Results tagged “willierandolph”

Yesterday the Mets held a press conference to say that GM Omar Minaya would be investigating allegations that VP of Player Development Tony Bernazard had ripped his shirt off and challenged minor leaguers to a fight. But much like the period of speculation leading up to Willie Randolph's firing last year, the situation has quickly snowballed, calling into question the way in which the entire organization is run.

                  

The Yankees closed Yankee Stadium last night with a star-studded pregame ceremony that ranged from poignant to super cheesy. Dressing up actors as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other deceased Yankees was ridiculous, but seeing Yogi Berra standing at home plate and wearing his uniform was great.

Before the Yankees' 8-2 win over the Angels, the Yankees brought back seventy-two past players for the 62nd Old-Timers' Day at the old stadium.

• Yankees 8 Angels 2: How appropriate that on Old-Timers’ Day it was the Yankees oldest player who continued his season-long renaissance. Mike Mussina had a rocky second inning, but he settled down and pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for his 14th win of the year. Mussina would have pitched a shutout if Wilson Betemit could field, but the Yankees have no complaints after finally beating the Angels. Betemit redeemed himself with a homer to tie the game at 2 and three other Yankees went deep.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Old-Timers' Day"

"You can always look over your shoulder and think things like that, but the intent here clearly was to respect Willie. To do it in person. It's never easy to fire anybody. Omar took a lot of time. We took a lot of time listening to him and thinking about it. He wanted to respect Willie, and that's what he did."

"It's all a matter of performance. Recognize, Omar gave Willie a chance to be in this position. He had never been a manager in the major leagues or minor leagues. I think Willie did a good job. The results of the last say 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be."

Willie Randolph, who went from being perceived as terse and incompetent to bloodied scapegoat in the matter of three or four days, tells the story Friday of his midnight firing in an article in the Daily News. In it, he says how stunned he was when Mets general manager Omar Minaya told him the bad news in the Anaheim hotel. He also gives a blow-by-blow account of how it happened. When Minaya started talking to Randolph, the soon-to-be-axed manager thought only some of his coaches were getting fired. Then he realized what was happening and, not surprisingly, says he took the high road:

"Omar, are you firing me?" I asked. He looked away for a minute and then met my eyes. "Yeah, I'm going to make a move," he said. "It's a hard decision, but I have to make it."

Continue reading "Willie Randolph Reveals How He Was 'Whacked'"

Some say that Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolph are too similar, but somehow we can't envision Randolph, the former Mets manager saying what Manuel did on Tuesday night, even jokingly. When Jose Reyes was removed from the game after he experienced tightness in his hamstring, he had a helmet throwing-hissy-fit. Reyes later apologized to Manuel, but the new manager cracked to Reyes:

"I told him next time he does that I'm going to get my blade out and cut him. I'm a gangster. You go gangster on me, I'm going to have to get you. You do that again, I'm going to cut you right on the field."

The Mets' midnight firing of manager Willie Randolph and two other coaches continues to piss off various parties. The Post uses a little bit of Photoshop magic to place a knife in new manager Jerry Manuel's hand--aimed right at Randolph's back--for today's back cover.

The debacle of how the Mets handled firing Willie Randolph was Jon Stewart's first topic on last night's The Daily Show. Stewart, a loyal Mets fan, was not happy--video is above.

The local papers have weighed in and made the Mets' firing of manager Willie Randolph their number 1, 2 and 3 topics. Angry over how Randolph was fired (flying him all the way out to Los Angeles?!? And Omar Minaya claiming that the media speculation pushed him to fire Randolph?), yes, but the tabloids were probably angry over something else: The fact that the firing took place around midnight PST/3 a.m. ESt, which meant it was too late to get into yesterday papers! So today, it's all about the Mets.

After firing Willie Randolph following last night's game against the Angels, Mets general manager Omar Minaya finally met with the media today. During the press conference this afternoon, Minaya said the decision to relieve Randolph of his coaching duties "was my decision and it was a tough decision," not that of any others in the organization and it was based on the performance of the team in the past year. It was a move that Minaya did not make easily, saying that as the first Hispanic general manager in baseball who hired the first African American manager in New York baseball history, the two "shared a bond."

The rumors swirled viciously before the game. Willie Randolph was safe for at least the week, but some of his coaches would be fired shortly. Randolph and some of the coaches were about to be axed. There were even erroneous reports that Rick Peterson had been fired.

The Yankees and Mets are going to play their third dual-stadium doubleheader, June 27th. The teams will make up the game that was rained out May 16th at 2pm and then head over the Shea Stadium to play their regularly scheduled game at 8pm.

Two and a half weeks ago, Willie Randolph appeared to be on the precipice of being fired. The Mets, especially general manager Omar Minaya stood by him, and Randolph lived another day. Now, another poor stretch of play has prompted perhaps the strongest rumors yet. If SI.com's Jon Heyman is correct, and his sources are usually reliable, Randolph -- and half his coaching staff -- could be gone by the end of the weekend.

