Some late night writing over at examiner.com:
One year after Willie Mets can't get rolling



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All week I thought folks were just kidding about "The Mets Years" but sure enough ...

Hilarious.

Rising Son: Mets, Yankees, and My Journey to the Big Leagues (Hardcover)

by Willie Randolph (Author), Wayne Coffey (Author)

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List Price: $25.95 Price: $17.13 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details You Save: $8.82 (34%) Pre-order Price Guarantee. Learn more.

This title will be released on March 31, 2009.

That's all I can find.  Even the Harper Entertainment website search box turns up nothing for "Willie Randolph."

Anyone want to guess what's in it?   The coffee hasn't kicked in yet so my brain is coming up with A-Fraud equivalents for the Mets.

www.metspolice.com

The new manager of the LI Ducks is......Gary Carter?

Why Gary?  That job can't pay that much.   Do you hope to win 100 games (does the Atlantic League even play 100 games) and prove you deserve a shot to snipe at Jerry Manuel the next time the Mets drop 4 straight?

Meanwhile Willie took a job as.....the Brewers bench coach?   Under a new manager?   What's the strategy there - hope the new guy sucks?   Why not hit the beach and enjoy Omar's money?   Isn't it odd that Hank didn't throw this guy a Yankee bone?   Very odd.

Anyway it was nice to write something original instead of a bunch of links to other people's hard work.  Nothing much happening in Flushing since Seaver walked out of the building in September.

I'm in Clark Kent mode and haven't had much time but some quick thoughts:

I think the Phillies have the team Mets fans want.  As an outsider it seems like a bunch of scrappy guys, a homegrown hero or two and a shortstop who is actually good and not a stat accumulator.

I'm sure Fox is thrilled at the prospect of Phillies-Rays.  I like the Rays and all but that combination and 8:30 starts isn't going to get me to switch off the dvr.

I don't want to be Mushnick Junior but I observe that Son of Mets Police has watched zero innings of the playoffs.   I've watched about two.  I just don't care.

So Willie might go to the Yankees huh?  Girardi might want to open the new new stadium 15 and 0.

Willie might go to the Nats huh?  That won't be awkward at all for Manny Acta and his last place team.

Cyclones Fan suggested the Mets Police sponsor a brick at Citi Field.   They are sold out.  I'm kinda amazed the Mets won't sell more.

How long until Citibank merges or gets bought and the Mets wind up playing in Horribly Named Stadium?

We've kinda missed the Willie Watch since the Mets started winning games.



Willie showed up at Yankee Stadium today, where he belongs (being a former captain and all).



Lots more from Willie here.



In other news the Mets have added some more Irish-ness to their roster with Dan Murphy making his debut tonight.   Hopefully he's a Hall of Famer so they can sell some more green Mets hats.

I may not be a huge Billy Wagner fan, but I do like his willingness to talk bluntly. As reported by Jayson Stark on ESPN.com, Wagner has been very forthcoming on the difference between Willie and Jerry:

"I don't want to bash Willie, because I liked him," Billy Wagner said. "But before, it was more of The Yankee Way. It wasn't The Mets Way. There was no facial hair. You could never have music in the clubhouse. You couldn't have kids around. Believe it or not, some of us in here actually like kids."


Hm, I seem to remember a certain blog saying that the Mets didn't need a Yankee at the helm.

Willie should just stay quiet and take the high road. Don't forget, three weeks ago he was in the middle of a "racism" controversry. The Mets turned him into a martyr. All he needs to do is stay quiet and let Hank & Hal offer him a chance to wave at the All Star Game....Willie would be a returning hero and the Mets would look like idiots.

So stay quiet.

Willie spoke to the News...some interesting things:

Then (Omar) handed me an envelope, a little parting gift, and told me to make sure I reviewed it with my agent, Ron Shapiro.
It was a copy of my Met contract that basically says I better not say anything detrimental about the team, or I might jeopardize the rest of the money I have coming to me.

Boy these Mets are really afraid of what people might say about them or think about them. The more they try to control the message the stupider they look. Do they really think that if Willie came out and called them names it would really turn people into Yankees fans? If the Mets win, they draw. That's how it is.

As for the "racism" controversy, Willie is remoresful:

The bottom line is that by suggesting that the color of my skin had something to do with how I was judged, I did nothing but sow the seeds of my demise. I kick myself about that every day. It makes me angry - and really sad.

Now the Mets Police were all in favor of a change at manager, and always felt Willie whined his way into the job in the first place. However, this was handled so so so so poorly. All the Mets had to do was fire him on Memorial Day. Now everyone feels bad for this guy.

Even The Mets Police.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/06/20/2008-06-20_willie_randolph_opens_up_after_his_recen-3.html

Omar, as we used to say in Queens, this is "a bite." I have "bit" the idea from mostlymets.com who posted this first and I totally cop.

"I feel that we have a championship team, we have the talent to do that. This decision was not based just upon this weekend, this decision was based on how I've seen our team play for the past year or so."

