Minaya: “It was my call.”
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- June
- 17
Mets general manager Omar Minaya said it was his decision only to fire manager Willie Randolph last night.
“It was my decision to hire Willie Randolph, and it was my decision to fire Willie Randolph,’’ Minaya said. “It was my decision. It was my call.’’
Minaya said he told Randolph after Sunday’s doubleheader that he would make a decision this week to either keep him on or make the change.
Minaya said he made the decision Monday morning before flying to Anaheim.
Minaya summoned Randolph to his hotel room where he informed the manager. Shortly thereafter, he offered the job to bench coach Jerry Manuel.
Minaya said he reasoning was the atmosphere of uncertainty that was around the club that overwhelmed the clubhouse this weekend.
Minaya also said Randolph was not entirely to blame and he took responsibility.
“I feel full responsibility,’’ Minaya said. “I hired Willie Randolph. I had a vested interest in Willie Randolph doing well. Willie Randolph is a reflection of my judgment.’’
Minaya said Manuel would have the job for the remainder of the season.
“It’s an opportunity you can’t pass up,’’ Manuel said. “You have to take that opportunity. If Willie were in my shoes he would do the same thing.’’
Manuel said the team never overcame last season’s collapse, and while Randolph’s position was to attempt to put it behind the team, he said he would have done the opposite.
“I would have reminded the team of it,’’ Manuel said. “I would have used it as a spring board.’’
Manuel said one of his first priorities is to determine defined roles in the bullpen.
Manuel said Luis Aguayo would serve as third base coach and Ken Oberkfell would be the first base coach. Sandy Alomar Sr., will move from third base coach to bench coach.
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on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 6:42 pm by John Delcos.
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One plus comes out of this… it gets Alomar off the 3rd base lines. Don’t know anything about Aguayo. Wouldn’t Oberkfell be better suited for 3rd base coach?
If you don’t know anything about Aguayo how can you say wouldn’t Oberkfell be better suited for 3rd base?
Minaya made an excellent case to fire himself. He gave no specifics of why he fired anybody. Near the end he finally complained about the bullpen, fine, so what did Nieto have to do with it? FIRE OMAR NOW ALSO. He said over and over that the manager he just fired was a reflection of his own judegement. FIRE OMAR NOW.
Does he really expect people to believe that he couldn’t fire Willie over the weekend because no decision was made until Monday morning but in a few hours he could miraculously find a new coaching staff, and supposedly find replacement staff at New Orleans, and spend hours in the air and then hide in a hotel so nobody would have suspicions. Omar is a liar and a bad GM. FIRE OMAR NOW ALSO.
I liked Manuel’s conference better altho I only saw the beginning. I liked the fact that he told Wright he isn’t playing 3B tonight. I liked the fact that he said he needed to define bullpen roles better. I think it makes no difference because Omar gave NY a really over paid team so again I say, and will continue to say just as the Willie haters said forever, FIRE OMAR NOW.
I think I asked a question not made a statement about Oberkfell.
guv – with all due respect this is how it works now, in the past, and forever. you put a team in place, it doesn’t play well and you fire the manager. put one more in place and if it doesn’t work you go. you always get the chance.
klapisch said willie lost the club house a long time ago. let’s see if jerry can win it back.
Obie had the 3B duties in NoLa. I like what Manuel had to say today. hope now the players can concentrate on baseball
Moving Alomar out of the 3rd base coaching box is a good move.
How many articles would be written about the Mets being classless if they had fired him on Father’s Day? As far as this being Minaya’s decision alone, please. Joel Sherman talked to a number of former Mets employees and they are feel this has the Wilpon’s fingerprints all over it.
I don’t believe much of what Klapisch says.
I was very impressed with Manuel. In particular, I think he was on the money about the September collapse and how Willie’s attempts to bury it in the past may have backfired against the team. That, to me, was the single, most important admission of the day.
