Why Are We Still Talking About Willie?

You can't replace the whole team in season, you can however replace the manager who has been pitifully bad and hope it wakes the rest of the team up.

If I was GM I would make two moves to try to get this team going, I would fire Willie and release Delgado. That is the place to start, there is too much talent on this team to remain mediocre for this long. Delgado IMO epitomizes the who cares attitude that seems to have taken over the clubhouse, plus he cant hit or field anymore.

 

not sure how anyone can still be defending this guy....hes' proven he is by no means a strategic wiz, he cannot deal with the media, he handles the players poorly, and has arguably the most talented team in the league underperforming for the better part of 2 seasons now.

it's a bottom line business........buh bye Willie

and I agree, Delgado should go too if that's feasible

 

I find it hysterically funny that people seem to have such a low opinon of managers in general, and Willie in particular, that they think that the ridiculous underachievement of this team for almost a calendar year has nothing to do with him. The big defense of him seems to be that nothing is ever his doing, so why blame him. And now the media and fans are blamed for reacting to his moronic comments about SNY and racism, rather than him being blamed for making them (and then having to backtrack when it was pointed out how idiotic they were).

I am still waiting to hear one positive thing that this guy actually brings to the table.

 

If it's strictly player accountability, get rid of the manager of the year awards.... or just managers in general because if the team is winning, I guess the players are the only ones accountable also.

 

well if the manager has no accountability, then I'm free too.....I'm flexible with salary demands also

 

Not to tease, but imagine the Mets lineup with Jim Leyland managing.

One of the good things the Red Sox have done is stabilize the manager position with Francona - a guy I was never sold on. Had we kicked around with Grady Little or, God forbid, waited to see if Joe Kerrigan could do more than coach pitchers, I don't think we would have had the same success. A manager in Boston or New York shouldn't expect more than a short leash. The problem with Willie has to be that he'll do the Herm Edwards thing and point to his division title as job security.

 

Willie has really been digging his grave with his few supporters over the last couple days though. I think the media has been extremely generous to Willie in terms of support and now he makes it like people are out to get him. The one thing lots of people pointed to about Willie was that he was a "New York Guy" and could handle the pressure, was good with the media, etc, but he's clearly cracking and lashing out at the fans and the media.

That being said the problem is definitely on the field and not in the dugout. Omar did a bad job with the bullpen for a 2nd year in a row and the bench is an absolute travesty. However that doesn't mean I'm going to sit here and defend a bad manager.

 

It seems that nowadays, the most important thing a manager does is manage people, manage the players and attempt to successfully keep players happy and hardworking. I think in a case like this, Randolph certainly does hold a good deal of the blame.

I've always thought that managers can't do much to improve a team from how good it should be, but they sure as hell can get in the way of a team achieving its potential, and we're seeing this here.

 

I can't disagree there. This latest battle Willie has chosen to take up is mind-numbingly stoopid.

 

First comes the stupid statement, then the backtracking and "clarification," and now the apology. It's all so predictable.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...1_willie_randolph_apologizes_to_mets_sny.html

Edit: According to the Post, he claims that he thought the original conversation was off the record. I hadn't heard that before, and IMO is a load of crap. Apparently he's now okay with fans being unhappy, but I note that he apparently hasn't apologized for calling them all racists, at least according to the article (I didn't hear the apology on Mike & the Mad Dog, so maybe he did).

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05212008/sports/mets/willie_says_hes_sorry_111905.htm

 

They can help a team for sure. Just look at Jack McKeon. He made the Marlins be good in 2003 and then they kicked the Yankees' asses all over.

 

I've seen countless quotes like this from Willie over the past and it's stuff like this that really bugs me about him. He has this laissez faire attitude that the problem is simply "not winning" rather then a specific problem with player performance, or the moves he makes as manager etc. Now, I don't know if this is just part of his self styled persona of not wanting to "embarass his guys" or if he genuinely feels that way but in either case it's a problem, IMO.

 

There are many reasons why Willie's time is up, but I think my #1 reason is the psychological component of having the face of one of the greatest collapses in history as manager. It's incredibly simple to me.

 

something tells me we won't be talking about Willie for much longer

 

I'm sorry but this does not fall on the team. The team is playing dead and without passion. That is one of the primary jobs of the manager. To keep his team focused, and optimistic in times of slump. Willie has failed at this miserably. Willie has not done anything to build upon wins. During the Yankee series willie immediatly creates a distraction. Willie has done absolutely nothing to get this team out of this slump. He has no sense of urgency right now and as a result neither does his team. This team has ability they just need motivation. If this team can be motived and play with a sense of urgency they will do extremely well..

THAT IS WHY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WILLIE