OK, therefore either the team now wins the championship, or you don't know how to evaluate talent. You didn't say "championship contender" or "caliber" or any other qualifier. Championship Team. See you October 1st with this quote. I hope you are right and I'm just a jerky blogger.

The general consensus about the Willie firing is that this organization is a complete embarrassment.

Below is something I posted earlier in the year which seems appropriate this morning:

2009 presents an opportunity to start fresh in a new ballpark.

Some suggestions:

1. Embrace Mets tradition. This is no longer an expansion team. 45+ years. The Dodgers left a half-century ago. Let Los Angeles have them. Focus on the Mets. 1969, 1986. You've done a good job embracing 1986 on SNY, now do so with the team. Have some days to honor the guys we all love - Keith, Mookie, Wally, Gary....even invite Straw and Gooden back (when he's available).

2. Create the position of Director of Franchise Integrity. Most of this franchise's image problems could be solved by me, you, or any caller to WFAN. For example, did they really think doing this at 3:15 was a good idea? Run that past the D.F.I. Since this is a new position I offer my services.

3. Stop with the black uniforms. White pinstripes at home, the current road uniforms with a blue hat for the road. If you want to sell black or yellow or polka dots stuff at Modell's that's fine. Just look like a baseball team on the field. The Yankees sell plenty of t-shirts and hats without looking like idiots.

4. Create "The Mets Way." When knuckleheads arise, rid the franchise of them. No more Vince Colemans. The Mets did a good job getting Milledge out. If Pedro can't be bothered to show up and wave on Opening Day then good riddance.

5. David Wright is The Captain. This franchise lacks a career long franchise player. Let's keep him here forever and let him be the captain. He doesn't need a cheesy C on his jersey, but let it be known he is the man. Even if he just has OK stats for his career, the fans love him. Let us love him for a long time.

6. Tell Seaver to show up. If it takes paying him $50,000 per appearance like the Yankees had to do for Joe DiMaggio, then do it.

7. Bring the Apple. Why does management fight on this one? Bring the apple. yes we know it doesn't work so well. It's ours and we want it there, just bring it.

Originally #2 was: Put a Met in place as manager. No more Yankees. I'm openly in favor of Mazzilli. How about Backman? Carter. Hojo. Fans will love it. I want to be fair to Jerry Manuel, so since he's brand new we'll give him a shot. If it doesn't work, this one goes back in.

Wow, I'm kind of surprised and feel a little bad for Willie because of the timing.

Why torture the man and make him fly to LA when they could have done this over the weekend? Did they think that by being on the West Coast we wouldn't notice? This isn't 1977 where the Daily News has "Mets at Anaheim, night."

This has been handled so poorly by this organization - like so many things, which is why this blog exists.

The few news reports have Jerry Manuel as "interim" manager, which means things are still not settled.

The Mets Police, as always hoping the Mets win, wish Jerry nothing but the best and may he win the World Series.

On a vaguely related note - add Torre to the All-Star Game coaches staff.

I'm thinking about switching sides to "Keep Willie." I don't see the point of Jerry Manuel. The Mets are like a bunch of slacker teenagers. Not one of them is giving any sort of quote or effort to save Willie's job (compare that to the Yankees the last three seasons with Torre). If they switch to someone who is on Willie's staff, someone who has been around - what makes anyone think the slacker teens will react any different. They need a new face in the clubhouse.

Stop torturing Willie. Either hand the keys to Jerry or announce Willie's staying all year. Enough. It's boring and can't be good for the clubhouse.

It's interesting that they can play a traditional doubleheader when it's inconvenient for THEM to play on Sunday night. I had tickets for Saturday night, now I don't get to see Texas. I don't really care about that - but usually that's the reason they use for the day/night doubleheaders. Also, I thought that there are so many tickets sold that they can't possibly get people into games without playing day/night.

So I find it really really interesting that since THEY don't want to be out late on a Sunday night (unlike those of us who had Dodger tickets) - it's impossible to play a Sunday night game. Let's all remember this the next time they give us the b.s. why they can't play a normal doubleheader. Remember this was a Saturday giveaway day, so there must have been at least a "Howie Rose 40,000" expected. As for me, I'll be very happy to listen to the two games by the pool at Mets Police Headquarters.

Why the hell didn't anyone build a dome. I was there last night. The Mets didn't make it rain, and everyone had the forecast really wrong. However it was really annoying to make a very long drive and bring The Kid (no not Gary Carter) to Shea and then have no game. Why didn't the Mets (or Yankees or Football Giants) decide to build a dome. Flushing sucks in April and September and May and I kind of remember games in October once....why the hell wouldn't you use this "retractable dome" technology we hear about. Instead we get 40 more years of crappy Aprils.

Crazy idea #1: Trade Jose Reyes. They need a shakeup. I haven't thought this one out, I don't know who you'd get, and I don't know who'd play SS - but maybe what this team needs is to think differently.

