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Written by Mark Healey
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Tuesday, 03 June 2008 |
 The New York Mets almost made it to the World Series in 2006, were supposed to get there in 2007, and even with their recent resurgence, are still showing signs that playoff baseball may not be in the mix for 2008. Unfortunately, last year's collapse down the stretch has not been erased by a fast start, and worse, this talented squad has become maddeningly inconsistent in the process (see Oliver Perez).
The Shea faithful have been a tad less cranky (lucky for the Mets, last night's debacle was at AT&T Park), and may have backed off their assertion that Willie Randolph as the person most responsible for its lack of success. Firing Randolph has not happened as of yet, and unless the team posts another disastrous road trip, it probably won't.
Nor should it.
Critics say it might be the only way to awaken a club made up with an alarming amount of high- maintenance and overly-sensitive ballplayers, but this space cannot agree. Randolph's recent comments on race and media coverage of SportsNet NY (an indirect indictment of the Wilpon ownership group) are another example of his overly sensitive nature.
Yet, when you are in Randolph's situation, where you manage a club that has nearly zero accountability, it's hard to condemn a man for being defensive about criticism he is getting from the media, fan base and said organization. Still, the comments about race were incredibly unfortunate, and while ownership has accepted Randolph's apology, it's hard not to speculate that unless the Mets reach the World Series this year, there will be a new manager in place for 2009.
We won't argue whether another missed opportunity should result in a regime change, because it's clear that if this club, as currently constituted, misses the playoffs again, it's time to reassess the entire operation.
Let's get back to the present for the moment, because Randolph's “crisis” of a week ago was a circus.
While the media deserves our share of the blame, the fans and the club itself are equally culpable.
When you consider that most of the people that were calling for Randolph's job are folks that know very little about the game of baseball, it's hard not to give the guy a pass. Much more importantly, the lack of a viable “slam-dunk” replacement makes any firing cosmetic at best, and one hopes that this team might show a little pride in the way it carries itself before any rash move is necessary.
Why the “Keep Willie 2008” campaign?
Well, it's hardly a secret that Going Nine didn't support the hiring of Randolph in 2005, questioning the lack of interviews for then-Met minor league skippers Ken Oberkfell and John Stearns (while retreads like Terry Collins and Jim Riggleman were getting them). Plus, having covered the team since 1998, I haven't really ever been convinced that Randolph was ever the right fit. His record, even with last year's dismal finish, rejects that notion.
Outside of a stubbornness that sometimes defies logic, and the exasperating homer-ism and pom-pom waving from most Randolph supporters, the fact remains the Mets' skipper is a pro's pro, and manages the game the way he played it; with class. Yet, his unwillingness to question his players' toughness publicly is costing him the superdelegates that really matter; the fans. His prickly persona , even in periods of success, have worn thin with many folks that cover or root for the team (even the supporters), including ownership.
All of these factors do not bode well for Randolph. Yet, a healthy Pedro Martinez (who starts for the Mets tonight) does, because the second that guy pitches well – and stays upright – the “leader” the media and fan base have been searching for will be in-house. Though Randolph told me at this year's Winter Meetings that Pedro's absence in the clubhouse last year didn't hurt the chemistry of the club, anyone that has been around when Pedro is would disagree.
But again, replacing Randolph with Jerry Manuel, Lee Mazzilli or Oberkfell – with all due respect to those gentleman – won't solve the bigger problems. Frankly, unless this team starts to play with the tenacity it hasn't showed since sweeping the Dodgers in the 2006 NLDS, no managerial change will really impact the club.
Frankly, a smarter move might be jettisoning a player or two – and I mean a big player – to show the ROSTER who's boss. The team waited all season last year for Carlos Delgado to show his 2006 form, and while his overall numbers weren't awful in 2007 (.258/24 HRs/87 RBIs), he failed to provide any sustained protection in the lineup for Carlos Beltran. A recent two-game “benching” by Randolph (a move only made after being emboldened by his vote of confidence by the Wilpons and GM Omar Minaya) hasn't done much, and it's looking more and more as if this trade, which looked so promising in 2006, now looks more and more like Robin Ventura's decline from 2000-01, following his superb 1999 season.
