Mets Chat Room: Randolph apologizes edition.
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- May
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Manager Willie Randolph, saying he was acting without prompting, apologized to Mets ownership this afternoon for comments he said claiming criticism he’s been under was racially motivated.
He also apologized to SNY, the club’s television outlet, for saying he was deliberately portrayed in a negative light.
“I want to apologize to Met ownership, SNY and my team for the unnecessary distraction I created, that I caused the last couple of days. I shouldn’t have said what I said. It was a mistake. It’s as simple as that. It’s a mistake and there are no excuses for it.’’
Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon declined to comment.
Randolph said his comments, made to a New Jersey newspaper on Monday, were spoken out of frustration.
Randolph said he was looking for closure. That would come by winning a few games.
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on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 6:04 pm by John Delcos.
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still, then why did he say that? it dosn’t make any sense, why would he ever say the mets fan are racist then say he dosn’t think that they are racist
Bob: I don’t disagree. This is all about damage control because he’s really feeling heat. I can see where he was frustrated and slipped in his comments, but deep down I have to think he believes what he said.-JD
The only race I care about is the pennant race.
the reality is there probably are some mets fans who dislike willie because of the color of his skin.
that said, the vast majority of fans are not racist.
the problem with his comments come more from a lack of understanding as to why mets fans are so upset with this team, and therefore why so many of us are calling for willie to be fired…that reason being, this team is mediocre and shows no signs of changing course and playing up to their “abilities.”
giants’ fans wanted coughlin fired prior to last season, and his teams made the playoffs the previous two years.
it’s all about winning. especially when you have a $137 million dollar payroll and the team is “built to win now.”
regardless of his apology, i have a feeling this might be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.
as things stand right now it is a borderline untenable relationship, if the mets don’t find a way to win the majority of the remaining games on this road trip i think it’s highly unlikely willie makes it back to shea as the manager…and at this point, that maybe for the best.
John –
Obviously the only remarks I heard from Willie were on WFAN at 5PM to Mike and Chris during Willie’s weekly appearance. You can access them on the WFAN Site on the Home Page.
Did Willie also address the media and the team this afternoon with the same remarks?
Good baserunning play by Delgado. Good hustle by Schneider. Bad at-bat by Castillo.-JD
I’m satisfied with Willie’s apology. It will go a long way toward mending things with the Wilpons.
I don’t think there is any way Willie gets fired during this season unless the Mets fall out of first place by a sizable amount and continue to lose ground. As long as they remain within sniffing distance of first, he’s safe.
If anything needs to be changed on the team, it’s the situation at first base and in the bullpen. I don’t know how they can expect to go deep into the postseason with Delgado hitting and fielding the way he’s been doing and with Heilman, Wise, and Sanchez all pitching poorly.
moises had to take a dump
Alou just walked off the field. He’s replaced by Marlon Anderson. As soon as I find out something I’ll let you know.-JD
wow, I thought I’ve seen it all, Alou hurts himself standing out in left field, what a joke.
Randolph should be gone at this point.
moises has diarrhea
wow, why was castillo so far back?
Wow. What a surprise. Pelfrey gives up a big two-out hit. All because Cstillo is playing Teixeira on the right field warning track. And Alou walked off the field because of another malady. To quote Billy Wagner: &^%$%#’ shocker. This is sickening.
Here’s another shocker. Pelfrey gives up another big hit. What did the Mets scouts EVER see in Pelfrey? He is the definition of mediocrity.
How many times this year have you seen a team score runs with 2 outs and nobody on base against the mets. I know one thing, you will never see the Mets score runs with two out and nobody on base. When it’s not your season these things seem to happen.
hello there gil and tomg how are you my “friends”
They are down 3-1, but doesn’t it seem like it is worse than that? At least Anderson ran out that pop-up. Unlike what happened at the Stadium.-JD
I take it the two-out, two-run rally was Willie’s fault, right? So was Alou’s walking off the field and Church’s getting hurt, too. Peflrey’s two-out walk? Willie again. Beltran hitting into a DP? Willie.
How’s it going, Bob?
Alou has a cramp in his left leg, like I said, the dope injures himself standing out in left field, you can’t make this stuff up.
Alou has a cramp in his left calf. Unbelievable.-JD
this team is pathetic can’t describe it any other way really.
Gil in Savannah, GA,
I’m not one of those fans that wants willie gone. I’ve said it a few times, firing willie isn’t going to make this team better. This team sucks, if anybody should be fired it’s Omar Minya, he is the idiot who put this team together and spent allot of the wilpon’s money in the process.
Next, it’ll be Castillo asking out because of bad gas. And that’ll also be Willie’s fault.
well, lets look at this a different way. At least we won’t have to see another collapse at the end of the season because they will be in fourth place by September.
He we go, another inning with two outs and nobody on, hit, hit , hit= runs.
It would have been nice to see Castillo lay out for that ball. He might not have caught it, but the effort would have been nice.-JD
Tomg: That’s keeping a positive thought.-JD
JD, yea, I can see it now, Castillo lays out for a ball, next, the disable list, dislocated shoulder.
