'm not excited about the new coaches, and I doubt the players will be, either. For instance, is Leo Mazzone available? I know he wasn't great in Baltimore, but why not try to make a splash. Or what about Lee Mazzilli? Besides their similarity in names, both of these guys could potentially be huge additions.
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly past his time to go, but i would have been nice to save him the cross-country flight
ReplyDeleteI think a Mazzilli/Mazzone combo could be a good thing as well.
I would also like to see them give Wally Backman a shot somewhere also (maybe not manager, but in on the staff)..his fire might be what they need going forward
I previously advocated for the hiring of Leo Mazzone on May 24th.
ReplyDeleteHe would be a great hire but I think they are done with changes for this year.
I admit the timing was bad, but I don't see why people are making such a big deal out of it. I would also like to know why they didn't fire him after the Sunday game in San Diego.
can someone tell me if 'Damino' is really damino or is it a fraudulent AK the freak?
ReplyDeleteYep, it's me. AK is a poophead too though, at least on a semi-regular basis.
ReplyDelete