Bye Willie Randolf..(but more important Rick Peterson)Hello Jerry Manuel

[ctt8410]

Perhaps some of the team's plight is Minaya's fault in that he doesn't know how to put together a team which can compete at the highest level, and that he doesn't realize that simply acquiring very good players doesn't translate into a WS.
A team needs the type of players which can blend together to perform as a unit.
Sure the manager has to assume some responsibility, but judging by the collapse we saw last year and this year's less than stellar start, I think there is a lot more than meets the eye and that a lot of that can be attributed to the lack of team chemistry for which Minaya and not Randolph is responsible.
I agree with the comment that if Minaya's mind was already made he up,he should have fired Randolph before the trip and not after especially after winning two games in a row-then again maybe this action is indicative of the manner in which Minaya's mind operates and one more reason to believe that Minaya lacks the competence to be a GM.

Team chemistry is so overrated in baseball, it's ridiculous.

[savage1]

Team chemistry is so overrated in baseball, it's ridiculous.

Disagree-the 2004 Red Sox are a prime example.
Each player knowing his role and the members of the team being comfortable with one another is pretty important in all sports.

[ctt8410]

The 2004 Red Sox won the WS because they were a damn good baseball team, not because they had more of this mystical, unquantifiable chemistry stuff than the Cardinals did.

[savage1]

The 2004 Red Sox won the WS because they were a damn good baseball team, not because they had more of this mystical, unquantifiable chemistry stuff than the Cardinals did.

Of course, they had a good team, but guys like Millar kept everyone loose, and there was plenty of team spirit and unity;if you don't beleive that is important, well we just disagree then.

[Three Jack]

Ridiculous. Am I missing something, why are the Mets underachieving? They're .500, and in the hunt. They only have two decent starting pitchers. It's not even the all-star break. If they're underachieving, so is half the fucking league. What a joke, is there anybody that thinks this team should be 45-28 and the best team in baseball? They're only 6.5 games out of first. That's one Mets choke job away from winning the division. Let me guess, the Yankees are underachieving also right? They have fucking Mike Mussina as the ace of shitty staff and they're underachieving. Who cares about how much money these teams spend, if you don't have great pitching, you can't win, how dumb are these GM's?

Its a lot of things- the way the have been losing, they have been .500 for the last 170 games, Willie was inconsistent in his handling of players, problems with the Front Office, no fire in the team.... A change needed to be made...I do not think Jerry manuel is the answer but he can do no worse than what Willie was doing.

[The Lovedoc]

Wow, I'm watching the interview right now and Omar is studdering around the questions. He might be the one who should have gotten fired!

[Powerplaypicks]

I think this was a good move. It was a little class-less but that is part of the territory. Willie has mis-managed the bull pen including the Heilman debacle, Willie's players are uninspired yet they are so expensive. Jerry Manuel is a good manager and will do this season just fine. He may not be the long term but in this crazy day and age who knows. The Mets can still compete for the WildCard so long as their pitching gets helthier and heilman is released.

[savage1]

Its a lot of things- the way the have been losing, they have been .500 for the last 170 games, Willie was inconsistent in his handling of players, problems with the Front Office, no fire in the team.... A change needed to be made...I do not think Jerry manuel is the answer but he can do no worse than what Willie was doing.

I ask this because I am not sure what the right answer is:
Do you believe that the fact that Minaya hired Randolph(I believe he did-correct me if I am wrong) would in a sense indicate anything re: competency?
After all it could be argued that some other GM might have hired someone other than Randolph and the team might have done better than it did.
Again, this is not meant to be confrontational but I am just curious as to what you think.
ps I personally think that there is at least a little accountability because it is the GM's duty/perception pf choosing a manager who can best blend the players he(Minaya) has chosen to get the job done.
On the other hand, this is a toughie because some would argue that in cases like this the players themselves should shoulder most of the blame and/or that the manager, while competent, simply didn't do his job to the best of his ability.
If above is true, then it is difficult to assess whether choice of Randolph was a good one or not because after all and for example, how did Minaya know that Randolph wouldn't get the job done.
Sorry if above sounds like doubletalk and/or is confusing, but for me at least it is a thought provoking question.

