June 17, 2008

In the dark of night, Willie Randolph pushed out by Mets

NewYorkology contributor Scott Ross keeps you abreast of upcoming Mets and Yankees home games in New York City. Ross toils in anonymity for a giant online news aggregator.

The Willie Randolph Deathwatch is finally over. At approximately 3:15 a.m., after the team's second consecutive victory, the always classy Mets issued a press release announcing the dismissal of Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto.

The Mets orchestrated Randolph's firing -- in the wee hours while the team is on the West Coast -- to minimize the inevitable media circus that surrounds any such move in New York. No one from the front office, most of all General Manager Omar Minaya, could stomach the thought of taking any level of accountability for the team's woes.

Willie's job is to get the most out of his players and, with the possible exception of Jose Reyes, he's gotten about all that could be expected from the sorry roster Minaya assembled. Willie shouldn't be faulted for Carlos Delgado's fade from glory, Brian Schneider's career of mediocrity or the inability of guys like Angel Pagan, Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis and Marlon Anderson to be regular contributors on a playoff contender. And no manager should ever be faulted for injuries, like the Ryan Church's multiple concussions or the annual "shut him down" maladies suffered by Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez. From this vantage point, it seems as if Randolph is being fired for the Mets' collapse late last season. If that's the case, shame on the Mets for waiting this long.

The Wilpon family, owners of the Mets, should consider the very real possibility that what they have on their hands is a .500 team that cost $135 million to assemble. Once they wrap their heads around that reality, the next step should be clear.

Earlier: Home games: Yanks play Padres, Reds - sans Wang
Home games: Mets in the hot box vs. Arizona, Texas

June 17, 2008 10:48 AM in Sports

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