Despite a 23-25 record and an underwhelming performance by his team, Willie Randolph will continue to manage the New York Mets. After a meeting with general manager Omar Minaya, principal owner Fred Wilpon and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, the Mets announced that Randolph has the support of all. The meeting happened after the Mets lost six of seven in Atlanta and Colorado and Randolph's comments to the Bergen Record suggesting that SNY, the Mets-owned network that televises the team's games, and other New York media allowed their coverage to be affected by race.

As if Willie Randolph didn’t have enough problems, he now has a former Met openly campaigning for his job. Gary Carter shared his thoughts on the Mets’ situation in a radio interview Friday. Carter told the hosts of "The Mike and Murray Show":

“When I saw that on ESPN today ... I got on the phone and I called (Mets VP of media relations Jay Horowitz and I asked Jay, 'Should I try to call Mr. Wilpon?' If there is this going on I just want them to know of my availability. I'm only a phone call away, because my contract allows me to leave the ballclub. I could be in New York tomorrow, if necessary, because if there's anything at the major league level I can leave this job."

All signs point to this being a critical weekend for Willie Randolph if he wants to keep his job. Ownership is clearly peeved at him, refusing to return his apology phone call and having Omar Minaya do it. The fans are filling the talk radio airwaves with anti-Willie diatribes and the team is not playing well. In fact, they have essentially played .500 ball for over a season. If you go back to May 19th, 2007, the Mets were 28-14, since then they are 82-83. Clearly, this is a team that needs something to change because they are too talented to play at that mediocre level.

It started with Ian Kennedy providing six solid innings of pitching. Kennedy has been horrendous so far this year and maybe it was the news that Joba is coming to take his spot, maybe it was something else, but he was a different pitcher tonight. Shelley Duncan who has also longed for 2007, provided the initial run and Robinson Cano, the guy who represents the Yankees’ offensive failures in 2008 provided the game-winner with two outs in the ninth. Even Joe Girardi got involved, channeling Billy Martin with a justified meltdown in the ninth after a blown call by the umpires.

It was another Mets loss last night which means more questions about the fate of manager Willie Randolph. Lately, Randolph has been weathering fallout from comments he made earlier this week, suggesting SNY's camerawork of him was a little too negative.

Even so, he couldn't match Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley, who walked four and struck out four Mets, including David Wright twice. A Moises Alou single accounted for the Mets' only run. Perez, whose struggles have earned the wrath of closer Billy Wagner, may just be a headcase. Manager Willie Randolph said Perez, "kept us relatively in the ballgame after a shaky start, but the gopher balls hurt him." That's a fair assessment, though what does "relatively in the ballgame mean"? After a slow start, Joe Torre's Dodgers are 18-14 and look like they will be a factor all season. Nelson Figueroa takes on Hiroki Koruda on Tuesday night before a day game Wednesday.

And it was that call to the bullpen that was the Mets’ undoing. Willie Randolph went to Aaron Heilman who walked the bases loaded and gave up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez. The Nationals added three more runs in the seventh off of Jorge Sosa. The Mets mounted a rally in the ninth with Marlon Anderson homering and the first two runners reaching base, but they could not get the tying run out of the on-deck circle.

• Red Sox 7, Yankees 5: Mike Mussina will be seeing Manny Ramirez in his sleep. The Stanford graduate gave up two home runs to the George Washington High School product as part of a distressing performance. The righty allowed five runs in three innings, and, unlike Wednesday, the Yankees could not put up 15 runs.
  Continue reading "Last Night's Action: Ramirez Strikes Again"

Okay, Mets manager Willie Randolph hasn't been in pinstripes for a while, but this photograph of him saying hi to new Dodgers manager Joe Torre just seems like something from the bizarro world - not that there's anything wrong with that! Randolph, who was a Yankees coach under Torre, said, "It was a little strange, a little different. But I told him, 'You look good in any uniform.'"

The Mets introduced Johan Santana, their newest player and best attempt at getting back to the World Series, in Flushing yesterday. Just last week, the Mets and Santana agreed to a six-year $137.5 million contract that makes the Mets a favorite in the National League. Scores of press were on hand for the introduction, as well as David Wright, Omar Minaya, owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon, and Willie Randolph. Before his official introduction, the Mets played a video montage to showcase their new arm. The video had music by Carlos Santana and had greetings by famous Mets interspliced with the pitcher's highlights.

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light more down the stretch. So did Omar Minaya's complete neglect of the roster's periphery. The Mets trotted out inexperienced and ineffective pitchers down the stretch, and the bullpen that Randolph had to deal with wasn't that good to begin with thanks to some questionable trades. What this means for the 2008 season remains to be seen, but it cost the Mets fans Lastings Milledge, another symbol of the collapse. He was dumped dealt to the Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.