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Hanging by a thread?

Frayed Knot Jun 13 2008 11:52 AM

SI.com's Jon Heyman [url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/06/13/heyman.randolphupdate/index.html]is reporting that[/url] NYM brass met Thursday night and that changing of the manager - and maybe several coaches as well - could come within the next few days. Jerry Manual would be the likely successor where he'd get the next ~100 games to put himself in consideration for next year.

AG/DC Jun 13 2008 11:55 AM

A change going into the four-game Yankee series would create a media whirlwind. What manager who could lose his head over any single game is giong to sit David Wright?

Kong76 Jun 13 2008 11:56 AM

Badabingadonuto mentioned this a little after noon when I was in the car. Heyman's supposed to be on M & M D sometime today as well. I'd rather get the news here than sit through it if anyone has the fortitude.

Frayed Knot Jun 13 2008 12:02 PM

KC wrote: Heyman's supposed to be on M & M D sometime today as well. He just was - essentially just repeating what was in his SI piece. He says that Minaya has been the main pro-Willie holdout (which is exactly the opposite of what Baddabingo claims to be the case but what else is new) but is getting to the point where he's a lone voice on that front and is rapidly weakening.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 13 2008 12:21 PM

Here it is, for posterity's sake: ]Randolph, coaches could be on the way out in Queens By Jon Heyman, SI.com Willie Randolph's status as Mets manager is extremely tenuous now. General manager Omar Minaya is seriously considering changing managers and at least a couple of the team's coaches, sources told SI.com. A Mets official indicated that nothing was expected to be decided today regarding Randolph's status. But that doesn't preclude something from happening later this weekend. Sources indicate his hold on the job is shaky, at best. Should Randolph be fired, bench coach Jerry Manuel will take over, sources told SI.com. Minaya and other club higher-ups met Thursday to discuss the deteriorating fortunes of the team and what can be done about it. Minaya is considered extremely loyal by co-workers and has been Randolph's strongest supporter for weeks. As one Mets person put it, "Willie's his guy.'' However, Randolph's detractors have become more vocal in recent days, and there seems to be a general feeling that something major needs to be done to reinvigorate the club, which trails the first-place Phillies by 7 1/2 games and has lost lost six of seven after a brief surge. Mets people believe they can't start completely anew and would prefer to at least employ someone who's witnessed the first portion of the schedule up close. Manuel, a former Manager of the Year with the White Sox, would be given the rest of the season to turn things around. Minaya is also weighing other changes, which could include removing hitting coach Howard Johnson and pitching coach Rick Peterson, sources indicate. Some organization people believe sweeping changes must be tried. Triple-A New Orleans pitching coach Dan Warthen would be a candidate to take over for Peterson. Randolph's contract runs through 2009 and calls for him to be paid $2 million this year and $2.25 million next year. Foxsports.com reported yesterday that Randolph's status was "day-to-day." Even the manager is day-to-day! I don't like the idea of firing Peterson. (I'm partial to smart guys, and I think it will be hard to find a better pitching coach.) I'm also partial to HoJo, the player, but it's hard to argue that he's deserving of keeping his job.

holychicken Jun 13 2008 12:33 PM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't like the idea of firing Peterson. (I'm partial to smart guys, and I think it will be hard to find a better pitching coach.) I'm also partial to HoJo, the player, but it's hard to argue that he's deserving of keeping his job. This is one of the things that has bothered me about the fans crying. HoJo has been given a pass when, arguably, our offense has been one of the biggest problems. Granted, the latter could be just because of lack of talent, but then can't the same be said for the BP? I think Peterson and Willie take too much of the heat.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 13 2008 12:48 PM

My theory was always that Omar wanted to whack Willie but the Wilpons wouldn't allow it. But perhaps Omar's "support" here is only a means to protect himself: IOW, if Willie is whacked and the team still staggers to the end, then it's Omar's job too. This is all wild speculation on my part. Anywhoo as much as I think Willie is only OK and the team needs a vigorous shakeup I'd be sad to know that Billy F. Wagner is the guy who finally kills Willie.

