MLB Fastball 06.21.08: Randolph’s Firing Mishandled
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 06.21.2008
Omar Minaya had weeks to turn speculation into truth and fire Willie Randolph. Instead of choosing the right time and place, he decided to let the Mets’ 18th manager in team history go one game into a series in Los Angeles in a hotel room at midnight. In this edition of MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein shares his thoughts on the situation, as well as Derek Jeter being labeled the league’s most overrated player and Curt Schilling’s potentially career-ending surgery.
Randolph's Improper Sendoff
Mets Long-Expected Firing Handled Unexpectedly
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/Getty Images
The New York Mets let go of Willie Randolph at midnight pacific time following a game in Los Angeles.
After weeks of speculation that Willie Randolph was going to get the hook by New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya, it took him boarding a plane and heading all the way across the United States for Minaya to actually do it. Instead of taking advantage of several opportunities while the Mets were home, or at least not so far from New York, Minaya had to end his procrastination and personally fire his "friend" in a California hotel room at 12 o' clock in the morning. If I were Randolph, I'd find the Steve Austin treatment – a phone message – less insulting.
I don't want to say letting Randolph go was the wrong move. While I definitely don't think the Mets' poor performance was his fault, a manager is always the automatic scapegoat. It's easier to relieve a manager of his duties than to dump a GM or move players, especially those with high-priced contracts. Also, nothing modifies the culture in a clubhouse more than changing the man in charge of it. And since the Mets weren't going to make player moves, nor drop Minaya at this point, Randolph became the easy out. And since something had to change, that option had to be pursued. But there were plenty of better ways to it.
In an interesting move, Randolph relayed his accounts of the incident to the The New York Daily News on Friday. On the one hand, he didn't really see the move coming. If anything, he thought pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto would get the ax, which they ended up getting as well. But Randolph also claims to have given Minaya the option of letting him go before boarding a plane to Los Angeles.
"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."
While just one person's account, that seems like a classless move to me. That's not to say Minaya is classless, because I don't think he is. The man has been under a lot of pressure to get this ship turned around, and I'm sure he waited to pull Randolph because he wanted to give him everybody opportunity to get the team on the right track. But then why, after defeating the Angels 9-6 and winning three of their last four games did Minaya feel that was the best time to do? How was that the day he woke up and realized Randolph had to go? Why couldn't he have made this decision before Randolph got on the plane – like he justifiably requested? I bet if the Mets don't make the playoffs and the Wilpons prepare to replace him with current Vice President Tony Bernazard, Minaya will want his dismissal to be handled in a much different manner.
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/AP Photo
Jerry Manuel was promoted to interim manager following Randolph's firing.
Regardless, both Randolph and the Mets move forward. The Mets have replaced Randolph with Jerry Manuel, who was promoted from bench coach to take over as manager on an interim basis. A good remainder of the season will likely assure Manuel a permanent role at the helm. As manager of the Chicago White Sox from 1998-2003 and staking claim to the AL Manager of the Year Award in 2000, Manuel comes in with enough managerial experience and knowledge of the Mets' system and culture as bench coach to make this move as smooth a transition as possible. Though it's too early to judge the effectiveness of this change, the Mets are on a two-game win streak and have taken two out of three under Manuel's rein. Manuel has also asserted his authority by removing Jose Reyes in the first inning of his first game as the team's 19th manager despite objections from the star shortstop.
For Randolph, it's time to reflect and prepare for his next run in the MLB. This won't be his last rodeo and he will definitely find another team that wants him as manager. He may need to take some coaching jobs first, and perhaps going back to the Yankees or taking a job with Joe Torre in Los Angeles with the Dodgers is in his more immediate future. Or, a new lead role could come is way by next season. Whatever the case, Randolph will be a manager again someday. And hopefully he'll be treated a little bit better than the Mets treated him on his final day.
Derek Jeter – Captain. Future Hall of Famer. Overrated?: Every now and again, some media outlet feels a necessity exists for some radical poll that is completely irrelevant. This time, Sports Illustrated decided it was a good idea to poll Major League players about who they feel is the most overrated player in the MLB. Of the 495 respondents, 10 percent declared that man to be New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Huh?
Jeter may not be the best player in baseball and does sometimes get more credit for his defense than he deserves. He also doesn't hit home runs in enormous numbers, which people will tend to hold against players. But he also has four World Series rings and is constantly considered one of the most clutch players in the game. Calling Jeter overrated is either mass jealousy or sheer insanity.
