The call is getting louder

The demand is growing. People want Willie Randolph fired, and quick.

Check out this article in The New York Sun (via Faith and Fear in Flushing):

It's time for the Mets to fire Willie Randolph. They should fire him if his team sweeps the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. They should fire him if his team wins all three games by a total score of 27-0. They should fire him if his team puts on such a display this weekend that the greater Phoenix area literally burns to the ground around them, lit by nothing but the intensity of their passion and brilliance. The man's time is up, and nothing can change that.

I don't subscribe to that fully, at least not yet.

If a team can take three of three from the best team in the National League and you fire the manager, you might have some explaining to do, but not in this case.

At this point, even if Randolph leads this team to the World Series, I think people will still want him fired.

SI attempts to predict the future

Sports Illustrated has a photo montage of the "All-Slump Team" through April 30. Robinson Cano is on the list, along with Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman and many other players.

Two Mets on the list: Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.

Here's Beltran's blurb:

Carlos Beltran | Mets, OF
Coming off a solid campaign in which he hit 33 home runs, drove in 112 runs and stole 23 bases, Beltran has just two home runs this season and is hitting .211 with only two swipes.

Alright, understandable. The one about Delgado is a little more curious:

Carlos Delgado | Mets, bench
After Carlos Delgado dropped from 38 to 24 home runs over the past two seasons, Mets fans were hoping he would rebound by having a solid year. However, his start to the season has been troubling, given his paltry .198 batting average and 20 K's in the first 26 games of the season.

Bench? Is this a foul up, or a look into the future? Only time will tell.

Is FOX Sports trying to skew the results?

In Ken Rosenthal's article about which managers are on the hot seat, of course Willie Randolph is featured, FOX Sports has an embedded poll.

Here's a screen grab of the three choices:

Notice how Randolph's name is much bigger than the rest. I thought it was just a "preview" of who has the most votes, i.e. Randolph is leading, with Ron Washington in second and Gibbons in third, or something to that effect. Nope. Not so.

Washington is leading with 41 percent, Randolph in second with 36 percent, and Gibbons is in "last" with 23 percent.

So why is Randolph's name the biggest of the bunch?

Riddle me that, Batman.

Shea Stadium West

The Mets are heading to their second home, Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ.

Since Chase Field (previously BankOne Ballpark) opened as the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998, the Mets have played 34 games there. They have posted a 22-12 record overall, and have gone on a tear lately, going 11-1 since 2005.

1998: 2-1
1999: 1-2
2000: 2-1
2001: 1-2
2002: 2-1
2003: 1-2
2004: 2-2
2005: 4-0
2006: 4-0
2007: 3-1

If the Mets need to bounce back from a 13-1 spanking by the Pirates, Chase Field might be the best place for them, even if the Diamondbacks are piping hot.

Just a thought: Fixing the bullpen

Matt Wise replaces Heilman as the 6th or 7th inning guy. Duaner Sanchez takes over in the 8th. Stretch Aaron Heilman to the long relief role, which will be as close as he's going to get to starting.

Make Jorge Sosa go away.

Two varied viewpoints and my take on both

This morning, I awoke to a ton of posts and articles in my Google Reader. After sorting through it all I found these two article, which pretty much take the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum viewpoints:

I can't believe that I'm actually going to be the voice of reason here
vs.
The time is upon us - Willie's gotta go.

The first one, from The Coop over at My Summer Family, argues that yesterday was one game, that it happens all the time, to every team.

From The Coop:

I know yesterday was horrible. A catastrophe. And the night before was a tad less worse -because though the Mets actually won, it was a game they should have easily won but did not. But think about the ekers they've won this year. They all seem like - well, at least they won. The rest of the team just looked asleep at the wheel.
---
My point being - look, as Mets fans, we are restless. The sky is falling. And I acknowledge they have not been better than a .500 team since last June, I do say this.

Maybe .500 is all they need to be a good team in the East.

Brooklyn Met Fan takes a completely different side to this, arguing that he's seen enough of Willie Randolph and it's time the Mets take action and fire him.

From BMF:

For they record, this is not a knee-jerk reaction to Wednesday’s 13-1 debacle at the hands of the vaunted Bucs. I said the Mets should ax Willie after the collapse but when Omar and the Wilpons saw fit to bring him back I tried to support my team and rally behind him. But I just can’t watch these crappy Mets under perform any longer.

All the Willie apologists can keep telling themselves, “still it’s early” and “there’s plenty of baseball left”, but guess what folks– it’s not THAT early anymore.

Frankly, I agree with both of them.

