The guillotine finally fell on Willie Randolph. In what was a classless act, Randolph, along with Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto were fired following a victory against the Angels. The move was warranted, as Randolph had not been doing the job, but the timing and terms of this firing raise a ton of questions that Omar Minaya will have to answer.

* Why have Randolph and his staff fly to California, only to be fired after one game?
* Why was this done at 3AM EST following a victory?
* The Mets had won three of four games before Randolph was fired. Why give him a vote of confidence when it was obvious that he was on his way out? Typically, a manager isn't fired on the spot when winning three of four games.
* When was this decision made? It was obviously made before flying out to California.
* Why were Alomar, HoJo, and Manuel spared? Didn't they all have a hand in last season's collapse?
* Who made the decision to fire Randolph? Was it Minaya or Wilpon?
* Is low-key Jerry Manuel any different than low-key Willie Randolph?
* What exactly did Tom Nieto do wrong to get fired as first base coach?


Those who have watched Randolph manage on a day to day basis know that Randolph was frequently out-managed by opposing managers. His lineups were questionable, and he often abused his bullpen while pulling starting pitchers too early. But everyone is in agreement that if he was going to be fired, it could have been done with more class...hell, it could have been done with even a little class...as opposed to being done with no class. The Mets can thank Omar Minaya for the lack of class and dignity, then again, he may just be in over his head as well, and didn't know any better...which is equally embarrassing. The Wilpon's gave Minaya "full autonomy", (if you believe that). And if they did, and he's the sole reason this firing was so botched up, then it makes them look just as classless and clueless. At this point, who knows? But back to Randolph:

There was no way that Randolph was going to to succeed, especially in the past two critical weeks when Randolph had a chance to save his job. Granted, he did make some poor managerial decisions, but for what he was up against, who knows if he was given a fair shake at all to turn things around. For those of you unfamiliar with the situation, Randolph and Assistant GM Tony Bernazard did not like one another. Over the past two weeks, Bernazard had confided in Latino players on the team that Willie was on his way out. How in the hell can a manager succeed in such a position? The word from an insider also claims that Jerry Manuel was at odds with Randolph, and did nothing to help Randolph succeed, which included undermining Randolph in his last two weeks at the helm. Bernazard and Manuel would sit and chat on the bench before each game, often criticizing Randolph. Often, the two would talk with Latino players as well prior to games, while Randolph was helping hitters in the batting cage. When players had an issue with Willie, they'd turn to Bernazard. And despite his backstabbing, Manuel now replaces Randolph as Mets interim manager. There's no justice. Well, no wonder he was uncooperative. Remember, Manuel was not hired by Willie Randolph. He was hired by Minaya at the suggestion and approval of Tony Bernazard. Also important to note is that Bernazard has openly wanted Randolph fired for more than a year. Bernazard was also opposed to Manny Acta leaving to manage the Washington Nationals, because he wanted Acta to take over the Mets once Willie was fired. Can you see where I'm going with this?

I'd sure like to know why Sandy Alomar and Howard Johnson were spared. Alomar has been under fire for doing a poor job as the Mets third base coach. He has often been called out by the New York media for being too conservative. Yet, he survived the Midnight Massacre", as it's now known in New York. And as if Minaya couldn't make himself look any worse, during an interview following his press conference, when asked why Howard Johnson wasn't fired, his response was because the second half of last year, the club was hitting better. He had to be reminded that there was this little collapse last season where the Mets couldn't hit a pink rubber Spalding ball out of the infield.

If there is a silver lining to this firing, it is that Minaya is clearly next in the line of fire. Minaya no longer has Randolph as a scapegoat. Randolph can no longer be blamed for Moises Alou's fragility, or Oliver Perez's sudden blindness on the mound, or Castillo's Ben Gayish knees, or El Duque's year long bout with bunions, or Schneider's limp bat, or Delgado's rapid decline, or Heilman and Wagner's batting practice lobs. Now, it's all on Minaya...as it should have been all along.

Thanks to Minaya, the Wilpons are currently paying Randolph for this season and next, they're paying Jorge Sosa for this season and next, they're paying a retired Julio Franco for this season, they're paying Orlando Hernandez while he's relaxing with his inflatable boot, they're paying $8 million for a leftfielder who can't stay healthy for more than a week at a time, they paid Pedro almost two years in salary while on the DL, and they're paying Matt Wise for what appears to be a lost season.

If the Wilpon's want to continue to throw their money away, then it's their loss. But for all of the foolery going on this season, it's the fans loss as well. Sooner or later the fans will stop attending games and buying Mets merchandise, and maybe then the Wilpon's will realize that Minaya is not the man to lead this team to the promised land. I'm not sure how the Wilpon's don't see it. And yet, reports suggest that Minaya is not in danger of losing his job. If you watched Minaya's press conference today at 5PM, it was embarrassing to watch. Minaya is clearly over his head, even more so than Randolph was as Mets manager. Minaya showed no class during the firing, and in his press conference. His timeline and pitiful excuses were as unprofessional as any explanation I've ever heard from a sports executive.