If you can explain to me how to be positive after watching this team play .500 ball since june of last year and than the historic collapse, I would love to hear it.
Yes, the apology will go a long way, I’m sure. It erases everything.
JD,
this isn’t the yankees, this is the Mets.
Tomg: Yeah, you’re probably right.-JD
Tomg: I agree with you on Willie, but while Omar has made mistakes, he has made more good moves than bad.
Johan Santana, Ryan Church, Brian Schneider, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner and Carlos Delgado were all acquired on his watch.
Where Omar has made mistakes has been in the extrordinary dollars and lengths of contracts he extended to Julio Franco, Scott Schoeneweis, Guillermo Mota, Luis Castillo and El Duque. He foolishly dealt Brian Bannister, too.
tomg – but this team has been MEDIOCRE for 1 year by now, the lost to an inferior team in the nlcs, and they had the worst collapse in the history of baseball. sure, not everything should fall on willie but SOMETHING needs to change. the talent is obviously there!
Tiffany: About that apology. I called Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya and SNY for a response to the apology. They aren’t commenting. Isn’t it proper protocol to accept an apology? To me, offering no response is letting Randolph twist in the wind. That can’t be a good sign.-JD
By the way, even if people thought he was wrong, Willie shouldn’t have had to apologize for speaking his mind. I wish this country was free of the racial history it has had and that a person’s ethnicity never mattered to anyone. Unfortunately, to too many, it still does.
Gil in Savannah, GA,
Omar built this team to win now and IMO that ship sailed in 2006. Where is this farm system that Omar was going to build. I don’t want to hear that the mets have this guy and that guy and allot of them are in a ball or AA ball. I want my GM to build a good farm system and develop players. Build a foundation where we have players to build around. Omar has done nothing to build a good farm system. He bought a team to win now, can’t win that way. In every sport you need to develop your own players and than fill the holes through free agency.
Why does Endy Chavez and his .162 average have to bat second? I know managers like to have players comfortable in their roles and Church will be back soon. But Castillo has hit second before.
Down 3-1 feels like were are about to climb Mount Everest.
jd – i think its time for the papers to start giving willie the isiah treatment. what are your thoughts on this?
tomg: I agree with building from within, but in this day and age of big market teams needing to stay perpetually competitive to appease their demanding fans, would we be willing to patient and rebuild for the future? It’s hard for any GM to satisfy both needs. Even though he achieved it in a different era, that’s what made Frank Cashen the best GM the Mets ever had.
Big surprise. Pelfrey allows another longball.
I ask again, what did Mets scouts ever see in him?
Wright and reyes was not on Omar’s watch, Omar has done a bad job here. If Willie goes Omar should follow him out the door. The wilpon’s need to wake up and get people who know how to build a farm system and build a team that will not only be good for one year but for years to come. Doubleday brought in Frank Cashen back in the early nineties and Cashen build a ghood farm system and a met team that should have one more than one championship in the 80’s. Cashen was the same guy who built those good oriole teams in the late 60’s early 70’s.
Will the Mets win any games here?
Bring up the Class A Savannah Sand Gnats and send all the Mets down there right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob: I can’t give Willie the Isiah treatment unless I also give it to Omar. He’s as responsible for this as anyone.-JD
sorry, I meant doubleday brought cashmen in the early 80’s.
Why couldn’t the Braves have selected Todd van Poppel instead of Chipper Jones in 1990?
Annie: Do you mean in this series, this year, or ever?-JD
Mets will go 1-6 on this road trip!!!
tong: Then the question is, are you willing for the Mets to suck (more than they do now) with young, inexperienced players as we did from 1980 to 1984 until the system is rebuilt? Would you spend hard-earned money on cable TV packages and unprecedentedly expensive seats in Citifield to watch a team like that?
The way things are going, this year.
Gil in Savannah, GA,
I know I wouldn’t or won’t with this team, that I do know.
Surprise, surprise, suprise. Another hit, another run off Pelfrey. And there’s no one out. On the bright side, only 10 minutes ‘til the Lakers-Jazz playoff game on TNT.
I don’t pay extra for sny, where I live it’s on basic cable.
At some point, Willie will find that though he may be paranoid, it doesn’t mean the walls aren’t closing in.
Gil: Evidently, a lot of people are. Here’s something else to consider. Next year the Mets will move into a new park, which they will sell out every night. They’ll make a pile of money next season, win or lose. And, the people will come, win or lose.-JD
I was being facetious. If you’re going to apologize, the time to do it would have been Monday, before it hit the proverbial fan. Doing it two days later seems more like a face-saving gesture than anything genuine. The toothpaste is already out of the tube.
THIS TEAM DOES NOT DESERVE ITS LOYAL FANBASE LIKE US. THIS IS UTTERLY DISGUSTING AND DESPICABLE. PLEASEEEEE OMAR FIRE WILLIE NOWW! ALL THE PEOPLE WANT IS FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE!!!!! FIRREEE WILLIE NOWWWWWWWW! WHAT YOU SHOULD REALIZE IS YOU GIVE WILLIE ALL THIS MONEY AND ALL HE SAYS IS A BUNCH OF CRAP ABOUT YOU!! WILLIE’S MANTRA IS DONT FIRE ME BECAUSE ALL THE PEIOPLE WANT IS FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIREE!!! HES A MANAGER!!! FIIIRRREE IWLLIE NOWW! DONT LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! WERE LUCKY HE HASNT RUINED THE TEAM YET! DONT LEAVE WILLIE ALONE! PLEASE! wallace mathews talked about professionalism WELL HES ATLEAST BEING PROFFESSION FOR SHOWING HOW UNPROFFESSION WILLIE IS! DONT LEAVE WILLIE ALONE!!! PLEASE DONT LEAVE WILLIE RANDOLPH ALONE RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT! ANYONE WHO DOSNT HAVEA PROBLEM WITH HIM YOU DEAL WITH ME!! PLEASE@!! DONT LEAVE WILLIE ALONE!!
Gil – I used to complain a lot that my cable provider Cox didn’t carry SNY, and that ESPN, FOX, and TBS were blacked out.
Tonight, with no SNY and ESPN blacked out, I’m glad I’m not seeing this game…Howie is trying to be nice about this mess, but you can tell his heart isn’t in it.
Gil in Savannah, GA,,
another thing, the wilpon’s built the new stadium to hold 45,000 because they want to stop the normal fan from attending games and want to have the stadium seating for corporate only anyway.
5-1, game over, god this team stinks…
At least Family Guy is on..
Gil: I’m a throwback. I’m pulling for Celtics and Lakers. Bases loaded, no outs, down by four. I would think this might be the game right here.-JD
Bob: You’re slurring your words. Have you been drinking?
The stadium next year might be sold out because of corporate seating but I bet you it will be a ghost town.
Josh: Good call. They won’t change the TV monitor in the press box. Be sure you let me know what episode is on.-JD
Let’s Go, Lakers! CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!
The game right here? This game ended in the bottom of the third.
Bob – please turn off your CAPS LOCK key – we don’t need any screaming here.
“PTV” is my vote for best “Family Guy” ep, right up there to Peter’s reworking “The King and I.”
DON’T LEAVE WILLIE ALONE! PLEASE!
Tiffany: I got it. Yesterday would have been the appropriate time. Of course, not saying anything would have been the smartest thing of all.-JD
Why does everyone pick on poor Meg?
gil – I personally like the simpsons better than simpsons guy I mean family guy
This is pathetic…
Where are these guy’s heads?? They look lifeless and emotionally bankrupt…
I haven’t felt this terrible since the Scott Kazmir trade as a fan…
They’re just going through the motions… they are not playing baseball. This is NOT baseball!
they are kinda playing worse than they were during the collapse.
John – Is Jay Horowitz really still the Mets PR guy?
One of the things I like about Family Guy is it brought Adam West out of mothballs. Speaking of Adam West, remember the episode when he was surfing and had swimming trunks on over the Bat Suit?-JD
I think Willie should see the situation for what it is and be a man and tender his resignation. I would have more respect for him if he did that. Maybe we can salvage the rest of this season before it gets too late.
The voice of Meg, by the way, is Mila Kunis. Google her.-JD
DON’T LEAVE WILLIE RANDOLPH ALONE RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT! ANYONE WHO DOSN’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WILLIE YOU COME TO ME!
JD: No offense to you or other media members, but why do white reporters seem to get so defensive and agitated when a person of color says that race may be a reason why he or she feels unfairly treated?
It’s not as if there isn’t a precedent for thinking that way, even if the assertion is incorrect. In getting so worked up, it’s as reporters feel like they’re being made to feel guilty about the racism that has existed and still plays out in this country. It’s not their fault.
I agree that Willie is most definitely not being skewered because he’s African-American. But with this country’s tortured racial history, why would anyone be surprised at Willie’s candidly answering a question asked of him?
Would people prefer he lie?
And in fairness to Willie, I don’t often hear questions about “ability to lead” as much about white men, whether in sports, business or politics, as I do about men of color.
Your thoughts?
I saw Adam West in this old sci fi flick Robinson Crusoe On Mars, talk about weird…
Bob: “South Park” was great, too—until the dumb movie hit the big screen.
They just passed out a Mark Teixeira bobblehead doll in the pressbox. That’s fate, isn’t it? They wouldn’t do a bobblehead doll if they weren’t going to keep him, right?-JD
No, an apology doesn’t erase everything. But it will mend the damage. Enough so that Willie will at least remain manager of the team throughout this year unless they fall far out of first place.
I think most fans accept the apology. Supposedly it was the fans who the Wilpons were most concerned about.
Gil – You’ve got a point there. It’s also why Barack has had to tread so carefully and even avoid some of the states whose exit polling really shows racial biases.
Gil: Where did I come off as being agitated? Not sure I follow you there.-JD
gil – the simpsons were in their golden years id say season 3-12, the movie hit the big screen last yr, I wouldn’t say its ruined the series, it was actually better than the crap theyve had the past 4 seasons
JK – I’m sure it is the fans money that the Wilpons are concerned about, not the fans themselves.
