Mets Fire Randolph

I have not written about the NY Mets in a long time. Not since The Collapse. I have tried to follow them, but am not the regular fan I used to be. I needed to give them time, to prove that what happened last fall was ‘just’ a catastrophe. Catastrophes happen and then life usually goes on in some fashion. But the first part of this season had got me thinking that what we saw last fall was not ‘just’ a catastrophe, it was an indicator of where this team was headed. Uninspired, sloppy play. Uncaring players.

Being a Mets fan means you don’t get to celebrate a lot of glory. What matters most, when you’re a Mets fan, is that the team tries. Give me a team effort, players who maximize their talent with hard work. That’s all I want from the Mets. What I don’t want is Bobby Bonilla, Mo Vaughn, Juan Samuel, or Vince Coleman. That was a toxic era.

Willie Randolph was fired as the Mets manager late last night or early this morning, depending on where you live. The firing had been rumored for some time; some Mets fans clamored for it. I didn’t. Randolph is a professional. As a player, he made the most of his talent, worked hard, was consistent. He learned how to manage from Joe Torre. Randolph and Torre kept their teams working hard, kept emotions level. They instilled professionalism and pride. They teach being ready to win the next game, and put whatever happened in the last game, win or lose, behind them. Randolph turned the Mets around with this approach, at first, but may have lost the team at some point last year. You never see the players go in these situations; it’s always the manager.

On Friday, the word was out that Randolph had to win this weekend, or he was going to be gone. Randolph was fired after the Mets won three of four games over the weekend, including Monday night, hours before the move was made.

When was this decision reached? It wasn’t decided Monday night. It probably didn’t matter what the team did; Randolph was gone. They should have fired him on Friday; that’s when the decision must have been made. They didn’t fire him then, or on Saturday, or Sunday. Why not? Because it would have appeared cruel, to fire the manager on Father’s Day? So the Mets organization decided to fire Randolph on the road, in the middle of the night. After a win. They let the man pack his bags, leave his family, get on a plane and fly across the country after a Sunday doubleheader. They let him manage the first game of the road trip, and then, even though the team won the game, they fired him in the middle of the night. Now, Randolph can pack his bag again, and come home. Nice. Really nice.

This is a totally classless way of handling the thing, and the Mets are getting blasted for it in the press. They deserve all the criticism they get.

Among the things Randolph did “wrong” was to use his closer, Billy Wagner, to save games like this one on the night of June 11:

The Mets had taken a 3-0 lead into the ninth, but the Diamondbacks tied the score on a three-run homer by Mark Reynolds off closer Billy Wagner on a 3-2 count with two outs.

For Randolph, that was the fateful inning.

First, he allowed second-year right-hander Mike Pelfrey to start the ninth after Pelfrey had thrown 110 pitches.

Then, after a leadoff single by Stephen Drew, Randolph summoned Wagner, even though statistics suggest that Wagner is far better starting an inning than when summoned in the middle.

Since the start of 2007, Wagner has entered games 84 times at the start of an inning, but only seven times in the middle.

He is 44-for-50 in save opportunities when starting an inning, according to STATS, Inc. His ERA in those situations is 2.05 ERA, and he has allowed six homers in 88 innings.

When entering in the middle of an inning, Wagner is 3-for-6 in save chances. His ERA is 7.11, and he has allowed three homers in 6 1/3 innings.

Those statistics do not excuse Wagner for allowing the three-run homer by Reynolds. But Randolph’s choice of Wagner in the middle of an inning — combined with his decision to start Pelfrey in the ninth — left him open to second-guessing.

To me, a “closer” who can’t come in and get one out to end the game is not worth much at all. But the manager gets blamed for this. That’s outrageous.

The reactions of some of the Mets players lead me to believe that this firing was the wrong move.

Relief pitcher Aaron Heilman: “It doesn’t really change what we have to do.”

Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran both seemed indifferent to the news when approached by reporters and declined to speak any further. Luis Castillo reacted with surprise before turning to tell Fernando Tatis, but they also refused to elaborate on the news.

Before Monday night’s game, Randolph had this to say about his situation:

“We spend so much time talking about all this extra-curricular stuff, man, and it’s like, this team just needs to focus on playing winning baseball,” Randolph said Monday afternoon. “That’s the way we started out spring training and that should be the main focus here. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it should be.”

This season is probably not going to turn out much better, now. In time, Willie Randolph will get another job. For now, he can enjoy the break from the endless looking over his shoulder, criticism, and job insecurity. I’ve been through similar things myself, and know what a relief “the day after” can bring.