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Friday, June 20, 2008

N.Y. Daily News: Willie Randolph opens up after his recent firing as Mets manager

I thought I’d at least get to the next Yankee series, or the All-Star break maybe.

Heck, just Sunday night, before we left to fly to California, Omar and I had a heart-to-heart near the trainer’s room.

I said to him, “Listen, I know you are under a lot of pressure, that there’s stuff going on. If you feel you want to do this now, go ahead and do it.

“But don’t make me get on the plane if I’m not the guy you want.”

OMAR GRABBED my hand and told me not to think like that; things were still being evaluated. I gave him every opening, but for whatever reason he didn’t want to take it.

Maybe he just hadn’t decided, I don’t know. But when I got on the plane, there was no way I was thinking that I was one game away from termination.

...I won’t lie to you. I don’t like the way the Mets handled my firing. I think it was pretty weak. I think I would’ve deserved better if my record had been 0-555, not 302-253.

0-555? Move over Salty Parker.

Repoz Posted: June 20, 2008 at 06:25 AM | 23 comment(s)
Related News: General, NY Mets

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1. Tom D Posted: June 20, 2008 at 06:54 AM (#2826739)

They really should have fired Wille between games of the day-night double header next Friday.

2. Lassus Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:01 AM (#2826740)

I'm not sure Willie needed to get on his horse here, he was getting sufficient support as it was. But I think it will work.

Maybe Hank will HIRE him between the games of the day-night double-header. I'm just not really sure he has any of the OCD joy/sense of humor that his dad has, just the mouth.

3. Aspiring One-Armed Economist (6 - 4 - 3) Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:10 AM (#2826743)

They really should have fired Wille between games of the day-night double header next Friday.

Heck, they should have done it in the middle of a game. Make a real spectacle out of the whole thing.

Say Randolph goes out to make a pitching change, but as he approaches the mound, up on the Jumbotron appears Omar Minaya telling him that he's fired, Donald Trump style.

4. Roadblock Jones Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:10 AM (#2826744)

I am sure they didn't mean it but making Willie a martyr with this firing was the best thing the Mets could have done for him.

5. Neil Kinnock...Lord Palmerston! (Orinoco) Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:11 AM (#2826745)

There's a guy who's never getting another job managing.

It's ok. We all see that chip on your shoulder, Willie.

6. Sid Hārtman Gautama Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:13 AM (#2826746)

Make a real spectacle out of the whole thing.

Yeah, unlike the low-key reality...

7. Harris Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:35 AM (#2826748)

Thought this was pretty neat piece. Not often that you get this from a recently axed manager.
He managed to not say anything derogatory in his interview, and still paint the front office as incompetent.

8. Lassus Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:37 AM (#2826749)

It's ok. We all see that chip on your shoulder, Willie.

Uh, really? I don't see that the decision to fire him was a problem, and honestly, unlike a number of Willie supporters, I don't even think the WAY he was fired was as worthy of the level of negative press that it's gotten.

But as far as seeing a chip on his shoulder, a chip that we all see, I'm not at all. He may be a little over-enabled by this reaction he's getting, but I'm not seeing an over-developed sense of entitlement. Am I missing something?

9. Raskolnikov Posted: June 20, 2008 at 07:57 AM (#2826753)

Very sincere, classy piece by Randolph. Personally, I would have given myself a 2 week vacation before writing about anything that meant a great deal in my life; I find that the time apart does a lot for perspective and giving myself a distance from the issue at hand.

But still - this piece pretty much summarized the Randolph tenure - never quite on top of everything going on, always a bit surprised with the outcome, but dealing with the outcome with class and stick-to-it ness. I hope he manages another team someday, just not the Mets.

10. Neil Kinnock...Lord Palmerston! (Orinoco) Posted: June 20, 2008 at 08:22 AM (#2826760)

He may be a little over-enabled by this reaction he's getting, but I'm not seeing an over-developed sense of entitlement. Am I missing something?

