Friday, April 25, 2008

Willie Immunity?

Being a manager/coach for a pro sports franchise here in NYC is a very tough job. You are under the microscope with it turned up 100x more then anywhere else and the media have no problem throwing you under the bus. It is a hostile atmosphere, especially if your losing. But, when you win as a manager/coach, there is no other place to be. You win here in NYC, you are a superstar. So understanding that when your good, your untouchable, it goes the other way when your bad in NYC. Coaches and managers here in NYC have seen the pink slip plenty of times. Mets, Knicks, Jets, Giants, Rangers, Islanders and even the Bills in Buffalo have all had their losing streaks and seasons and have seen their head coaches fired because of it. So you would think that when a pro baseball team (the Mets) give away their division lead of 7 games at the end of season (2007) and then proceed to lose so much they don't even make the playoffs, the manager would lose his job right? NOPE!!! Willie Randolph not only kept his job but amazingly was exempt from blame. Unbelievable. The Mets secured the biggest collapse in baseball history last year and no heads rolled. No one last their job, no one got traded, nothing like that. Not only did everyone stay put, the GM, Omar Minaya, gave contract extensions to some of the oldest players, who are eligible for the blame for the collapse. How is Willie Randolph still the manager of the NY Mets??? I am completely dumbfounded. He showed last year that he is clueless when it comes to managing pitchers and situations for pitchers during games. He also shows that he can not and will not take any responsible for anything when he is interviewed by the media. He never shows emotion after a loss, he never gives answers as to why he makes certain decisions. How has he held up here in NYC for so long? Does he know the secret age of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and is keeping it to himself? Does he know who really shot JFK? I mean come on, he now has continued to be a bobble head in the dugout this season, making decisions that have cost us games. As recent as last night (April 24th), against the Washington Nationals, Willie showed he is dumb when he's faced with game decisions. Oliver Perez, the starting Mets pitcher, had given some runs and allowed the Nationals to tie the game at 3-3. Perez had allowed a couple of baserunners, but it was early and he could have tried to fight his way out of the jam. The next batter was ex-Met Lastings Milledge, who is a righthanded batter. Big deal right? So what if he is a right handed batter. If your the manager and you know your bullpen has been horrible so far this year, you have try to get what you can out of you starter. But, alas, slick Willie makes a pitching decision and removes Perez for.....hold your breath...Aaron Heilman. Heilman could be the worst reliever in the majors. I think he has the talent to be good, but I think he wants to be a starting pitcher and the organization won't hear of it, so Heilman is in his own head making himself crazy. Of course you must know how this whole situation ended up. Heilman walked Milledge to load the bases and then gave up a Grand Slam, to give the lowly Nationals a 7-4 lead and eventually the win. Thanks Willie and Aaron. You guys are like George Bush and Dick Chaney, continually screwing the little guys. I am very upset as you can tell, and the only thing that can cure this is to get Bobby Valentine out of Japan and back as the manager of the NY Mets. Thats it, bring back Bobby V. Thanks folks.

No comments: