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When Willie Randolph and the Mets were cruising through the 2006 regular season, he spoke confidently about his future. He already was signed through the 2007 season, and he told friends that he intended to get a three-year extension on top of that.
To Jeff Wilpon's credit, however, the Mets held the line on Randolph. They gave him only a two-year extension through 2009, appeasing him by raising his 2007 salary. Continue
Jerry Manuel's job as bench coach was to advise Willie Randolph, to give the Mets manager counsel on how to handle everything from game strategy to clubhouse politics. However, friends of Randolph's told The Post that the now former manager had grown to believe Manuel actually might have been doing the opposite of helping him by undermining him to upper management. It is a charge Manuel denied late yesterday afternoon. Continue
Willie Randolph's former players didn't exactly shed tears yesterday at the Mets manager's unexpected late-night firing. Several of the most prominent Mets appeared to welcome Randolph's departure because it meant an end to the constant and feverish speculation about his future.
"It was a huge distraction," third baseman David Wright said before last night's game with the Angels. "It seemed like he was always on the hot seat. Even when we won, we had to answer questions about the manager's future." Added center fielder Carlos Beltran: "It was tough to stay away from the papers and concentrate on baseball . . . ." Continue
The e-mail was time-stamped 3:14 a.m., Eastern time. In a simpler time, in a different world, maybe the Mets would have succeeded completely in this cowardly purge of their baseball team. Maybe then they would have been able to hold off on telling everybody what they'd planned to do until long past their vessels in the media were fast asleep.
Ah, but there is this wonderful thing known as the Internet now, and here we are, telling you that while you were sleeping, at 3:14 a.m. New York time, at 12:14 a.m. California time, two hours after the Mets beat the Angels 9-6, the Mets finally got around to firing Willie Randolph. Continue
Omar Minaya refused to guarantee that his on-field staff would remain intact for Monday night's game in Anaheim, further fueling speculation that at least two of Willie Randolph's coaches could be axed during the Mets' series against the Angels that opens tonight.
It's believed that Minaya abruptly changed his travel plans as the Mets' team bus was about to depart Shea Stadium on Sunday night and quietly joined the team for its cross-country flight following Sunday's doubleheader split against the Rangers that left the Mets 33-35. Continue
No loss Saturday night meant there was no reason for Willie Randolph's status to change. Don't expect anything to change before the first pitch of today's doubleheader, either. Team officials said no move was expected.
Randolph still faced the usual spate of questions related to reports that his job is in jeopardy. The manager found himself comparing the elimination games in the 2006 NLCS and the end of the 2007 regular season with the Mets' current stretch - his own elimination games, some might say. Continue
Willie Randolph's tenure as Mets manager is in grave danger of ending this weekend, sources tell the Daily News. The Mets enter Friday night's game against the Texas Rangers having lost six of seven games to drop to 31-34. Since Randolph was hauled into a conference with Fred and Jeff Wilpon on May 26, the Mets are 8-9. 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. Continue
Despite some encouraging words from his boss, Willie Randolph sounded like Dead Manager Walking yesterday. GM Omar Minaya made a surprise visit here Friday to give his embattled manager a tepid vote of confidence to reporters in the wake of a losing streak that had dropped the Mets below .500. But talking with the media before the Mets snapped their five-game losing streak with a 9-2 victory over the Rockies, Randolph said Minaya had offered no personal words of encouragement since arriving in Denver late Friday. "Just chit-chat, like we usually do," Randolph said when asked to describe his talks with Minaya this weekend.
In another sign that he realizes the end could soon be near, Randolph used some dark humor when talking about Minaya's arrival. "I thought I saw him in the back sharpening his machete," Randolph said. "I don't know if that feels too good. He saw me coming, so he kind of slipped it in his back pocket. I don't know if that made me feel better."
Later in a rambling, 20-minute interview, Randolph seemed resigned to his potential fate when asked about the ominous timing of Minaya's unexpected visit. Randolph even described Minaya's public voicing of support as "the kiss of death." "I'm just so hell-bent on winning the game right now that whether Omar is here or not, whether they support me or not, is irrelevant really," Randolph said. "It's going to be what it's going to be. I'll go down to the last day trying to win a ballgame. That's why I'm here. That's why I came here. All that stuff is out of my hands." Continue
It isn't as if Willie Randolph doesn't have role models to follow here, ones that can lead him along the path to redemption, or the road to ruin. That suddenly is well worth pondering with the unscheduled arrival of Omar Minaya in Denver for the weekend and the Mets' 6-5, 13-inning loss to the Rockies in the opener of a three-game series last night.
Which one Randolph chooses to take says everything about how seriously he buys into the notion that those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to be buried under the rheumy anger of talk radio and the deep-pocketed impatience of ownership. There was a time, not so long ago, when a manager or a coach who had reached this level of tenuousness was a goner, a fired man walking. Call this the Path of Zeke, although just about every man who ever reached this point before Isiah Thomas patented it - unanimous loathing among fans, increasing disinterest among players, losses piling up like cord wood - followed the same way, be he Jeff Torborg or Stump Merrill, Rich Kotite or Ray Handley. Continue
I am glad to see Wille add a little more conflict to this underperforming team. It's just what the team needed after sweeping the Yankees in the Bronx. Wille bought himself more time before he is fired by playing the race card. I would not be surprised to see Rev AL in the dugout as his new spiritual advisor.
Willie Randolph backtracked from his accusations of racism yesterday but didn't back down from his feud with the Mets' own TV network.Under siege for his passive ways as the Mets struggled this season, Randolph suggested in an interview published Monday in the Bergen Record that racism might be fueling the animosity. Randolph also criticized SNY in the interview, saying the network - whose majority owner is the Mets organization - intentionally feeds the perception he is too unemotional by not showing him interacting with players in the dugout.
Randolph addressed the racism angle first with reporters here yesterday morning, changing his story to say he was merely being "tongue in cheek" when talking with the Bergen reporter."I think I mentioned to him about it feeling almost racial or whatever, but that was pretty much . . . a tongue-in-cheek kind of reaction to what I've been feeling," Randolph said. "That's not to say anybody is racist or that this is racial. [The reporter] and I were just chit-chatting." Continue
Embattled Mets manager Willie Randolph received a tepid vote of confidence from GM Omar Minaya last night at the same time Randolph was trying to put out the latest Billy Wagner verbal brushfire. Asked if Randolph was in danger in light of the team's 20-19 record going into the Subway Series, Minaya said: "No."
Minaya offered little more than that in terms of backing Randolph, who has come under fire for his team underachieving with the NL's highest payroll. "I'm very supportive of, and continue to be supportive of, Willie Randolph," Minaya said when pressed further. Continue
The troops do not rally around Wille Randolph. He has the demeanor of a dead fish and it is obvious that these players are not mature enough to perform at a high level. Do not equate age with maturity. Can We trade Wille for Mazzilli? We certainly should.
David Wright has heard all the criticism of Willie Randolph - and he's not happy about it. There's no doubt that the pressure is on the Mets New York Mets to win and Randolph is on the hot seat, but Wright said his manager does not deserve to be bashed.
"When things go wrong, which they did last year, you always have to find someone to point the finger at," Wright told me before the Mets and Reds were rained out last night at Shea. "Unfortunately, it's kind of fallen on Willie. It's fallen onto a guy who hasn't taken a swing, hasn't made a pitch. He's been unfairly blamed. "Just because he's pretty even-keeled and mild mannered in the dugout doesn't mean he's like that always," Wright added, addressing the criticism that Randolph doesn't show enough emotion. There is another side to Randolph, Wright said. Continue
Willie Randolph doesn't think it was an accident that the Mets looked so relaxed while taking two of three from the Diamondbacks in Arizona over the weekend.Randolph admitted yesterday that the constant negativity from the fans at Shea Stadium so far this year - an obvious carryover from last September's epic collapse - has turned the road into a welcome refuge.
"In our mind, we moved on," Randolph said of last season's historic meltdown. "Obviously, the fans are having a tough time moving past that."Met players and officials were struck by how supportive and mild-mannered the fans were in Arizona, even when the hometown Diamondbacks struggled. It was a far cry from Shea in April, when even 2-1 counts on opposing hitters drew boos. Continue
Willie Randolph turned both palms down and motioned a few times toward the ground, almost like a bailiff telling everyone in the courtroom to have a seat or a pastor letting the congregation know it's all right to sit down.
The conversation, as it has on more than a few occasions this season, had moved to Angel Pagan, and that's when the Mets manager made the gesture, looking to quell the excitement regarding Pagan's surprisingly torrid start. It was Randolph's Bill Parcells-like way of telling everyone to relax, that no one should have a bust made of Pagan and ship it to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown just yet. Continue
Coming off the humiliating end to last season, the Mets are used to handling tough questions. Especially manager Willie Randolph, who already has been asked more times than he'd like about his job security.
But even Randolph appeared stunned in the wake of yesterday's 7-2 victory over the Marlins when a reporter asked him why Luis Castillo failed to score on Carlos Beltran's bloop double in the first inning. With two outs and Castillo on first, Beltran punched a soft liner to shallow center that a diving Cody Ross momentarily had in his glove before the ground knocked it out. Continue
It has gotten to such absurd proportions with the Mets that now even the job-seeking replacements for the injured players are getting injured. And you would think Willie Randolph must be getting a little tired of looking at so many non-roster and Triple A-bound types such as Daniel Murphy, Brady Clark and Tuesday's cleanup man, Angel Pagan, where Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Endy Chavez and Brian Schneider are supposed to be.
If ever there were three words Randolph can do without hearing any more this spring, they are "day to day." Continue
As darkness slips over the suburbs, the manager of the New York Mets is driving down a narrow, leafy road in northern Bergen County, the trees thick with golden leaves, his mind cluttered with a much less glorious residue - a forest of thoughts that are both unsettling and unending.
It is a week before Thanksgiving. The long-running Alex Rodriguez drama has drawn to a close, with him opting back in. Barry Bonds has a new indictment to go with his asterisk-bearing ball in the Hall of Fame. For Willie Randolph, the hardest offseason of his life has included no blaring back pages, no court proceedings, nothing but a wearisome drumbeat of mental rewinds and probing reflections, none of which, of course, can do anything to alter the seven-week-old history, an epic collapse that saw his team surrender a seven-game lead with 17 games to play. Continue
The strong feeling the Mets gave even in retaining Willie Randolph was that they do not have strong feelings for him. Their endorsement was delayed and tepid, and therefore played like an organization that a) does not want to pay another manager while it still owes this one $4.5 million and b) wants to have a scapegoat handy should the 2008 Mets tank and the front office has to sell an "out with the inept old and come see the brilliant new" when their stadium debuts in 2009. Continue
Willie Randolph will be back. Omar Minaya ended any speculation about the manager's future with the Mets on Tuesday when he announced that Randolph will be back with the club next season.
The Mets went 5-12 down the stretch and missed the playoffs entirely after holding a seven-game lead in the NL East with just 17 games to play. The historic collapse led to speculation that Randolph might get the ax despite signing a contract extension before the season. Randolph thanked Minaya for a "vote of confidence." Continue
Omar Minaya continued to praise Willie Randolph yesterday ... kinda, sorta. The GM wouldn't go so far as to guarantee Randolph would return in 2008. But Minaya intimated he would offer a positive analysis of the manager of one of the greatest collapses in major-league history to ownership when he presents his winter plan.
"I believe in Willie Randolph," Minaya said during an afternoon address at Shea, a day after an 8-1 loss to the Marlins in GameNo. 162 resulted in Philadelphia's coronation as division champs. "I believe Willie Randolph is a winner. I think he's been around winning. And I also understand that you may not always win." Continue
Three of the most critical questions facing the men who run the Mets, beginning today, are these: Do you want Willie Randolph to manage this team? Do you think he’s capable of managing this team? Do you believe the players who so clearly quit on him for staggering spasms of this season - players the Mets intend to bring back - can find it in their hearts to play hard for him again?
These are issues that must be dealt with seriously, and completely. They cannot be answered solely through the prism of the $4 million the Mets owe him across the next two years. They cannot be answered with fingers crossed and breath held deep. Either you think he is the man for the job or you must go find who that person is. You cannot let him audition for his job over the first 30 games of next season. Continue
When David Wright flied out to right for the final out of the Mets' 3-0 loss to the Cardinals last night, the last thing the players heard as they left the dugout was the booing from a disgruntled Shea Stadium crowd.