The second biggest admission were his frank words about leadership and how it should develop on this team.
I have no idea what type of in-game manager he’ll be with the Xs and Os, but I thought he deftly defined the off-the-field issues facing this team.
I liked his approach to the collapse also. Its on their minds anyway so use it. That was a recurring theme of Willie’s mental approach. Ignore the reality. I don’t think it works.
Thanks clm… I really never knew this without your brilliant history lesson. But there are some organizations that have entered a new Century and used their brains and fire the person who put the team in place. See the Seattle Mariners. They fired their GM who did a lousy job. So antiquated person, it is not the way it is always done. The world is changing except with backward people. Like the Wilpons and Minaya. If you never changed the way the world worked MLB would still be played by all White people, and if it never changed there would never be a Willie or Omar to get fired and my hero the Guv certainly would not be the Guv. Your lecture is insulting and with all due respect back to you always will be.
the choice was definitley the right one to fire willie, but as the analysts on espn said, the timing couldnt have been worse. our next 14 games are against teams who are over .500 (cardinals, phillies, yankees, angels). i mean, like i said, the correct choice was made at the wrong time because whether or not it will help the team in the long run remains to be seen (most of us will agree that it will), but the fact is, in the short run- this insanely difficult 14 game stint- it’s going to cause a lot of turbulence, and there’s a likelihood that we’ll be out of the nl east and wild card races before its over.
anyone agree?
From wire services: “The Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasi yesterday, as the team lags with the worst record in baseball after starting the season with playoff hopes.
Vice president/associate general manager Lee Pelekoudas will assume Bavasi’s duties.
“Change is in order,” Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln said in a release. “We have determined new leadership is needed in the GM position. With a new leader will come a new plan and a new approach. A search will begin immediately for a permanent GM, and Lee will be a candidate for the position.”
How about that. FIRE OMAR NOW ALSO
agee, the problem I have w/ the timing of this has less to do w/ their upcoming opponents then the fact, and it is a fact, that the Mets tried to do this in the middle of the night 3000 miles away from Shea in order to avoid taking any heat. As usual, they miscalculated.
http://www.myteamrivals.typepad.com/mr_mets_daily
Guv – What a crack up you are. And what a crack baseball man. I forgot that the world revolves around your leadership. It appears that all of the baseball teams that let you go over the years really screwed up.
What a smart guy you are. I really like your thoughtful inciteful knowledge of the game of baseball. And what a gentleman also. Thanks for taking me out behind the woodshed. I really needed that from you. Wow!!! I mean I have always loved your thoughtful critique of the Mets. You go man!!! Keep up the good work we are all counting on your experience and management style to keep us all focused on the task at hand.
Fire Omar. Wow another great inciteful quote from the guv. We need to ponder this thought and the great mind behind it. In fact the guv needs to be interviewed by the Wilpons right now. That would save the Mets. Please stop making think so hard guv!!! I never could have done it without you – so
Fire Omar Now!!! Wow that felt great. I’ll say it again, and remember the Mariners did so we must too—FIRE OMAR NOW. Orgasmic!!! C’mon everyone get on board. You have to try this.
clm… You wrote a message directed at me personally (and not even factual) and you expected what, a blessing in return? How about looking in the mirror next time you decide to assault someone personally.
Nice lineup: Delgado batting 5th. Trot Nixon benched already against a righty in favor of Marlon Anderson. Fire Willie! Oh crap, did that done that…. Fire Jerry!
First off I did not direct anything negative at you Lt. Gov. I simply stated that Omar was not going yet. It was in response to something you said but wasn’t any type of attack on you. It’s something that we do in a blog.
Second off you come back with B.S. which is what you always do to others. But bless you for overreacting and showing what a foolish blogger you are. I just read it again and not only do I not see anything directed at you there was nothing negative directed at you. I think you do protest too much. Get over yourself. How’s that for looking in the mirror.
