It's probably not an overreaction to say that the Mets have been slightly disappointing so far this season. The acquisition of Johan Santana was supposed to lift them over a flawed division. Instead, the Mets flaws have been front and center. That, combined with not only last season's collapse, but the fact that since late May of last season the Mets have basically been a .500 team with a star studded roster, could mean that the focus is now on manager Willie Randolph. Consider the following unnamed source type quote:A person familiar with the Mets' thinking, who requested anonymity because he was relaying details of private conversations, said Mets management is planning a reevaluation at the end of this month. (...)Granted, this could mean absolutely nothing, and we need to be careful in regards to sources who request anonymity. But if you believe in the mantra "where there's smoke there's fire", then this isn't good news for Willie.
Now, this same person said that, unless the Mets fall completely out of the race, Randolph is likely to last through this season. GM Omar Minaya likely will stick up for him, and there's no clear-cut candidate, inside the organization or out, waiting to take Randolph's place midseason.
But the Mets' underwhelming on-field performance of the past 11 calendar months has ownership wondering if Randolph is the right man to manage their team, and it's a question they have good reason to ask.
Fair or not, Randolph has never been a manager known for his keen knowledge of double switches, bullpen management, or how to put together a lineup which maximizes its parts. Randolph's strengths have always involved getting the most out of his players through motivation. If Randolph is only getting .500 effort from a roster clearly better than that, then Randolph's usefulness might be running out.
And another bad sign is that the Mets have put all their assets into acquiring Santana, there's not a lot else this team can do via trade to shake things up ... so a managerial change might be the next option on the table.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Why wait? If the Mets start to perform better, it won't be because of Willie.
Posted at 1:51PM on May 9th 2008 by David
2. The mets need a motivator. They need a kick in the @$#. Willie likes to be like Joe Torre and sit by and wait. The mets need to be pushed hard at least offensively. Passive is not the way to go with lazy players
Posted at 10:26PM on May 9th 2008 by Brian G
3. Its about time we started blaming Willie for some of these problems.From last years collapse, when you could find him sitting in the dugout with his usual blank look, to this years poor start.Havr we ever hired a ex Yankee that was worth a damn?
Posted at 8:05AM on May 10th 2008 by Scott
4. Gosh, I thought Santana was the answer. ROFLMAO! Quite frankly, the Twins would never trade Carlos Gomez back for two Santanas. Gomez has been instrumental in most every game won by the Twins; whereas, Santana can only pitch once every five games.
Posted at 8:32AM on May 10th 2008 by john
5. A great outstanding manager one of the best ever to manage just give him sometime you know Rome wasn't built in one day.
Posted at 10:21AM on May 10th 2008 by dave
6. What I feel has to be done is to put the emphasis on what the hell is Howard Johnson doing to having Delgado start hitting to the opposit field? Also what the hell is happening with the pitching coach Peterson doing with this staff. Heilman especially, the Sosa and lord knows what you're going to get out of Perez. This is the guy who said he could straighten out Zambrano in 15 minutes and the Mets traded Kasmir,a left handed pitcher 21 years old. HELLO, IS ANYBODY HOME. Beltran is looking for the perfect pitch to hit, how many times does he look at pitches that a minor leaguer could hit for a double. Get the bat off his shoulders. Nothing is more annoying than seeing him take that thired strike right over the plate for a backward K. Stop playing conservative and get aggresive. Beltran with only 3 homers at this time of the year is b/s. Lets start looking at Omar as to the fault of this team, too many old players, Delgado, Martinez, Alou, soon to be old Beltran, the second basemen Castillo, is this the future or the past??? Blame Randolph I don't think so, blame the guy who puts the team on the field. You can't get wool from an ass, remember that.
Posted at 4:04AM on May 11th 2008 by Edward F. Ulon