Which is why Willie Randolph was waiting in the clubhouse with a more upbeat message. The manager addressed the team briefly, and though specifics were hard to extract from the testy players, he charged into his postgame media session with what sounded like a sound bite from that speech. "Guess we have a new season," he said. When asked later about the feeling of doom surrounding his team, he dismissed that. "As long as we have a fighting chance," he said, "we'll keep working hard and stay positive." Continue
Just as winning has a way of covering up the little fissures in any team, losing has a way of making them look worse. This has been true of the Mets the past two weeks as their NL East lead over Philadelphia went from seven games to just two. The airwaves and the Internet have burned with rumors of a disconnect between manager Willie Randolph and upper management.
Fred Wilpon's rare appearance in the Mets clubhouse may take some of the starch out of those rumors and reports. The owner had a closed-door sitdown with Randolph and general manager Omar Minaya to voice his support. Afterward Minaya echoed the show of solidarity to the media in the home dugout.
"As a player and a coach, he's been through a lot. Willie's right at the top of the list. I myself believe that the experience Willie has helps out as we go through (this)," the GM said. "Last year in the playoffs, how he handled those type of games and those situations showed (it). Continue
Over the past two seasons, the Mets have been in first place 322 days under Willie Randolph's watch, more than any team in baseball. Yet, as they limp back home today, their postseason status (let alone their World Series destiny) suddenly no longer assured and their legions of fans are lining up in full jump mode along the Triborough Bridge, Randolph is starting to feel the sharp edges of the long knives around him.
Rumor has it there is growing disenchantment from above with Randolph, and while no one reporting this has specified the source of this disenchantment, a pretty good guess is COO Jeff Wilpon, who engaged in a contentious, sometimes rancorous contract negotiation with the Mets manager last winter. Those familiar with the mind-set of the team's hierarchy contend the Met bosses believe any manager could have achieved what Randolph did last year, given the talent he had. For that reason, Wilpon strongly resisted giving Randolph the three-year, $5.65 commitment he sought. That Randolph, despite his Brooklyn roots, community involvement and popularity in New York, has never been held in the same esteem as other successful managers is evidenced by the fact that Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya would allow him to name only one coach - and they unceremoniously fired that one, Rick Down, at midseason this year and replaced him with, of all people, Rickey Henderson. Continue
Late yesterday morning, hours after another wrenching night at the ballpark, the manager of the Mets was lying on his bed on the 17th floor of the team hotel, a home-run ball away from the Pentagon. His cell phone rang.
The night Willie Randolph got the Mets job nearly three years ago, the first person to call him was Frank Robinson, one of his idols. Now Robinson was calling again, amid much different circumstances, not to discuss his former team, the Nationals, but rather to encourage Randolph to stay strong. It was the same message Randolph got from multiple friends and family members yesterday, his cell phone jangling like the nerves of callers to Joe Benigno. "They wanted to make sure I wasn't going to slit my wrists," Randolph said, smiling. Continue
Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya sat side by side at the press conference. The issue, though, is whether the Mets' GM and manager are really together. The Mets announced their new hitting coach yesterday, naming first-base coach Howard Johnson to the position to replace fired Rick Down. But Randolph and Minaya had to answer questions about their professional relationship and whether Down's firing has strained it.
Down was fired Wednesday, and Minaya and Randolph disagreed on that call. The GM exerted his authority, with Randolph on Thursday calling the firing "an organizational decision." He also said Thursday he told Minaya: "I said that if you want to make the decision, you're the general manager. You can make that decision." Continue
Brush fires are smoldering in Queens, where the first-place baseball team's two-year honeymoon appears to be devolving into organizational dysfunction. The 2007 Mets have been atop the NL East since May 16 and, after last night's 3-2 victory over the Reds at Shea Stadium, they have won 11 of 18 games, despite sustaining more than their share of injuries. But that wasn't enough to stop GM Omar Minaya from firing hitting coach Rick Down on Wednesday.