And now, I will address the one issue that most writers avoid...one that indirectly led to Randolph's firing...and that is the Latino presence on this team. I have tried and tried to give Omar the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this subject. I didn't care who the Mets signed or acquired, as long as the player performed. Well, now the players aren't performing. But, for the first time, we have heard how Randolph was undermined by Bernazard and Manuel, and it involved the Latino players on this team. How well were the Latino players going to perform for Randolph when Bernazard was telling them all that Willie's days were numbered and that Randolph was a poor manager? How else can it be perceived? Whether or not it's true or not, fans will wonder why Bernazard was allowed to undermine Randolph?

To make matters worse, during Minaya's press conference, and then appearing on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog Show, he flatly denied Tony Bernazard's involvement, and assured everyone that Bernazard was a valued employee that was here to stay.

So now, the Mets are going through another managerial change, while the underachieving team and backstabbing front office remains in tact. Randolph deserved better treatment than what he got. The Mets should be ashamed of themselves. The Wilpon's should be ashamed of themselves. The team should be ashamed of themselves. And through no fault of their own, the Met fans are just plain ashamed. It's a sad day to be a Mets fan. By the way....my Mets hat and shirts have now been packed away in my closet. I wouldn't dare wear it....because I too am ashamed of this team. Class dissed-missed.

WHAT THE NY AND NATIONAL MEDIA IS SAYING:

A bizarre ending to what's turned into quite an embarrassment for the franchise. - Fanball
Randolph's tactics left a lot to be desired and the Mets may well be better off without him, but he didn't deserve to be treated this way over the last several weeks. The rumor all day was that Peterson and Nieto were out, but it appeared that Randolph would get another reprieve. Then the Mets make this announcement in the middle of the night after a victory. Former White Sox manager Jerry Manuel will take over for Randolph on an interim basis. As overmatched as he was in Chicago, it looks like a downgrade.

Hurry, hurry. Step right up. See the saddest show in town. - NY Times
The stunning news came a little after midnight Pacific time: Willie Randolph, the Mets’ 18th manager, had been fired. After months of guessing, of engineering winning streaks and losing streaks, the deed was finally done. What had become a traveling circus is hopefully over.

Mets an utter disgrace for handling of Willie Randolph's firing - Bill Madden NY Daily News
If they wanted to fire Randolph so badly, they could have done it after the great collapse last September. Or they could have done it after he said all those stupid things about race to the Bergen Record's Ian O'Connor last month. They could have easily gotten around the fact that this Mets team isn't nearly as good as they thought it was by blaming Randolph because that's what ownership does.
Only the Mets, who have lost their way, could make a manager firing look so unjustified.

Mets fans ripped into the cowards-in-the-night firing of Willie Randolph after his underachieving team's second straight win - even those who wanted the skipper canned. - By CAITLIN MILLAT, EDEN UNIVER, ROBERT ERIKSON AND LARRY McSHANE DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Mets' handling of Willie cowardly - Jim Baumbach Newsday
That's what the Mets upper management has become. Huge cowards who care more about appearance, public relations and their own personal reputations than the performance of their team. Fire your manager via a mass e-mail to the media at 3:11 a.m.? Yuck. You know what this reeks of? Someone made this decision days ago and agonized for hours on how to announce it to the public in the best way possible to keep the pressure off their own self.

Wilpons are worst owners in town - Wallace Matthews Newsday
In the end, the Wilpons treated Willie Randolph like he was one of the junkyard dealers across the street from CitiField, an eyesore and an annoyance to be cleared out as quickly and quietly as possible.
And in the grand tradition of bullies and cowards throughout history, they dispatched Omar Minaya like some corporate Luca Brasi to do their dirty work, to fly across the country and ice the manager in the middle of the night.

Like him or not, Willie's firing was brutal - Barbara Barker Newsday
There is no nice way to fire someone. No gentle way to tell a person that he has done a bad job, that neither you nor your bosses want him around anymore.
Yet, some firings are more vicious than others. And what the Mets did to Willie Randolph sometime before 3:14 this morning breaks the viciousness meter. And, no matter what you felt about Randolph as a manger, it also breaks your heart.

MIDNIGHT MASSACRE AN AMAZIN' ACT OF COWARDICE - Mike Vaccaro NY Post
What a crowd, these bums are, all of them, from the Wilpons at the top to Omar Minaya down below, all of them who conspired to botch this firing worse than any firing has ever been botched. Ever. You wouldn't trust these guys to run a 7-11, let alone a National League baseball team. What a joke. What a cowardly, dastardly joke.
A midnight massacre.
A 3 a.m. thrashing.
Disgraceful. Utterly, completely, disgraceful.

The Mets are talented enough to turn around their season, but their new management team is hardly an upgrade. If anything, it's worse. - Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports
That debate, while meaningful, will be overshadowed by the Mets' 3 a.m. tomfoolery, an embarrassment that will linger long after anyone remembers Randolph's worst strategic moves.
Randolph, Peterson and Nieto are lucky in one sense.
They're getting out.


Court Adjourned!