Gil: In the case of Willie, I don’t see where race is an issue with him. In the case of some white reporters, they like to talk and write about race when it’s not an issue just so they have something to write about.-JD
Hey Gil…
We are as Bush likes to remind us quite often, the leaders of the civilized world. However, in America being civilized is turning a blind eye to our own uncivilized behavior. Some of the attrocities committed in our history pales in comparison to the reasons we point fingers at our enemies. It makes us feel good and sleep well at night to pretend we live in a perfect world in the US. We are the greatest country in the world, but that doesn’t make us as perfect and unbiased and fair as we like to believe we are.
Annie: If Barack Obama were white, he’d have clinched the Democratic nomination long ago.
But it makes me feel like we’re progressing as a country when millions of white voters have voted for him based on his views, his record, his values and his potential, rather than having any reservations about his ethnicity.
And for all the tlk about his inability to attract white middle class voters, unions representing both steel mill workers and today, miners, have officially endorsed Obama.
But in November, how many will step up to the plate and put their money where their votes are and vote for him if they belive he’s the best for the job?
The media constantly sks if white voters will vote for a black presidential candidate. Well, blacks have been voting for white presidential candidates since the 1964 Voting Rights Act was passed.
DON’T LEAVE WILLIE RANDOLPH ALONE RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT! ANYONE WHO DOSN’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WILLIE YOU COME TO ME!!
i cannnnnnnn not take this anymore. PLEASE JD DON’T LEAVE WILLIE RANDOLPH ALONE RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT! ANYONE WHO DOSN’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WILLIE YOU COME TO ME!
Turn out the lights…
This all Adam Wainwright’s fault!!
... the party is over.-JD
No response from Wilpons or Omar and another bad game.
I think Willie’s days are numbered and I’ll go w/what I said yesterday….a sweep here and Willie is not on the flight to Col.
JD: Your tone sounded as if you were, saying that Willie was “nuts” for thinking that race had something to do with his being scrutinized.
It sounded dismissive, as if it couldn’t possibly be happening.
As I said, I don’t belive racism is playing out here, in Willie’s treatment.
Racism is very hard to prove.
For people of color, trying to prove racism sometime to whites, it’s like being in a professional wrestling match and trying to convince the ref—who’s not looking—that your opponent is cheating.
I’m sure women and members of religious and ethnic minority groups also have trouble with having their claims believed. And I also feel for whites who believe they’re at the mercy of the “political correctness” gestapo if anything they may say may be perceived as ignorant or racist.
What we need is a frank dialogue on race and ethnicity to help heal our wounds. Bill Clinton called for it during his presidency, but unfortunately it didn’t get very far.
We’d be a much stronger country for it.
John –
I don’t believe that Willie has any racial issues himself, either. However this country still does – you have only to follow the campaign as I have over the past year and a half to see just how and where the pockets of prejudice are. Even the exit polling from Kentucky last night showed that.
This must really be an awful Mets game – I’m talking politics instead of sports…......
johan better be CYtana tomorrow. JD – is there any chance willie gets fired if they get swept here and in colorado? if thats the case I guess i’ll take it so that bum can leave
Willie could be purple w/ yellow stripes and not hear a peep from anyone if they were winning. We really need to get off the race topic as it pertains to this team.
If we were going to play this bad, I would have rather done it with Gotay at second base. Luis Castillo makes my blood boil… We rolled the dice on too many old players and each one has come back to bite us on the ass.
gil – what willie said was NUTS. Sure, of course there’s still racism in this country everyone knows that. But willie should have never said that regardless. Willie was NUTS for saying that and if he really thinks he’s getting chastized for his race not for the collapse, or etc etc then he’s in denial
Joe D: Amen, brother!
I love this country like I love my wife.
I love her with all my heart and soul, but sometimes what she does drives me absolutely crazy and she’s done a lot of meesed up things to me—as have I to her.
No marriage and no country is perfect, so we make the best of it and try and make it the best it can possibly be.
And I’m proud to live in a country where we can all express our opinions without fear that the secret police, the Ku Klux Klan or the CIA will knock down our doors for it.
You’re right Annie.
Annie: That’s a cynical way to look at things but you may be right. At any rate, I have to believe the Wilpons are satisfied with the statement he made.
Annie: Racism currently exists and will always exist in this country. It will never change. There will always be white against black and black against white. That’s because people are human, and a human quality is ignorance. It will never change. Never. It’s too bad, but that’s the way it is. ... And, as far as Willie is concerned, he’ll get fired eventually, like all managers do, because his team doesn’t win enough games. Personally, all apologies aside, I believe Willie really thinks that. He was spurned so many times that he takes criticism as being racial. That’s his own sensitivities. That’s his issue, not mine or any white reporter. Willie has been treated fairly, and in my heart I will always believe it.-JD
Bob: I think what he said was inaccurate, but not nuts.
What I wish Willie would’ve done instead of speaking to a reporter first about such a deeply sensitive and emotional issue would’ve been to talk to his friend and mentor, Frank Robinson, who could’ve told him how much more pressure he was under in the 1970s as MLB’s first African-American manager and counseled him not even to dignify the reporter’s question of whether ethnicity is a factor with a response.
