With Willie Randolph getting closer and closer to the chopping block, at least in the fans eyes, I'll be the first to suggest this replacement.Newly retired, former-everything, Julio Franco.
Why not?
5/2/08
Here, I'll start
With Willie Randolph getting closer and closer to the chopping block, at least in the fans eyes, I'll be the first to suggest this replacement.Newly retired, former-everything, Julio Franco.
Why not?
Schneider almost back; can back up tonight
Adam Rubin reports that Brian Schneider has said he is capable of being a backup tonight in Arizona.
If this is true, and the Mets want to go with this statement, expect Gustavo Molina to be heading back to New Orleans while Moises Alou may be activated.
All speculation at this point, but it would be nice to have Alou back, as he might jumpstart this offense after their two hit performance after their finale at Shea on Wednesday.
If this is true, and the Mets want to go with this statement, expect Gustavo Molina to be heading back to New Orleans while Moises Alou may be activated.
All speculation at this point, but it would be nice to have Alou back, as he might jumpstart this offense after their two hit performance after their finale at Shea on Wednesday.
The lefty lineup
When Moises Alou is activated, and Brian Schneider returns to the lineup, the Mets have an interesting decision in dealing with the lineup.
As of late, the lineup has been as follows:
Jose Reyes - Switch
Luis Castillo - Switch
David Wright - Right
Carlos Beltran - Switch
Ryan Church - Left
Carlos Delgado - Left
Angel Pagan - Switch
Raul Casanova - Switch
Pitcher
When Alou and Schneider return, it will probably be:
Reyes - S
Castillo - S
Wright - R
Beltran - S
Church - L
Alou - R
Delgado - L
Schneider - L
Pitcher
Obviously, stacking the lefties nearly in a row is not going to be good for business. That's all under the assumption that Willie Randolph sticks with his "gut" and keep Castillo where he believes he works the best.
My ideal lineup is as follows:
Reyes - S
Church - L
Beltran - S
Wright - R
Alou - R
Castillo - S
Delgado - L
Schneider - L
Pitcher
That makes the most sense to me, as it won't stack one side of the plate in row. Alou might not see a lot of pitches to hit with Castillo batting behind him, but that could be beneficial for the team.
It's not perfect, but it's worth a shot. Do you have your own lineup idea? Let's see them!
As of late, the lineup has been as follows:
Jose Reyes - Switch
Luis Castillo - Switch
David Wright - Right
Carlos Beltran - Switch
Ryan Church - Left
Carlos Delgado - Left
Angel Pagan - Switch
Raul Casanova - Switch
Pitcher
When Alou and Schneider return, it will probably be:
Reyes - S
Castillo - S
Wright - R
Beltran - S
Church - L
Alou - R
Delgado - L
Schneider - L
Pitcher
Obviously, stacking the lefties nearly in a row is not going to be good for business. That's all under the assumption that Willie Randolph sticks with his "gut" and keep Castillo where he believes he works the best.
My ideal lineup is as follows:
Reyes - S
Church - L
Beltran - S
Wright - R
Alou - R
Castillo - S
Delgado - L
Schneider - L
Pitcher
That makes the most sense to me, as it won't stack one side of the plate in row. Alou might not see a lot of pitches to hit with Castillo batting behind him, but that could be beneficial for the team.
It's not perfect, but it's worth a shot. Do you have your own lineup idea? Let's see them!
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):
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.
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:
Two Mets on the list: Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
Here's Beltran's blurb:
Carlos Beltran | Mets, OFAlright, understandable. The one about Delgado is a little more curious:
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.
Carlos Delgado | Mets, benchBench? Is this a foul up, or a look into the future? Only time will tell.
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.
5/1/08
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
From BMF:
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.
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.
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.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.
---
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.
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.Frankly, I agree with both of them.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.
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.
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