Crazy idea #2: Hire Tommy Lasorda as manager. Yeah that's stupid - but if they are going to suck, let's have a crazy old man in the dugout. Maybe Jerry Manuel could secretly be managing but let Tommy do his schtick. Yes he's a Dodger but I guess you haven't noticed what the new ballpark looks like.

I loved Buster Olney's column that gets into how crazy it is to blame Willie for bringing in Wagner for a save mid-inning. Isn't that what closers do? Long URL:

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3443097&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d3443097%26name%3dolney_buster


Shouldn't we start talking about Chipper hitting .400 plus? He's been hitting like .420. For someone that far over .400 you sure don't hear much about it.

Mussina is going to start the All-Star Game! 10 wins, and it's his home studio. Amazing. Who saw that coming?

This is interesting about baseball replay (from mlb.com): the crew chief's decision to use or not use instant replay on a particular call would be final, and not subject to second-guessing by team or league personnel. Team personnel would not have any right to demand instant replay. The crew chief's decision on a call after using instant replay would also be final.

Good stuff here about drugs being the reason the Mets got Keith: http://www.amny.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spkeith0615,0,948803.story?track=rss

Stearns for manager: http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2008/06/stearns_managing_the_new_york.html

As I travel around the New York area telling tales of Lee Mazzilli, I am finding that there are actual adults in their twenties who are big Mets fans and they've never heard of him.

Once upon a time there was something called the late seventies. Tom Seaver was gone and the Mets sucked. They were awful. Hopeless. Managed by a guy named Joe Torre that made Jeff Torborg look like a genius in comparison. The only question about every season was whether or not they would finish last or if the Cubs would. Meanwhile in the Bronx, well maybe you've heard of Reggie Jackson.

In this mess was a good looking kid from Brooklyn named Lee Mazzilli. He was #16 and the centerfielder. In his most awesome year he hit .303 with 15 HRs and 79 RBI. In post-steroid numbers that's say 25 homers and 100 RBI in 1998. Amazing? No. But he was all we had. There would be one Met on the All Star team and he was it.

They traded Lee in 1982 but that trade eventually turned into Ron Darling and Howard Johnson, so it's hard to complain.

In 1986 the amazing did happen and Lee came back and got a ring with the Mets!

You youngsters probably remembering him coaching for Torre's Yankees for most of the good years, and Lee does have managerial experience with the Orioles.

It's time for a change in Flushing. Lee works for the organization (the tv network) and is a fan favorite. There is no obvious heir apparent. It's time to pacify the fans and the cranky bloggers and make the change...to a Brooklyn boy and a fan fave. It's time for Lee Mazzilli

What? Are you kidding me?

A report that Mets management is unhappy with Willie for the way he managed LAST NIGHT? Of all the nights, last night? Get off the man's case on this one.

The crux is there is some lame stat that waaaahhhh Billy Wagner isn't good when he doesn't start an inning. That ain't the manager, that's the player and that means the organization bought a closer who can't close. You need a fireman to put out fires, not get "LaRussa saves."

Willie, I'm no fan, but good for you giving Pelfrey a shot, good for you for making the change when the runner got on, and Wags can learn how to pitch in relief.

This story makes me furious.

Fox Sports:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8237716/Continued-gaffes-not-helping-Randolph

There will be two managers at Shea tonight. One will get booed terribly (including by me as I will be there). One will be cheered.

You kids that don't know who Lee Mazzilli is probably think I photoshopped the photo on the left. Nope kids, Joe Torre once managed the Metsies, and he was awful. Not that he had anything to work with. Craig Swan, Steve Henderson and a bunch of other guys you've never heard of.

Anyways, take another look at the picture and ask yourself (or Omar if you happen to see him) - why isn't this a current picture of the Mets manager. Maybe with a little less hair, maybe wearing 6 not 9 - but why didn't they call Joe five minutes after his press conference announcing he was leaving the Yankees. The Mets could have had a manager that got his team to the postseason every year (the Mets have every financial advantage the Yankees do, so stop whining about that). Joe even had to manage from an awful start, say being 6.5 back on Memorial Day.

It's too late now, but I'll be cheering for the manager tonight, just not the one in the first base dugout.

MLB.com says:

Willie stays for now. I'm BBQing with friends and family so a quick hit from the Mets Police.


No guarantee from owners on how long.

Mistake on the Mets part - the fans stay unruly, the team stays distracted.

NY Post reporting the meeting was at 2, and that Wilpons showed up at 1:20. My spidey sense thinks they all announce Willie will be the guaranteed manager for the year (to shut up dopey bloggers). Second place spidey sense says Jerry Manuel becomes "interim manager" for the year (boy that would be silly on several levels).

Unrelated - why are some basbeall teams off today? Hey MLB, nice head.

Also: The Mets' June 1 home game against the Dodgers has been switched to an 8 p.m. start to accommodate ESPN. (NY Post)