Baseball Musings: Randolph and the Mets

April 14, 2008

Randolph and the Mets

Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog.com comments on the way Willie Randolph handles the team.

...in my view, this group of players lack accountability...and they lack shame...this, not anger, is what is missing...
...instead, if a player is not focused, making mistakes and costing the team an opportunity, willie should sit him down - like he did to Jose Reyes last summer...this is not a long-term solution, of course...the Mets need their best players in the lineup if they intend to win a pennant...however, it's not enough to just have people in the lineup physically, these players must play hard and perform while on the field...if, instead, they would rather waltz around and cash a pay check, that is not going to hack it...so, from what i understand, having talked with former players, if they are shamed by getting benched, if they are pulled from a game, called out a bit in the media, etc, this will have an impact...yelling at them like children will only make them more disengaged, but embarrassing them in front of their peers could help...

...i think willie took his first shot with this sort of method last night, with his public comments and frustration after last night's game...phase two will be making an example out of some one, assuming it gets to that point...i trust that it will not...

...i realize people get on willie, and rightfully so...i have a hard time with this, because, while i do not think he is passive, as most like to write, i do think he suffers from a bad case of tunnel vision and he is very, very trusting in his players...maybe to a fault...however, i like his style of baseball, i.e., aggressive base running, having a killer mentality and playing strong defense...my fear, though, is that, while the team may have some serious, high-priced talent, it may not be the type of talent best suited for willie's style...and so, what we may be witnessing is a conflict of style playing out on the field, in the locker room and in the press...

There are two things here that might end up getting Willie fired. Given the way the Mets tanked last year, they should be coming out of the gate as crisp as possible. There's absolutely no excuse for them to lose games due to sloppy play. That rightly goes back to the managerial skills of Randolph.

Secondly, if this team is not suited to Willie's style, then he shouldn't be managing the team. A good manager will adjust his style to fit the players on the team. If you have a low power, high speed team, then little ball and emphasizing the running game makes sense. If you have a bunch of power hitter who lumber around the bases, you wait for the three-run homer. It's not good to force a style on a team that can't execute that type of baseball. It's Randolph's job to figure out what type of team he has and manage to their strengths.

Frankly, as much as I'm a fan of Randolph's, I don't think he's long for the Mets.

Posted by David Pinto at 08:56 AM | Management | TrackBack (0)

Comments

The Mets aren't the best team ever...just because they have four really good players...Santana...Beltran...Wright...Reyes... Minaya's traded away...youth...and...depth...to win...now. They'll probably be okay...over 162 games... So Mets fans...should calm down.... Just because they're from New York doesn't mean...they'll always play well or...always win. And...just because Willie Randolph looks serious...and played in ...New York...doesn't mean that he was ever a good...manager... (Ditto: Omar Minaya)...

...Your ship is...not sinking...okay? If...it's so bad...trade players with...the Giants or Orioles. Randolph's probably not going...to...energize...Alou or Delgado or Castillo or...the great...Brady Clark...etc...

Corey Hart...was good yesterday. Gabe Kapler...too.

By the way...I'm sure the players never notice all...that...booing directed at them... Great message...come to the Mets because we're serious...a few bad games...or failures...and we'll boo you until we (the fans)...decide that you're worthy...or...semi-worthy (see: Beltran, Carlos).

Posted by: Kent at April 14, 2008 10:01 AM

dear kent... please don't... abuse the elipses... by substituting it for ... commas... periods... and m-dashes... because that makes your comments... hard to read...

Willie's style is a good fit for a team of well rounded players. It's neither small ball nor power. It's a little of both. Wright, Beltran, Church have balanced game. Delgado and Alou are boppers while Reyes and Castillo are not.

This team should be able to execute a wide array of styles. The fact that they can't execute any right now indicates a lack of focus and leadership.

We're also getting to the point that Rick Peterson should start facing the same tough questions as Willie.

Posted by: mr.bmc at April 14, 2008 12:20 PM

I...like to read...Kent's comments...as if...he...were...William Shatner... it...makes things...a...lot funnier...

Posted by: dan at April 14, 2008 12:50 PM

Shatner? Funny, that's the voice I place on Cerrone when I read his Metsblog postings. Shatner's voice and Mets fans arguing for trades along the lines of Carlos Delgado for Prince Fielder and Corey Hart.

Posted by: Kent at April 14, 2008 01:48 PM

Randolph is not much of a tactical manager either. For instance, I don't think he has ever used the wheel play or utilized a squeeze bunt. He doesn't know the first thing about leverage and subscribes to the scrappy #2 hitter.

All of which is totally forgivable if he didn't 1) hate his young players and throw them under the bus at every opportunity, 2) react defensively with the media even when they have given him all the slack the New York media could give any manager and praised him at every opportunity, not even calling for his head after last year's performance, and 3) try to run his team like the Yankees, with a calm, slow, professional demeanor on a team with none of the culture of winning that the Yankees have.

Posted by: John Peterson at April 14, 2008 02:36 PM

As usual, I agree with John. The only thing I would add is that his bullpen management leaves something to be desired as well.

Posted by: David at April 14, 2008 06:11 PM

I'm with David and John on this (and, regularly against the "news" at Metsblog). Then again, as I "..." my way along, I don't care that much for Minaya nor for Randolph and think that both get a pass from the ESPN's of the world because they "look" or "sound" good.

I went to John's site and concur wholeheartedly with his stuff on this issue. Good posts John.

Posted by: Kent at April 14, 2008 10:03 PM

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