This is one out of another decade, out of the other baseball borough, and out of the other owner's compound. It's one that begs the question whether the front office is setting the brushfires or stamping them out. It's a curious decision that raises questions about whether management is panicking following a first-half that didn't go as smoothly as anticipated. Minaya did his best to portray the verdict on Down as an organizational one, stating he consulted Willie Randolph before doing the dirty deed, stressing the "we" pronoun in discussing the move he never quite explained. "I asked Willie for his opinion. When [it's about] a coach, you run it by the manager," the GM said. "It was a decision done with Willie's input. Continue
Scott Schoeneweis was standing at his locker, waiting for the interrogation. It was killing him to answer the questions about another disastrous night in this nightmare that won't end for him. There was defiance in his tone, and yet the words made him sound like a beaten man. "My mom could be in there right now and hit a home run,'" he said, and, well, what exactly is the follow-up question to that answer?
It's one thing to boo Schoeneweis from the stands. It's another to stand in front of him and ask him how his career has come apart so badly at the age of 33 as he stares straight ahead, the very picture of self-loathing. "It just doesn't get better," he said. Can it still get worse? Continue
Willie Randolph almost never laments the bevy of injuries that have befallen the Mets this season, particularly in the outfield. But he isn't expecting veteran Moises Alou back in the lineup "anytime soon," and admits that void has been tough to fill, particularly during their wretched June swoon.
"I'm not bringing that up as an excuse or anything like that, but we really miss him and hopefully he'll be back soon," Randolph said before last night's 9-1 win over Oakland. "Moises brings a different approach. He swings at everything, but he usually makes contact. And maybe some of those runs we've left out at third base lately could've crossed the plate for us." Continue
Six straight series losses. A 4-14 record in June. Slumping bats and recent starting pitching struggles. If this was the Bronx, someone would be on a "big hook," Joe Torre's job would be in jeopardy and there would be countless conspiracy theories about which players are to blame. But in Flushing - at least for now - the glass-is-half-full perspective is still alive and well, as was the case at last night's "Teammates in the Community" charity event at the upscale Richard's clothing store in Greenwich, Conn.
On a rare off-day in the middle of a home stand, three-quarters of the starting infield, today's battery and the star center fielder came out for the fund-raiser, which was organized by Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. The event benefitted local, national and international charities and included an auction that awarded prizes such as a Spanish lesson with Dominican-born shortstop Jose Reyes or the chance to shag flies with center fielder Carlos Beltran. Continue
Willie Randolph was careful not to make it sound insulting, but the truth is the truth. The Mets manager, who hosted his second annual Celebrity Golf Classic at Essex County Country Club in West Orange, N.J., yesterday, disputes the notion that his team’s flat stretch has been caused by a lack of passion or energy. The Mets are 3-3 on their homestand and looked dead in two losses to Arizona over the weekend.
The bench has been overworked by necessity, and the limitations are starting to show. With starting second baseman Jose Valentin and the entire outfield missing due to injuries, the backups can’t be expected to perform at the same level as starters forever. “We’ve had our share of injuries,” Randolph said. “And our extra guys, our bench, is really important to us. And they help. “But you can’t ride that too long. That’s why they are bench players, more or less. But sometimes you overexpose them too much - this is not a shot, I’m just saying, this is reality to me.” Continue
Mets manager Willie Randolph ventured into enemy territory yesterday - and not surprisingly was greeted with Bronx cheers a day after his team rallied to beat the Yankees. "Go back to Queens, Willie!" a loudmouth yelled as Randolph strode to a podium to deliver the commencement address at Fordham University in the Bronx.
Randolph - who won two World Series championships as a smooth-fielding second baseman for the Yankees and four more as a coach for the Bombers before becoming the Mets' manager - chuckled at the welcome. Continue
Endy Chavez is the "little man with a big man's swing" in Willie Randolph's book. Since the outfielder signed with the Mets before the 2006 season, the manager has urged him to tailor his swing to match his size. But that transformation isn't complete, and Randolph can thank his lucky stars for that. Chavez isn't an everyday outfielder, but he always seems to find himself right in the middle of the action. Last night was no exception. With the Mets trailing by a run in the fifth, he uncoiled on an Andy Pettitte fastball for a two-run home run to right center that sent the Mets to their 3-2 win over the Yankees.
