FanNation - The Republic of Sport

6/16/08 

Still far from a finished product, there is plenty of work left to be done.

The framework is in place, and on the surface it appears to be all that it was advertised it would be.

However looks can be deceiving, as one look beneath the surface will reveal that a finished product probably won’t appear by seasons end.

 Yea, Citi Field looks great now, but until the start of next season, it remains simply a tease- a fantasy the fans can only dream about right now…

 … along with the team that plans on calling it home next year.

I’m not sure things could be any more dysfunctional for the New York Mets, as ownership and GM Omar Minaya continue to have embattled manager Willie Randolph sit in his teams dugout without any job security.

The rumors have been swirling, picking up some steam before their weekend series with the Texas Rangers, as numerous reports had stated that Willie’s fate would be all but sealed by weekend’s end.

The Mets won 2 of 3, including a doubleheader split on Sunday, which may have provided Willie a temporary reprieve. 

The rumors then shifted from Willie's job to the jobs of some of his coaches, notably pitching coach Rick Peterson, first base coach Tom Nieto and perhaps hitting coach Howard Johnson.

I'll lay of the coaching staff, because I don't know how you can make scapegoats out of Tom Nieto and Howard Johnson when neither have very much to do with how the team performs.  Rick Peterson is slightly more at fault, considering the regression of Oliver Perez, inconsistent pitching of John Maine and Mike Pelfrey, and atrocious relief work from Aaron Heilman.

Lets talk about Willie, since everybody else seems to want to take a shot at him.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not one of Willie's biggest supporters, but I'm also not among those calling for his head on a platter.

My roommate and I have been discussing this for over a year now, and the conclusion we keep coming to regarding Willie is that he's a great guy, but simply an average manager.

Willie is a classy, stand-up guy who has taken responsibility for his teams futility on countless occasions, despite the fact that the underachieving of this team really should speak for itself.

The veterans look old and bored, while the younger players looks, well, young and bored.

But what about Willie?

Based solely on his managing to this point, his firing would seem both warranted and unwarranted if it's possible to get away with saying that.

He has continually showed an inability to manage his bullpen, constantly overusing Aaron Heilman while constantly misusing Pedro Feliciano.

His lineups are sometimes questionable, and for some reason he is always reluctant to get his players moving whether it be sending Jose Reyes more often, putting a hit-and-run in motion or just maybe attempting a squeeze.

However, the fact that Billy Wagner blew three consecutive save opportunities is hardly Willie's fault.

The fact that Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo play with more indifference and indecision than they do passion and desire is a problem I don't think any manager could solve.

The inability of the team to do anything with runners in scoring position is on them, not Willie.

Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez, Pedro Martinez missing all that time?

The blame there goes above Willie, to the man who signed them all, Omar Minaya.

Now Pedro has already proven his worth, as his value goes beyond the starts he makes (and doesn't make).

Alou played all of 6 innings when he came off the disabled list last Tuesday, only to find himself back on it 3 days later.

El Duque might as well have hitched a ride back to Cuba, as he's closer to Havana these days than he is Queens.

Luis Castillo was awarded a 4 year contract despite bad knees, and while he had them surgically repaired, watching him run is a sight for sore eyes...as is his performance so far this season.

Whether or not WIllie should be blamed for everything mentioned can be debated, however the way he's being treated by the front office is downright disrespectful and unprofessional.

Willie, aside from the comments he made a few weeks back regarding the role his race played in the criticism he's received- which he apologized for- has been a class act and somebody who has never ran away from the tough questions.

If management wants him out, then they need to show him the door.  If not, then they need to come out and say so, because nobody is benefitting from his twisting in the wind, specifically the team itself.

If the Wilpon's have lost faith in Willie Randolph, fine.  They pay his salary, and they're entitled to judge his body of work unacceptable and terminate his contract.

However, if they want what's best for the team, and they feel the success of team will be greater with Willie than without him, they need to publicly express a vote of confidence in him for the remainder of the season.

The fact that Willie has not once, but twice now had to sit on a podium with Omar Minaya just be told he's keeping his job is a joke.

Joe Torre seemed to go through this in a number of his last few years as Yankees skipper, except the difference there was Torre was a proven winner, having won four championships.  He also had players who believed in him and played hard for him, and was constantly getting the kind of vocal support from his team leaders like Derek Jeter that Willie Randolph has seemed to lack from his team leaders.

If management wants to see any type of turnaround from this team, it would be in their best interest to make some type of definitive move, whether it be to fire Willie or to give him some job security.

And if they want to make some changes that would really benefit the team immediately, they would buy out the contract of Carlos Delgado and try to find a way to remedy the mistake of signing Luis Castillo by shipping him anywhere else and maybe eating some of his contract, although both moves are highly unlikely.

With Omar Minaya reportedly on his way to Los Angeles to join his team and beleaguered manager, Mets fans can only hope that this ugly mess of a situation gets some sort of clean up, whatever it may be.

Hopefully Minaya, perhaps knowing his fate is tied into the decision he has been sent to make (or not make), can end all of the speculation and provide the team with some stability in the dugout.

The next step will be figuring out how to regain it on the field.