Benjamin Grimm Jun 13 2008 12:50 PM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'd be sad to know that Billy F. Wagner is the guy who finally kills Willie. Yeah, that does suck, doesn't it? Wagner's signed through when, 2009? It's also somewhat interesting to note that, if Willie is fired this weekend, Art Howe will be in town (and at Shea) to bear witness.

Willets Point Jun 13 2008 12:51 PM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: It's also somewhat interesting to note that, if Willie is fired this weekend, Art Howe will be in town (and at Shea) to bear witness. They can grab a beer together and commiserate.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 13 2008 01:07 PM

Here's a list of guys I'd like to see sacrificed, in order, if the goal is really to shake things up: 1) Tony Bernazard: Mysterious shadowy Omar hatchetman. Has rubbed some people the wrong way. Apparently undermines Willie as a defacto Hispanic-player manager. 2) Billy Wagner: Yeah, I'm pissed. And it won't happen. And it will probably undermine our chances a little. But as a fan I'd like the message sent that nobody is bigger than the team. Wags has publicly trashed Milledge, Peterson/Willie and Perez and failed us egregiously enough not to posture like that, but he way too much job security. I'd like to convince the Yankees he'd be a good 8th inning guy and maybe collect a prospect. Problem with that is we gave a no-trade. 3) Alou. This doesn't do anything but detract from his dignity but the Mets cannot go around playing like they need someone who's not there for them: It makes the offense look wanting from the start. It's poison. Release him. 4) Willie. 5) Omar 6) Delgado. Also hard to replace, and probably harder to trade. But if we cannot make a real committment to a RH-hitting platoonmate when it's obvious he needs one then that player is too powerful to have at all. 7) Peterson. He might be easier to replace than we fear, and he predates the whole Omar/Willie Era so you know he might not be their guy. The Mets have pretty well regarded minor league pitching coaches. 8) Hojo, etc: Not important one way or the other, makes no difference.

metirish Jun 13 2008 01:18 PM

Very interesting list bucket , my guess here is that Bernazard will go out the door with Minaya and not before him.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 13 2008 01:22 PM

Yeah, Bernazard is No. 1 only because he fits everyone's bogeyman suit.

G-Fafif Jun 13 2008 01:28 PM

I like when the Bucket has a cause. Billy beware.

Rockin' Doc Jun 13 2008 05:28 PM

I am constantly amazed that Willie catches all the shit for the teams poor performance while Omar gets off relatively unscathed to this point. This team is essentially Omars mess. He's the one the Wilpon's opened the check book for and this is the team he put together with those resources. Willie may be far from the best in game strategist, but but in many cases his options are somewhat limited given the fragility of this mostly veteran team. Hernandez, Martinez, Alou, Church, and Delgado were counted on to be mainstays of this team. They have all missed massive amounts of playing time or have proven ineffectual for the role they were expected to fill with the team. I'm not the biggest fan of Willie's managing style, but I feel he is being made the scapegoat for many of Omar's bad personnel decisions. I know that blame (or credit) beyond what's generally warranted goes with the position of manager, but I believe Omar is getting off too lightly at the present time.

Frayed Knot Jun 13 2008 05:43 PM

Omar's not really getting off unscathed up here, but the fact remains that A can fire B but not the other way around which is why the mgr is always the first one to take the fall. It's probably also tougher to change GMs in mid-stream unless there's some obvious in-house candidate around (and I don't that there is). In short, Omar's butt will probably be judged in the off-season but not before.

Rockin' Doc Jun 13 2008 05:53 PM

Well, that makes sense LF. I don't see the NY papers much down here in Dixieland. What is posted here on the CPF, MLB.com, and ESPN.com are my primary sources of baseball news. Maybe my view of how the blame is being distributed is probably not accurate for the reasons you state in your post.

AG/DC Jun 13 2008 06:03 PM

I'm just glad not to see my name on the Bucket List.