Never met the man but I'm sure he's a decent person. Willie never had a chance to manage before the Mets supposedly because of difficulty in interviews. In hindsight it's not hard to see why. The man is so damn sensitive. It's ok to self-consciously carry yourself with dignity. But it would help to brush off past slights, real or imagined, and have a sense of humor once in a while. Even at the height of his popularity Willie couldn't let go of the cheapstake Reds or "all those teams that interviewed me". "Their loss!" Worse still, he carries this silly stiffness both on the field and in the clubhouse.

There are two sides to the obnoxiousness associated with the Yankees organization and their fans. One side is the Stein clan jackassery. Willie represents the other strand, the constant self-importance, both self-aware and oblivious at the same time.

11. Ryan Jones Posted: June 20, 2008 at 08:48 AM (#2826772)

Willie never had a chance to manage before the Mets supposedly because of difficulty in interviews. In hindsight it's not hard to see why.

He had a chance before, as he was offered the Reds job. He turned it down because he could make more money as a coach on the Yankees, once his playoff share was included.

It was that choice to turn down a job that put him back, more than his interview skills - GMs/owners don't like being shown up.

12. Neil Kinnock...Lord Palmerston! (Orinoco) Posted: June 20, 2008 at 08:59 AM (#2826788)

And he carried that grudge all through his Mets tenure. It was unseemly when he first mentioned it. It bordered on disturbing when he had a little success and mentioned it more.

He was to proud to refrain from showing up owners and probably too oblivious that the showing up was bad for his reputation and career.

13. bob gaj Posted: June 20, 2008 at 10:44 AM (#2826869)

interesting tidbit: willie's house was on the market a few months ago, but was pulled off it.

http://www.sell.com/2ZTSB

(it was listed elsewhere in march, 2008)

14. Shooty Is A One Man Legion Posted: June 20, 2008 at 10:47 AM (#2826872)

interesting tidbit: willie's house was on the market a few months ago, but was pulled off it.

Not surprising. The real estate market is a farking mess right now.

15. Esoteric can feel Strasburg slowly slipping away Posted: June 20, 2008 at 01:19 PM (#2827118)

I can't see how this piece puts Willie in a bad light. He handles himself really well despite the public humiliation of what the Mets put him through.

16. Swedish Chef Posted: June 20, 2008 at 02:01 PM (#2827155)

Gibbons out, Gaston in.

17. Shooty Is A One Man Legion Posted: June 20, 2008 at 02:05 PM (#2827159)

Gibbons out, Gaston in.

Cito? Whoa!

18. PreservedFish Posted: June 20, 2008 at 02:07 PM (#2827163)

Cito Gaston? I thought he was blackballed or something. That's awesome.

19. Does Aaron Hill Have To Smack A Pitch? Posted: June 20, 2008 at 02:07 PM (#2827165)

Gibbons out, Gaston in.

Let's party like it's 1989!

20. Vogon Poet Posted: June 20, 2008 at 04:51 PM (#2827542)

You've heard of Black Friday? Well, this was my Black Tuesday.

Really, Willie?

21. Shock Posted: June 20, 2008 at 04:55 PM (#2827551)

"Public humiliation." Jesus Christ. You'd think Randolph is the only manager of all time to ever be fired.

Gibbons just got ####-canned while on the road too. It happens.

22. Raskolnikov Posted: June 20, 2008 at 05:01 PM (#2827561)

I figure that this Willie-Mets thing was like a rocky relationship. It had its ups and downs, and it went on for longer than it should have. And boy, was the breakup messy (but necessary).

I'm not surprised that there is a subtle undertone of bitterness in this Willie column. Actually, it reassures me in the sense that he did care a great deal about his job. But that's why if I were in Willie's shoes, I would have held off on writing a column until a couple of weeks later. The wound's still too fresh.

23. alex perros gives up the ghost Posted: June 20, 2008 at 06:49 PM (#2827697)

You've heard of Black Friday? Well, this was my Black Tuesday.

It's always about race with Willie.

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Friday, June 20, 2008

N.Y. Daily News: Willie Randolph opens up after his recent firing as Mets manager

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