It’s hard not to get emotional and say things that may be perceived by some as nuts when issues of race and gender are involved.
Is anyone saying Hilary Clinton is “nuts” for saying that the mostly male media has been sexist in covering her and her campaign?
Gil –
This white WASP woman from New England will be voting for Barack in November. I first heard him when he addressed the Democratic Convention in Boston in 2004. Went right out and bought “Dreams from my Father” and have read it several times. That book tells you his whole life story in his own words.
His whole campaign is about our better angels and he has really had to be careful about his own language, demeanor etc. because of his color. He has to operate on a higher level than the other candidates.
So far, thanks to the Secret Service and Barack and Michelle themselves things are going well so far. Although, I can’t get the horrors of 1968 out of my mind.
Yes, I’ll vote for him – when making a serious choice like that I look for the inner candidate, not the outer appearance.
JD – is there a way you can show willie our comments regarding him?
gil – but hillary has a poop to pick with. willie does not. I firmly believe that
JD: I’ve loved and will continue to love your writing and your blog. But to dismiss Willie’s feelings as “oversensitivity” is like me as a man saying that women are overly sensitive about the very sexist society we’re part of.
Only if we can walk a mile in someone else’s shoes does it give us the insight to truly appreciate someone else’s experiences or judge whether his or her claims are the byproduct of hypersensitivity or have merit.
And call me naive, but I have faith that racism will eventually—long after we’re all dead and gone—cease to exist in this country.
John – You are absolutely right about Willie. He’s really sensitive. That’s why I would like him to stay and to succeed. I hope that he can. And, I think that’s what his players want, too.
John, Gil etc. – When Willie spoke with Mike Francesa this afternoon, he said he thought his conversation with Ian O’Connor was off the record.
Annie: I wish my grandfather, who marched from Selma to Montgomery so all Americans would eventually be granted the right to vote, were alive to see Obama so near to earning the Democratic party nomination.
I’m currently reading his book “The Audacity of Hope” and I’m on my library’s waiting list to get a copy of “Dreams From My Father.”
I too, will happily vote for him—not because I too am African-American, but because he is a brilliant man with great ideas to move our country forward.
Watching Joe Smith I got to wondering. Did Craig Swan wear #35 too? So I looked it up. It was #27. As Dick Young wrote “Met coaches are teaching Swan how to get more of his body into his pitching motion. If they succeed he’ll throw harder than Nolan Ryan”. But looking at the 1978 roster on baseball almanac it occurred to me that Mike Pelfrey is the new Mike Bruhert.
What pitching product from the mets farm system has contributed the most in the last 20 years? Kazmir and Isringhausen did it for other teams and brought little in trade. Bobby Jones?
Let’s see if the Mets pitching staff can hold the Braves to doubkle digits.
I WANT WILLIE GONE I WANT HIM GONE RIGHT NOW!
Ruben Gotay has no homeruns, no RBI, and he could never play defense. Yeah, that’s exactly what this team is missing.
So am I Annie, and in my circle of friends. As an italian from Bensonhurst voting for Barak is likened to voting for Al Sharpton. I liked Obama since that Democratic Convention. I also like Harold Ford jr. from Tenn and one day he will make a presidential run too. I hope.
BTW this is getting ugly…
Does anybody have the over/under on how many home runs santana will give up in tomorrows game against the braves. I’m going with three, Santana will give up three home runs tomorrow, you heard it here first.
On another note, here are Mark Teixeira’s stats against the Mets this year, with that last hit: 15-for-29 (a .517 average), with 1 homer, 11 RBIs, 6 walks and 5 doubles.
I have a suggestion for all Mets pitchers: WALK HIM.
lets see if the supposed captain can light a fire under his teams ass if they hit him.
I give the Mets credit for trying hard. Those Braves hitters are really good. They only gave up 11 runs so far. They have 5 hits which is pretty good. I’m proud of them.
THE COMEBACK, IS OOOOOOOOONNNN
That’s the way to go Mets!!! See, they’re pretty good sometimes!! You guys are too hard on them.
Ladies and gentlemen meet your 2008 New Yorks Muts!!!!!
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, LETS GO METS! LETS GO METS! LETS GO METS!
Dan: Mike Bruhert? OUCH! I remember him.
Pelfrey to me is like Mark “Boom Boom” Bomback.
He wore #36. Remember that guy?
Who smells a comeback! Just some wishful thinking…
Can it get any worse than this?
Bob: Why is it that at Shea they no longer play that “Network” clip you referenced? At least I haven’t heard it while watching games on TV from Shea. I LOVE that clip.
Joe D and Gil –
Barnes and Noble has paperback copies of “Dreams of my Father” for about $15. I finally went and bought it because I kept wanting to look up stuff.
The other New York team is making a recovery tonight – they are beating Baltimore 8-0 in the 9th. Derek is playing with his hand wrapped like a boxer.
I remember Bomback… I’d much rather forget him though… lol
uhhhmmm jose and endy laughing?
If the Mets have any sense of pride, they’ll feel truly embarrassed by their play in the last three games. I’m just thinking of all the crap I’m gonna hear tomorrow from my co-workers, here in enemy territory…
They’d rather play everybody clap your hands, Gil….
