Wagner better have a real good excuse or I'll lump him in with other turd Mets closers like Frank Fucko, Benitez, and that smiling bastard.
Wow, I really don't understand that. The ball was four or five feet over his head. If he catches it off the wall and turns and fires, Ramirez doesn't try to score. The Mets would no doubt lose anyway, but that was a fundamentally horrible play by him. This is like the Milledge bullshit - aggressiveness isn't by definition smart. As noted about Wright, this debacle is still laid firmly at the feet of Willie and (if there isn't a good reason for him not being there) Wagner.
I mean, it's not like beating the Mets qualifies as an accomplishment these days. I hate this team. Damn chokers.
You're entitled to your opinion but I think the risk of him trying to catch the ball was worth allowing the winning run to score if he didn't. As you agree the game was all but over even if he does play it off the wall.
the bottom line is that willie needs to be removed from this team immediately. no, it's not his fault that the bullpen sucks(thanks omar). but the way he manages it just makes the problem worse. he's like some degenerate gambler that just took out a 2nd mortgage on his house and keeps betting on the same loser horses that won him a buck or two in the past.
Willie just acknowledged that Wagner had a stiff back and shoulder and he "had an idea he might not be available" the entire game. He also just said that he would not have managed the bullpen any differently if he had known for absolute certainty that Wagner couldn't pitch the entire game. If there could ever be an argument for him getting fired, there it is.
is there anything randolph could say at this point that would suprise you? no matter how idiotic. after the "sipping champagne" nonsense of a couple days ago i really don't think so.
im just gunna repost a rant of mine from an irc room [23:42] <+firesather> billy wagner who said the other day [23:42] <+firesather> "WELL YOU LIVE FOR THIS, THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT, PITCHING WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE" [23:42] <+firesather> then he takes a fucking pass on pitching tonight because his back and shoudler are stiff [23:42] <+firesather> show some god damn toughness [23:42] <+firesather> i guess 10 million isnt enough money [23:43] <+firesather> maybe i can call out to work tomorrow with the excuse i cant lift because my fucking back is stiff [23:43] <+firesather> it'll go over well
This is absolutely crazy and really an utter disgrace. How many disasterous and horrible painful losses has this team endured. Can't blame anyone other than Willie for the tone and his apparent in-game mismanagements.
That's a pretty surprising rant to me, given your earlier post that you think he is either out for the year or will have offseason surgery (something that I thought was a very good point). Obviously if this is all a lie, and he really was too gutless to go out and pitch with the season on the line, he must be gotten rid of immediately. Unless you believe that, however, I don't see any other interpretation than that he sincerely believed that he couldn't pitch. We've seen him when he has a dead arm, and it's not pretty. Maybe this game was doomed from the start, but Willie is such a moron it's hard to be sure. Pulling Feliciano after one batter, bringing in Heilman in the 8th with the Mets down a run when he knew there was no Wagner availability, giving Humber 1 IP in the last two weeks, keeping Sosa in for the bottom of the 10th - the list just goes on and on.
yes. but until i hear that he IS out or IS seriously hurt, i will have to assume its only stiffness, and wags is being soft about it. however it was alarming last night that he wasnt topping 93 mph
Look, whether he is seriously hurt or not if it was in his head that he wasn't going to be effective if he pitched I'm glad he didn't. "Gritting it out" is all well and good but if you go out there and stink it up then are you really helping your team? Going out there and playing while you're injured is what got Beltran in trouble when he first came over here and I believe we saw it from Delgado as well this year. The bottom line is we're probably not talking about any of this if Feliciano wasn't yanked after 1 batter for Sosa. What makes the move even more insane is that not is Feliciano alot better then Sosa, but Sosa has also been horribly overworked lately. There really is no justification for the move.
can also argue saving heilman for the save, and using feliciano in the 8th and still.. infield in for treanor.. if you're willie you have to think its very very very unlikely you win that game once its tied up at 7..