Jeter is not the only player unnecessarily called out. New York Mets third baseman David Wright, who is a career .307 hitter with over 100 RBIs in each of his last three seasons, and Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who has not only become a tremendous bat behind Manny and Big Papi but also provides a great glove at first, also ended up high on this list at a tie for fourth with four percent of the vote each. San Francisco Giants "ace" Barry Zito was second with nine percent, even though it's hard to consider a player overrated when it's already been established that he's pretty … well, terrible. Alex Rodriguez and J.D. Drew landed in third with seven percent of the vote each – the former of which is only accurate in the playoffs and the latter falling into the same category as Zito.
These 495 surveyed players probably voted based on salary because there's no way they based it on the way a player is perceived compared to the way a player performs on the field, i.e., being over/underrated. Jeter doesn't really seem to care, as he shouldn't. It's a ridiculous survey to begin with. But just to know that at least 49 players in the league actually think Jeter is overrated gives some insight to how dumb some ballplayers can be.
Curt Schilling Season/Career-Ending Surgery: While that career-ending part is not necessarily set in stone, it's possible that Curt Schilling's season-ending right shoulder surgery scheduled for Monday could very well be the final nail in the 41-year old's career. Schilling, who hadn't played a single game with the Red Sox this season after re-signing during the winter to an $8-million-plus incentives, one-year deal, is at the very least certain to miss the remainder of 2008.
The owner of three World Series Championships – two with Boston (2004, 2007) and the first with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, Schilling doesn't want to go out this way, but has come to grips with the reality that he might just be at the end of the line. At 41 years old, it's a bit easier to swallow potential retirement.
"I don't want it to end this way, but if this is the way it has to end, I'm OK with that," Schilling said during an interview on WEEI radio, according to boston.com. "If it's over and my last pitch was in the 2007 World Series, I'm OK with that. I just can't stress enough where I am mentally with this. I have not a regret in the world."
Boston.com also reports that Schilling's best-cast scenario for a return would be as a "hired gun" next season, probably after the All Star break. He wouldn't make a full season return. But, if healthy, he would be open to the idea of joining a contender in need of an arm.
I don't for one second doubt Schilling will give it a go next year. And I think that's okay considering he understands his role will be to fill a need, which automatically presumes he's going to be a No. 3 in the rotation at most. At this point, he probably wouldn't be any higher in Boston's rotation this year anyway. If Schilling does choose retirement, though, he can leave knowing he had a fulfilling career. And because of that, it's not really a necessity to stretch that career out any further.
Plus, he'll have plenty of time to ramble on his blog now. That'll be eventful.
Feedback …
There's a better chance of Sabathia pitching in my backyard than in Colorado...
- anonymous
Make sure you sell tickets for that as high as you possibly can. It's not everyday you get an ace tossing in your backyard. In fact, with Sabathia, make sure you have enough food, too.
As a Cleveland fan, I am not realistically expecting C.C. back in any way after this year, much less us making the playoffs. I am damn certain that he will be traded by the end of July, and I am praying that is not to anyone in the American League. I would love for him to go to the Cubs, because then they would almost surely win, Chicago fans could shut up, and then my city would be the one with the most depressing story of sports and the entire sports nation would rally around us and pity us until we won and got cocky. It happened to the BoSox, it'll happen to the Cubs, hopefully it happens to Cleveland also.
- Tyler
Do you really want all those bandwagon fans, Tyler? I mean, half of the people that jumped on the Red Sox only did so ‘cause they hated the Yankees. And the Cubs, well, I don't really think there's a big rally for them, to be honest. Just be happy knowing that when the day finally arrives and the Indians are called World Series Champs, you were there all along. And you don't have to share the glory with people that are just putting up a front and really couldn't care less about the team.
The Cubs getting Sabathia...wow. I can't see it happening, but imagine if that's the piece that takes them to the World Series to face...
The Boston Red Sox.
Not as epic a matchup as it would have been in 2003 (man that would have been A-W-E-S-O-M-E!), but still a great matchup on paper and in storyline!
- James
That would be an interesting series between Boston and Chicago, though you're right in the fact that it's not as good now as it would have been before the Red Sox broke the curse. I'd just be scared to go anywhere near Chicago if the Cubs managed to lose that series.
Thanks for the comments, and everybody keep the feedback coming!
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