Well, you all know the cream rises to the top and the s@@t flows to the bottom. I see florida won, philly is winning 12-2.
Johan Santana must be thinking what the hell did I get myself into…
The pressure will be on tomorrow…
ya or LETS GET IT DONE! CITI!
I’m really bad with stats – How many home runs has Santana given up in each of his appearances so far?
Joe D: On the list of awful Mets late-’70s, early ‘80s pitchers I submit: Ray Burris, Pete Falcone, Randy Jones, Dick Tidrow, Scott Holman, Charlie Puleo, Brent Gaff…
Gil in Savannah, GA,
well gill, look at the bright side, the braves won’t win a championship so they can laugh in atlanta all day because that is what is important to them is beating the mets, not winning a championship.
They just scored 2 runs. That’s pretty good. It’s not all about winning. Every one just cares about winning. Winning winning winning. Well I say if you get a few hits and score some runs its a good game and you should hold your head up high.
Nice to see the middle infielders and centerfielder mailing it in on that popup that harmlessly fell in center field…
11
11 homeruns
I think I knew this series would go badly when the Mets couldn’t even touch Glavine yesterday….......
I went to the Mets Single-A affiliate Savannah Sand Gnats game the other night and at least in defeat, they played with heart.
I’d call up reliever Brant Rustich right now to take Heilman’s spot. He can’t do much worse.
Gotay up with the bases loaded against Wagner. About the only thing interesting left in this game. Oops he made out. The Mets did not totally stink…..This inning.
I think the Mets play hard. You all don’t care about the players. All you want is wins so you can wear your Mets gear around and rub it in the faces of the Yankees fans. Well it doesn’t always work that way. They are trying their best. I give them an ‘E’ for effort. In fact I’m gonna send them a trophy for trying hard.
Yeah, they really do need to bring back the “Network” clip at Shea. I always got pumped when they showed Howard Beale, that mad prophet of the airwaves.
Blevin: The trophy should be made of toilet paper, ‘cause what they’re playing like, they can use the trophy to wipe up.
Another loss “in the Books” – Three games down – the Mets really need Santana to stop the bleeding tomorrow. Let’s hope he does.
Everyone: Thanks for creating interesting conversation—far more than this debacle we’re watching thankfully end. A warm, peaceful good night to our host JD and everyone else.
We’ll be united in misery again tomorrow night.
Mercifully it ends.
LEAVE WILLIE ALONE! ITS NOT HIS FAULT OMAR STUCK HIM WITH AN AGING TEAM THAT IS MORE INTERESTED IN COUNTING THEIR DOLLARS THEN WILLING BALL GAMES!
The collapse hasn’t ended, it just keeps on going like the rabbit in the battery commercial.
Gil: You are a better man than me. I hope you are right. I hope racism can be looked at in the past tense. Maybe being a journalist has jaded me, but I can’t see everybody having the same sensitivities and looking at things the same way. I wish I were wrong.
And no, I don’t know what being in Willie’s shoes is like. I’ve known Willie a long time and I never looked at him through racial eyes. I don’t see what he sees.-JD
As Willie said in his appology being a black man in america…
Whatever. I think he is frustrated. He is feeling the heat from people calling for his head. He said something he should not have said. However, in the scheme of things it aint that bad.
As DWright said they are mediocre. If they start winning he will be smiling like he was this weekend.
Regardless of what his GM did or did not give him the team needs to play better than this. That is his job and he knows that. He needs to find a way to motivate the players to execute.
If they make the routine plays and do what any professional ballplayer should do they will win. The problem is they are making too many mistakes. The top 4 ( except Church ) are not hitting well, their defense is not what it should be and the pitching is mediocre.
Hopefully Santana goes out and does what they paid him for.
Dave
Tomorrow’s game is the reason we paid Santana $140 million..
OT: Kobe Bryant is simply amazing…
Which one of you wants to shoot Old Yeller? Omar? Fred? How about you, Jeff?
Alou is going back to New York for a MRI on his calf, early prognosis is a strain calf. The mets are a old team thanks to Omar Minya. We have no farm system, washed up or injury prone players in Alou, El Duke, Martinez, Delgado, Castillo, Castro. Santana is being paid as the best pitcher in baseball and hasn’t yet come close to showing he is the best pitcher in baseball. I bet you if you look at Santana’s stats for this year he isn’t even in the top ten. The bull pen stinks, heilan is done, sanchez will never be the same pitcher again and except for wagner there is nobody else in the bull pen who is good. The bench stinks, this is the team that the Mets GM Omar Minya has built. I think met fans have the wrong idea, it should be Omar and his latino buddies who should be fired here, not Willie randolph.
Omar’s mistake was in looking at the first half of the decade and not realizing that the ban on greenies and steroids would make guys play their age again. Omar also deviated from the plan he promised. He told when he first got older guys that he needed them to allow the farm to produce and let the team get younger. Meanwhile, he has decimated the farm system so we cannot get younger. I fear that if we stay close his next act of desperation will be to gut the prospects in Binghamton to try one more time to win today. This team is in long range trouble, much more so than today.