The blast came on the second pitch of the at-bat, after Chavez had shown bunt on the first offering with Paul LoDuca on first base and none out. Randolph removed the bunt sign for the second pitch on a hunch. "Sometimes a pitcher might assume he's going to try to bunt again and try to throw one over the plate....I just had a feeling about it," Randolph said. "I thought they might try to sneak (a fastball) by him. We guessed right, and he put a good swing on it. Continue
So much for that sweep of the Rockies and that burst of momentum heading to Washington for another three-game series with a last-place club. Those 33,522 fans who came out to Shea with such lofty expectations yesterday must have thought they'd gone to the wrong ballpark on this rare occasion in which both our locals happened to be in town. Because Mike Pelfrey's short-lived and very rocky (with a small "r") outing was all-too-reminiscent of what Joe Torre has been getting from his Yankee starters. And to be perfectly frank about this, the Met relief troops didn't fare much better than the Yankees' of late either. Twenty hits and 11 runs? That's what you call a bad pitching day. Continue
They scored seven runs in the eighth inning, turning the home opener into a runaway. The Mets made it look easy. But without that late outburst, yesterday's sellout crowd might have departed Shea Stadium discussing at least two controversial decisions made by Willie Randolph. At the top of that list was the choice to have reliever Ambiorix Burgos face the NL's reigning MVP, Ryan Howard, with first base open and the go-ahead runs aboard in the sixth inning yesterday.
Howard hammered a 2-2 splitter over the right-field fence for a three-run homer that gave the Phillies a 5-3 lead.
In the eighth, Moises Alou, whose fastest days are behind him, singled leading off, putting the tying run on base. Randolph left speedy Endy Chavez on the bench and didn't insert him as a pinch-runner until Shawn Green had singled Alou to second. Even then, Chavez was asked to run for Green instead of Alou. Continue
Willie Randolph's logic was a version of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." In fact, when asked why he used the same lineup for the fourth straight game Friday night against the Braves, the Mets' manager actually said, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it." Being the same meant Shawn Green (batting .333) and Jose Valentin (.091) both started against lefthander Mark Redman. Green was 6-for-6 with a walk lifetime against Redman coming in, which was news to Green but not to Randolph. "Really?" Green asked when told of his 1.000 batting average. "I guess it can't go up." It went down to .778 after Green went 1-for-3 with an RBI single against Redman.
Lastings Milledge, who turned 22 Thursday, might have been a candidate to get his first start of the season, but Randolph quashed that notion.
"Green's my rightfielder," he said. "I usually don't like young players sitting, but having said that, [Milledge] made the team because he had a great spring and he can help us win now any way I use him. I can't be worried about 'because he's young, I've got to play him.' " Continue
In case you're wondering, Willie Randolph did know it was the eighth inning. He did know that was rookie Joe Smith, less than a year removed from pitching for Wright State University, and not Aaron Heilman, on the mound. And yes, he did know he was living dangerously.
But here's the difference between how the manager thinks, as compared to fans and sportswriters: We look at the season opener, particularly this one against a Cardinals team that denied the Mets a berth in the World Series, as a tone-setter. As such, we wonder why Randolph would take such a chance on an untested reliever with a 5-1 lead and risk a meltdown that could have set the ugliest tone imaginable for 2007. Continue
Coming off Monday's off day, and with the number of exhibition games dwindling, manager Willie Randolph gathered his players in a conference room yesterday for a meeting designed to turn up the intensity for the remainder of the Grapefruit League schedule. His timing was no coincidence. The Mets entered last night's game against the Orioles with a 6-14-1 record, and spring training or not, that can't be a comforting thought for the manager of the defending NL East champions. Continue
Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel said they still "love" Cliff Floyd. That doesn't mean they cared for him characterizing the manager as "confused" during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS - or for Floyd portraying Randolph as getting talked out of sacrifice bunting by Manuel, his bench coach, with the Mets trailing 3-1, two runners on base and the team three outs from elimination against the Cardinals.
"That's his viewpoint on what he thought he knew. If I give it validity, then that means he knew what he was talking about," Randolph said. "You guys are getting bored talking about the Yankees, I guess, so you start a little stuff on this side. That's all this is. I understand what this is. I've been around the block. I know how it works here. I have no control over what Cliff Floyd said. Why should I respond over something he said to a writer? Continue
When Cliff Floyd looked at Cardinal closer Adam Wainwright's mind-bending curveball for strike three last season, ending his last at-bat as a Met in their last game of the year, manager Willie Randolph was immediately second-guessed for letting Floyd bat.