Every team gets spanked at least once a season. Heck, we even lost to the Bucs in '06, almost to the same tune. I remember. I was there. It's something that happens every year to every team, and some teams more than others. The Pirates have a few good, hot hitters right now and Oliver Perez really needs to get hypnotized or something so he can focus more.

Remember that guy Brian Bannister, well he had a bad start too last night. Bannister, pitching for Kansas City (a bad team) only lasted three innings against Texas (also a bad team), allowing seven earned runs on seven hits and two walks. See, we're not alone.

On the other hand, I'm starting to get extremely fed up with Mr. Willie Randolph. I never liked his managing style, but I was willing to grant him a reprieve because my opinion really does not matter. I prefer a manager like Jim Leyland, who isn't afraid to get in the players face after a lazy or sloppy loss.

Randolph treats his players with kid gloves, as if he thinks when he yells at them, they'll cower is fear and become mired in a deep slump or preform poorly. He needs to start a bonfire under some of this team because they just don't look ready to play.

Yeah, the team is over .500, but they've been beating up on bad teams like the Nationals, and before yesterday, the Pirates. Something needs to happen, and something needs to happen quick.

Mets seating chart to Arizona

I was lucky enough to acquire the Mets seating chart for their trip to Arizona.
Here's where the players and staff will sit as they head to Phoenix.

Don't ask me how I got it, because I'd have to make you disappear.
I know people.

Interview at Phillies Flow

I was asked by Erik Grissom to participate in a quick little Q&A on the Mets for his excellent Phillies blog, Phillies Flow. You can find my interview here.

"Really advanced scouting," as he calls it. Good stuff.

Game Recap: Pirates 13 -- Mets 1

Where to begin? The Mets got absolutely trounced by the Pirates, to the tune of 13-1. Oliver Perez had one of his terrible starts, the type that Mets fans have gotten way too used to.

Perez only lasted 1 2-3 of an inning, giving up five runs while on the bump, and having another two charged to him after he left the game. Of the seven runs Perez allowed, only two were earned due to a Luis Castillo fielding error. Perez walked one in the first, and only faced four batters. In the second, it was an entirely different story.

12 Pirates came to the plate in the second, and only three of them picked up a hit. Perez walked four in the inning, and allowed five runs before being removed for Nelson Figueroa. Figueroa allowed a single to the first batter he faced, allowing two runs to score, both charged to Perez.

No comment.

OK, I'll comment. Honestly, it just does not look like he's focused. Maybe the delay hurt him, but he just looks lost on the mound. He fools with his mechanics, which must bother the living heck out of the coaching staff. I'm far from closing the book on him for this season, but on the track he's running so far, it looks like it's going to be a long season and an even more interesting offseason for him as he most likely tests the free agency market. Good luck Scott Boras.

Figueroa allowed a RBI single in the fifth inning for the only run charged to him. Jorge Sosa pitched the sixth, allowing five runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out one. Sosa was on the wrong end of two errors in the field, one by David Wright and the other by Angel Pagan.

Figueroa pitched because he was skipped in the rotation yesterday, due to the rainout. Not a great performance, but decent when you look at the situation. This is probably Sosa's last day in a Mets uniform for a while, as Matt Wise could be activated by Friday. Again, when Sosa is on, he's great, but that occurrence has become more and more rare this season.

The Mets broke up the shutout in the bottom of the sixth inning as Carlos Beltran walked to lead off. Ryan Church followed that up with a double to center field, driving in Beltran all the way from first. Carlos Delgado picked up the only other Mets hit today, singling in the fourth inning.

Church is the bright light amongst the dark. That last sentence is not supposed to sound like some religious banter, but after this game, some Mets should consider it.

Pedro Feliciano turned in a scoreless inning, allowing one hit. Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect eighth and ninth, striking out one batter.

Poor Heilman. The one day he turns in a six up-six down performance, the Mets are down by two touchdowns (without the extra points).

The Mets committed three errors in the game, allowing nine unearned runs to score.

Numbers: Mets: 2 hits...Pirates: 12 hits...Walks: 16 combined...Strikeouts: 15 combined...Perez: 55 pitches, 28 for strikes...40 Minutes: Time the game was delayed due to a water main break, courtesy of the construction on Citi Field...Team LOB: 10...Xavier Nady: 3-3, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 2 runs...

Game Ball: Church

I'm sorry John Maine

As the Mets get spanked by the Pirates, I bring you some sad news for John Maine.

Jennifer Aniston has been romantically linked to John Mayer.

She's got the wrong John! Mr. Maine loves you more. Never give up though, Maine, you never know what could happen.