Delcos: Re your statement; “I hope racism can be looked at in the past tense. Maybe being a journalist has jaded me, but I can’t see everybody having the same sensitivities and looking at things the same way. I wish I were wrong.”
We don’t need to have the same sensitivities and we don’t have to look at the world the same way to stop be racism. We just need to start repecting each other for being fellow humans and we need to see differences as God’s gift to us for keeping the world an interesting place. You may be right, it may never happen, but we don’t have to become the same for it to happen. That being said you should be commended for having a baseball site that can discuss such matters without the normal degradation into 4 letter words. I’m glad I found this site.
“TheGuvlovestheMets May 22nd, 2008 at 8:31 am
Omar’s mistake was in looking at the first half of the decade and not realizing that the ban on greenies and steroids would make guys play their age again. Omar also deviated from the plan he promised. He told when he first got older guys that he needed them to allow the farm to produce and let the team get younger. Meanwhile, he has decimated the farm system so we cannot get younger. I fear that if we stay close his next act of desperation will be to gut the prospects in Binghamton to try one more time to win today. This team is in long range trouble, much more so than today.”
Totally agree and if met fans don’t see this than I don’t know what else to say, enjoy the new ball park with a crappy team. Next year and the following years will only get worse. Mark Texiera will be a yankee next year, you can put that one in the books and the Mets will be even worse than this year and the years to follow. Omar should be the one to get fired not Randolph, met fans should wake up. I can understand why met fans are booing at shea stadium.
I am losing respect Mr. Delcos… I think Willie should stick to his guns. Tell me why are not all the “fans” calling for Girardi’s butt?? Supposedly a trained monkey could run the Yankees, because they are on auto-pilot and they are terrible..and this is NL Manager of the Year!! Ha I did not take the comment like he called Mets fans racist, but hey, if it smells like a duck?? I felt it was just a comment he made, we all get frustrated, do we not? (Remember what I do for a living Johnny !!!!! : )
Now Omar?? That is another argument for another time, and I think that the Wilpon’s refusal to return calls to him reeks of pretentious immaturity and unprofessionalism. After the ‘88 season, I quit watching baseball for a long time, but my love of the game pulled me back. I am starting to despise it again, just because of the shenanagins that go on. Even a lot of the fans are pathetic. At least there is the USA girls team playing now !!
tomg… You are 100% right on the mark !!!! Its Omar & “his boys”. That is where a lot of the problems and divide in the clubhouse are coming from… LoDuca’s comments last season?? Wagner, this season? One has to look no further than the comments coming from some of the other players.
Josh: Unfortunately there have been way too many games this year that would classify under the “Tomorrow’s game is the reason we paid Santana $140 million,” topic. :-(
Anyway, Jeff declining to comment obviously speaks volumes to how he feels about Willie at this time. I’m personally hoping they give Ken Oberkfell a shot at managing the big club.
Gil: How can you forget John Pacella? :-)
I really do hope that Jeff and Fred give some blame to Omar. I know it’s been pretty popular by alot of fans including myself to heap all the blame on Willie, but certainly Omar has put together a flawed team. From relying on guys like Alou and Pedro and Delgado to be very important cogs in this lineup, to never really fixing the bullpen (Matt Wise was never a good reliever and Duaner is coming off his surgery,) Omar has to foot alot of the blame.
Next year is shaping up to be worse too as they are going to have no one ready to replace Delgado at 1b, left field (sorry, F-Mart hardly looks ready and is injured,)and maybe be in need of a 3rd, 4th, and 5th starter if Perez leaves, Pedro is gone, and Pelfrey continues to be inconsistent. Omar better get his thinking shoes on to fill those holes and to also make darn well sure he doesn’t f-up this draft. I think it is safe to say that next year will be one of the most important years in the future of this franchise.
I have been reading with great amusement the harsh nature of the Willie tide, and the minimal assault on our GM. Many here defend Minaya regularly because he has brought so much new talent to the Mets. Minaya has indeed brought us a .500 ball club. If that’s the talent level you want from your GM then we have the right man for the job. Minaya is a failure because Minaya cannot see a guy’s deterioration. Minaya is a failure because he has less than mediocre subs to replace the aging players he brought here. Minaya is a failure because he doesn’t see that the NL landscape changes every year. He believes the talent level of 2006 will be the same forever. Minaya is a failure because he thinks that if he gets the big name in the Winter all is right with the world. Minaya is a failure because he rushes young talent, not just in New York, but at all levels, then trades them as guys who aren’t good enough to make it here. Randolph may indeed have to go, but his departure will not make Castillo a healthy 2nd baseman, will not make Carlos Delgado a 40 HR man, will not make Pedro or El Duque young healthy studs, will not give Alou his father’s health, will not undo the taxi accident of ‘06, will not make Heilmann a trusted reliever, will not make the bench become productive…....
Then there are those who say; where would we be without the trades? Would we be worse? Do we know? Would Jose be playing happier with a hustling Gomez at his side or with a Milledge who gets all the heat from the media, in the outfield, leaving him alone to be Jose? Would we be worse off with a less talented Gotay, hustling instead of the ex-All Star going thru the motions at 2nd? Would we be worse off with a young Flores learning along with the young pitching staff we would have had? Gee we might have been in 4th place instead of being in 4th place…... But then we’d at least have a future, like we did in 68 and 84. Now we have no flag to wave and no future to look forward to.