[The Lovedoc]

Omar is blaming the media!!!!! LOL...what a disgrace!!!

[kbsooner21]

Omar is blaming the media!!!!! LOL...what a disgrace!!!

Kinda like little Steinbrenner blaming the NL for Wang's foot injury....both pathetic

[The Lovedoc]

Hank is the BOSS!!!!

[Three Jack]

I ask this because I am not sure what the right answer is:
Do you believe that the fact that Minaya hired Randolph(I believe he did-correct me if I am wrong) would in a sense indicate anything re: competency?
After all it could be argued that some other GM might have hired someone other than Randolph and the team might have done better than it did.
Again, this is not meant to be confrontational but I am just curious as to what you think.
ps I personally think that there is at least a little accountability because it is the GM's duty/perception pf choosing a manager who can best blend the players he(Minaya) has chosen to get the job done.
On the other hand, this is a toughie because some would argue that in cases like this the players themselves should shoulder most of the blame and/or that the manager, while competent, simply didn't do his job to the best of his ability.
If above is true, then it is difficult to assess whether choice of Randolph was a good one or not because after all and for example, how did Minaya know that Randolph wouldn't get the job done.
Sorry if above sounds like doubletalk and/or is confusing, but for me at least it is a thought provoking question.

Not sure what your question is...but Omar did hire Willie. Willie's issue, if you ask me, is that his tutelage was under Torre. Let's face it...Torre had seasoned veterans his entire time in NY. He had a great mix of rooks and veterans that won together. He had leaders that helped grow that team. Torre never needed to get into someone's face. Brosius, O'Neill, Jeter, Knoblauch, Pettitte, Posada...these guys handled that for him.

Willie has zero leadership on the Mets. Beltran, Delgado, Pedro...these guys are not leaders. Wright wants to be but is learning. He has no one that is a winner and knows how to get it done like they had in NY with the Yanks. Willie's style was not a good fit for the ballplayers Omar brought in. He benches Reyes for a game for not hustling yet does nothing when Beltran and Delgado do the same. The back-up catcher arrives hours late at the park on a day when he was scheduled to start for 5 days and he only benches him for that game...hell, I'd sit his ass for a week!

The team ran the bases in a fog, made stupid mental areas and just has not been sharp...and no one was held accountable.

[Three Jack]

Wow, I'm watching the interview right now and Omar is studdering around the questions. He might be the one who should have gotten fired!

Omar will not be confused with a Rhodes Scholar anytime soon. He has an awful lot of 'street' in him....

[LVJimmy]

Omar will not be confused with a Rhodes Scholar anytime soon. He has an awful lot of 'street' in him....

3J, I'm curious to know your pre-season opinion of each position starting player and pitcher.

[savage1]

Not sure what your question is...but Omar did hire Willie. Willie's issue, if you ask me, is that his tutelage was under Torre. Let's face it...Torre had seasoned veterans his entire time in NY. He had a great mix of rooks and veterans that won together. He had leaders that helped grow that team. Torre never needed to get into someone's face. Brosius, O'Neill, Jeter, Knoblauch, Pettitte, Posada...these guys handled that for him.

Willie has zero leadership on the Mets. Beltran, Delgado, Pedro...these guys are not leaders. Wright wants to be but is learning. He has no one that is a winner and knows how to get it done like they had in NY with the Yanks. Willie's style was not a good fit for the ballplayers Omar brought in. He benches Reyes for a game for not hustling yet does nothing when Beltran and Delgado do the same. The back-up catcher arrives hours late at the park on a day when he was scheduled to start for 5 days and he only benches him for that game...hell, I'd sit his ass for a week!

The team ran the bases in a fog, made stupid mental areas and just has not been sharp...and no one was held accountable.

Since you seem to have a good handle on the Mets, would you say then if Minaya is not incompetent, then at the very least his sense of intuition in building a team that is ready and able to win now is not as good as that of some GM's?