The ailing outfielder had not appeared in four games, and the situation in the bottom of the ninth, Game 7 of the National League Championship Series - no outs, runners at first and second, Mets down by two - suggested a bunt might be in order, most likely by Tom Glavine. Randolph said at the time he had no regrets, that he doesn't believe in giving away outs. Continue
The Mets have not had a captain since John Franco left as a free agent after the 2004 season, and it looks as if that streak will continue for at least another year. When asked yesterday about someone wearing the "C" for the upcoming season, manager Willie Randolph was not thrilled with the idea. He believes his team is not ready for one yet.
"I don't think we need that right now, from my point of view, because I like my players until I get to know who they are to lead in their own way and by their example," Randolph said. "I feel like right now I'm the leader, so to speak, and I think that when you look at some of our young players, I think they may get a turn and become captains, but they're young."
At some point in the future, David Wright would be a logical choice, but it's a role into which he will have to grow. With veterans such as Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Delgado still around, Wright's voice is not quite powerful enough to be heard. Continue
When it comes to expectations and first-day-of-spring state of the Mets addresses, it is safe to say the goal of "meaningful games in September" was long ago rendered obsolete by Fred Wilpon & Co. Indeed, when Willie Randolph speaks, as he did yesterday in setting the tone for what he expects from his third season as Mets manager, it is entirely in the lexicon of October.
By his own making, it is no different now for Randolph than it was all those years he spent with the Yankees. You get within one win of the World Series, as the Mets did last year before the St. Louis Cardinals' Yadier Molina ultimately denied them, and the natural progression now is to take it all the way to the season's last dance. Continue
With pitchers and catchers reporting on Thursday, Mets manager Willie Randolph sported his 1977 World Series ring yesterday, hoping that three decades after winning it with the Yankees, he can pick up another one with their crosstown rivals.
There was plenty of good cheer inside El Nuevo Caridad Restaurant on 116th Street and Second Avenue as Randolph, Ron Darling, Roy White and Ray Negron, the special assistant to George Steinbrenner, donated $10,000 to the East Harlem Little League. Randolph, however, was in no mood to talk to reporters, declining to answer any baseball questions. Continue
There is both financial security and an organizational commitment for Willie Randolph, as the Mets' manager has received a new contract. Randolph and the Mets agreed to terms yesterday on a three-year deal for $5.65 million with a club option for 2010, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal is slated to be announced today.
Randolph was due to get $700,000 in 2007, which would have been the last year on his original three-year, $1.875 million deal. His new contract, however, will net him $1.4 million in 2007, $2 million in 2008 and $2.25 million in 2009, with the 2010 option at $2.5 million, according to the person. According to another source, Randolph also has incentives in the deal. Continue
Omar Minaya said last night the Mets want to sign Willie Randolph to a new contract before spring training. The GM and manager didn't put a deadline on discussions, however, with Minaya saying he would be fine if talks extended into camp and Randolph saying, "You always stay open."
Last night both Randolph and Minaya were at ESPN Zone for the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Randolph, who has one year and $700,000 left on his contract, said, "We're still talking." The manager also said that if there were no extension by spring training, he wouldn't feel the need to hold off talks until the end of the season. Continue
It appears the Mets and Willie Randolph are moving inexorably on agreeing to disagree in regard to the manager's value in a contract extension. But while I'm told the negotiations between the two sides have been amicable, and that there is no erosion of the respect the Mets have for Randolph or Randolph for the organization, the hard fact is Willie seems headed into the last season of his contract as a lame duck. Continue
Long after the crush ing final out, that moment in time when Adam Wainwright's backdoor curve ball froze Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded and kept the Mets from going to the World Series, a visitor made his way to the team's clubhouse. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa poked his head through the door, spotted his old Charleston Charlies minor league teammate, Willie Randolph, and the two men slid into a side conference room.
The Mets' dream of returning to the World Series had died. The classy La Russa, though, had something important to tell Randolph and sought him out after the Mets manager had gone to the Cardinals clubhouse and could not make it through the mayhem to get to La Russa.
This game was not about the end, but about the beginning.
"Tony gave me a big hug, looked me right in the eye and said, 'Get used to this. You guys are going to be there,' " Randolph said earlier this week in his Shea Stadium office. Continue
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