History will repeat itself here and willie will be blamed by omar for the teams troubles. Then when it is realized that the teams troubles are not just from the manager, Omar will get the boot.
Sound familiar? It’s b/c it has happened before. And it is b/c that is how the Mets operate. An org that goes up and down like a roller coaster and can never be a consistent winner b/c they have never develop talent on a consistent basis.
I’m now afraid that the top of the roller coaster was 06 and we are headed down a 5yr slope of bad teams.
Yes, I blame Omar for last September’s collapse. He foolishly put together a 145-game team, instead of one which could endure a full 162-game schedule.
I disagree – while I think Omar was shortsighted in putting together the team (Pedro was out for most of the season and they knew about it, failing to address the BP issues before Sanchez reinjured himself and signing mota AFTER he got pinched, Moises – nuff said), it was WILLIE who ran the bullpen into the ground the last few days, it was WILLIE who refused to sit the starters when the team went to a 40-man. He conveniently forgot about that aspect. Meanwhile someone like Phil Humber was left to languish in the pen and the management had to force his hand in making him start in a lose-lose situation against the Nats. The only players performing, ironically, were Alou and Castillo. In fact, I would say the year would have been WORSE if Omar didn’t get the likes of John Maine and Oh Pea, who collectively won 30 games and were league-leaders in ERA. But I do agree, however, that based on the events of last year that Omar did even LESS to improve the state of the team. I also say his biggest hiccup that will come back to haunt us the Rule V Draft with Jesus Flores – he knew people on the Nats openly coveted him but rumor has it he was protecting his “buddy” Julio Franco. Who he let go anyway. Catchers don’t age well and it was obvious LoDuca wasn’t in the long term plans and I doubt Schneider is either. If not entirely Omar’s fault someone’s head SHOULD have rolled as a result of that move alone.
At this point in the season, nothing will improve unless all of the starters can go 8 innings every game without giving up 2+ homeruns per start, Delgado stops doing his “nice guy Pedro Serrano” impression from the movie, “Major League”, the Mets make their bench resemble less like a second baseman’s retirement home, and, more something like a group of legitamite hitters. While we are on the subject of retirement homes, my leg hurt today, but, I did not walk away from my job. If the average person did that at their job, they would not get paid, and, probably would be told to “keep walking”. I have much more respect for Church, who after being kneed in the head just the night before, still wanted to play. I am glad that they rested him for his own good, but, very much appreciate his trying to make a difference.
The coop,
Your wrong. Like Bill Parcells said. If they want me to cook the dinner then let me do the shoping. Omar has to take a lot of blame. Do you think Willie wanted Castellio signed to a long term deal and playing second base? Who put together the bullpen that collapsed last year? you say Williw ran the bullpen in the ground the last couple of days. You think Willie wants to pull these guys out after going on 5 innings? Let Willie have some say on picking the players. When Willie was with the yankees he was a grinder, heck just about all of the yankees were grinders. How many grinders do you think he has on this team? Delco could ask him about players but after getting thrown under the bus by Ian O’conner I’m sure he wont give you an honest answer. And yes, O’Conner would throw a puppy under the bus to write a story with a little controversy to it. Even if he was told it was off the record.
Tiffany Omar didn’t build a team to last for most of 2007. He built a team to win in 2006. He was lucky to get 2 extra months out of it in 2007. The mediocre team he developed languished from 1 June on, waiting to be caught. It languishes today, waiting to be broken up.
Coop, the bullpen wasn’t run into the ground by Willie in September. the bullpen was a disaster waiting to happen from day 1 when Omar stocked it with such non entities as Sele and Schoeneweis and Burgos, and replenished it with talent such as Mota and Sosa.
To TheGuvlovestheMets: Thanks for stopping by and your kind words. I hope you will join us often.-JD
The Coop: At least someone sees the other side of the picture. Willie’s lack of use of Humber last September made me crazy. For that matter it seemed that he had no use for any of the September call ups.
The people posting on this site who think the talent on this team is the same as late 70’s are just frustrated.
Look Willie is most likely only a small part of the problem,
but he is the easiest one to change and also to pacify the fans at this moment.
Omar is also part of the problem but with the June draft days away it is most unlikely that he would lose his job right now. As I have said before this draft will save his job or will cost him his job.
The truth is the players are most responsible. A lot of heads will roll at the end of the year when contracts are up.
One last thing the other great team of 2006 the Tigers are in just as bad of shape. They were also built to win this year. The only difference is Leyland has a reputation as a great manager and this may be the only reason he is not under more pressure.
Listen Willy had to get defenseive about this whole situation its bullshit what the new york media does to every player team coach etc let tehm play the game the season is not even close to being over! The players just have to go out there and play like they did to get to the bigs remember were they came from!
i love my mets but the fans with exception to certian people are the dumbest fans in baseball to the phillies fans let the fucking team play your not going to win the pennant or world series in the first 44 games