That's right, everyone, I'm switching sides, defecting, moving to the dark side, if you will.
I believe Willie Larry Randolph (his first name isn't William?) should be fired as the manager of the New York Metropolitans.
This is not a knee jerk reaction.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't think he's a terrible manager, and I think he's been much better this season. He's learned the bullpen, to some degree, and his use of the bench has been pretty good. But he is not the manager for this team. Not now, not in the future.After Billy Wagner's explosion in the locker room, the notion that Randolph has lost control of his team was finally nailed shut into it's coffin. He does not inspire the team, he does not wrangle the team. He does nothing, and hopes the team does it's job.
Yes, there are professional baseball players getting paid millions of dollars to play a game, but sometimes, to mix and come together and play like a team they need a little direction.
This team, right now, has talent. Lots of it. This is the ideal case of a team being made up of players and not being a team. It's like every movie you've ever seen about a team facing adversity in some way, shape, or form. The team is fragmented, with sects and cliques forming all over the place. Someone, not Wagner because he's already burned his bridges, needs to step up as a player to rally behind and bring this team together as one.
Willie, I like you, but your time is up. You've lost control of this team, and it desperately needs a change of "scenery" in the managers office. They need a fresh face, someone who will crack down and hold the player accountable for things they've done. This team is starting to show fire, though they have no wins to show for it. Players are striking out, or lining out and slamming their bats, cursing, and in Moises Alou's case, getting thrown out of a game in two seconds flat.
This team needs a good, hard nosed, old style baseball guy who can rally the troops and get this players back on the straight and narrow. And no, Bobby Valentine is not coming back.