Oh, yeah, thanks for the lessons on that great club out west the Mariners. I really feel we should do all that they do as well.
You know I had a bad day and that all felt good.
Angels TV announcers Rory Markas and Mark Gubicza are already mocking Omar Minaya at his press conference earlier today, as they played the clip of Omar saying: “I believe Willie Randolph will get another managing job. I believen he SHOULD get another managing job.”
“Yeah,” Markas said, “I guess just not the one he had.”
Gubicza then clowned Minaya for saying the move “isn’t about Willie Randolph.”
“Obviously, it’s about Willie Randolph,” Gubicza said, then added that none of the myriad managerial changes he experienced in Kansas City when he pitched for them turned the Royals around.
Uh-oh.
There goes the season.
If Reyes comes out of this game, we’re officially toast.
Oh, well at least new first base coach Ken Oberkfell is making himself useful.
Oh, wow. Nice to see Manuel has the respect of his players, as Reyes stalks away from him and then throws away his helmet.
Welcome to the madness, Jerry.
I will quote your first three letters of your post …..... “G U V”. So who was it directed at??? Delcos??
Has anyone asked Omar if he realizes how badly this whole affair was handled?
He gets an F this month. First Church and now this firing.
You know what douche bag why don’t you let it go. I didn’t direct anything at you I responded to something you said. Now I am through so go play elsewhere. You are really something else.
Minaya made a big point today of saying how this was his call, but the truth is it wasn’t all his. When he came to Denver a few weeks ago, he said a decision on Randolph would be a joint one. That didn’t change. He fell on the sword today to protect his bosses.-JD
JD – Jerry Manuel said some things today that I really liked. Ron and Gary were just talking about how Randolph didn’t change as the clubhouse did with Valentin, Floyd, and Pedro all out or gone last year. Do you agree?
Manuel still has his work cut out for him with Church and Alou out. Obviously Santana is not on top of his game tonight but I still see some lackadaisical play and he will have to get on top of this quick.
Appears that he did some work with Reyes in the clubhouse and I hope that went well.
Thanks.
clm…. saying things like douche bag make you feel like a man???? Tough guy… oooh…. You are pathetic.
You’re right I apologize that was uncalled for.
Peace then.. Its been a bad day and this crappy game ain’t making it better. I’m sure I over reacted to you.
Peace for sure and I’m out cannot stay up to watch another bad game. Later
All that and they lost. Its not the manager!! Never was. Manuel is ok. But the team is the same.
How do you know for sure that it wasn’t Omar’s decision? Just that 1 comment in Denver? I believe him. I think it was his decision alone.
Taylor: If you are familiar with NY at all, then I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
..have to comment on how sick it makes me to read the beat writers raking the Wilpons over the coals for how Willie was fired. Oooooohhhh, they made him get on a plane to the coast and then fired him! Look, the Wilpons employed Willie at millions per year, he is at their disposal. They paid for his flight to California, and I’m sure his return flight, as well as his time. Who cares what coast he gets fired on???? He had to pay for the late season collapse and failure to rebound this season. This is the way baseball works, always has, why are these sensationalist writers so shocked?? Because it makes good copy that’s why. Simply disgusting…..
Flatbush, I agree with you. There wasn’t anything to wrong with the way the fired. Like you said it really doesn’t make a difference. The only thing is that I think the team was starting to play better.
The way you handle yourself in tough situations says a lot about you as a person.
In this case the Mets organization, regardless of who really pulled the trigger shows that they do not care. This is how they treat someone who tried to do his best and although he put the race thing out there a short time ago, for the most part comported himself well.
In Willie’s exit he did not trade insults and I salute him for that. Regardless of his performance Willie deserved to be treated like the man that he is rather than a dog.
When the Mets try and get people to come here and they choose another team because they want to be treated like a person rather than a piece of paper I will not complain about it.
Everyone has a price, but when everyone makes a ton of money you can always choose to go to a place where they treat you like a human being.