Mike Jacobs would look pretty good in a Met uniform these days, no?
But something drastic like cutting Delgado isn't something the Mets will do. Why? Because it would mean admitting a mistake in putting this team together.
This space has always supported Minaya's efforts, if for no other reason than his complete comprehension of the expectations of the Mets' fan base. He is never surprised at their reaction, and doesn't lament any booing.
However, while he has created a better overall talent base, his trades and signings have had mixed results. His hiring of Randolph looks like a wash. His insistence on picking nearly all of Randolph's coaches has not helped his manager's confidence, and given the frosty relationship that his top assistant Tony Bernazard has with a growing number of people within and outside the organization, cleaning house after the season might be a better long term option.
Fred Wilpon is fond of both Minaya and Randolph. He was also very fond of Bobby Valentine and Steve Phillips, yet fired both, despite (and unlike Minaya and Randolph) winning a NL pennant in 2000. After missing the postseason in 2001 and 2002, Valentine, saddled with Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar and Roger Cedeno, was let go. Phillips lasted a tad longer than Bobby, but unlike Phillips, who was very skilled at blaming other people for the joke of a team he constructed, Minaya – for the most part – is very honest about his work product. That alone might get him a reprieve if this team missed the postseason. However he might have to make some hard decisions in the process.
For instance a Minaya-led front office sans Bernazard, who was promoted to VP of Player Development in 2006.
Based on his resume, and a choppy 2005 as Minaya's special assistant, it's hard to fathom why he was given control of the minor leagues. Yes, he spent 10 years in the majors. After retiring he was a special assistant with the Players Association. Not a lot of scouting background that I can find. Well, there's none, actually.
He did, according to a team release announcing his promotion, “help develop and maintain lines of communication between the Association and its members. He was also instrumental in the Association's effort to develop and promote international play, including the Japan All-Star series, the Olympics and the creation of the World Baseball Classic.”
Unlike Minaya's other assistant, Sandy Johnson, who is a well-respected talent evaluator and has a proven track record of success, Bernazard's qualifications for his job seem a bit unrelated to the position he currently holds.
Like Phillips did with former Scouting Director Gary LaRocque (now with the Cardinals), amateur scouting guru Jack Bowen (now with the Pirates) and Minor League Coordinators Guy Conti (now the bullpen coach) and Tony Tijerina (now with the Royals), the then-Mets GM delegated those duties to “his guys”.
The result was a system that had it's share full of blue-chip prospects (David Wright, Scott Kazmir) and major league-ready players (Mike Jacobs, Brian Bannister, Jesus Flores, Lastings Milledge). Minaya – who also played a large role in Phillips' early success as Mets' GM -- also delegates, but his selection of Bernazard as the chief of the farm system hasn't benefited the Mets much.
In fact, while Minaya bears the brunt of the blame for his pre-2007 season trades for Jason Vargas and Jon Adkins that immediately backfired, the banishment of pitchers Heath Bell (2-3, 2.23 this year, 6-4, 2.02 ERA in '07), hard-throwing Matt Lindstrom (3.08 ERA in the last two season for Florida) in the deals were made in large part on Bernazard's evaluations.
Seems to me that having two homegrown relievers – making the minimum – in a pennant-contending bullpen would create a significant amount of payroll and roster flexibility.
They may have also meant the difference in a 2007 bullpen that was ravaged in the second half by the horribly ineffective Guillermo Mota and Jorge Sosa.
Even worse, with the Mets struggling, and looking around baseball for players to help their team in the second half, there is very little indication that anyone – excepting the untouchable Fernando Martinez -- in the Mets system that is on any team's radar. If that's not an indictment of a minor league system, I don't know what is.
Maybe, just maybe, as Phillips fired Valentine's coaches in 1999 (one of whom, pitching coach Bob Apodaca, had worked and played for the Mets for 28 years), a front office shakeup is what's called for here. If keeping Minaya and Randolph in place is the long term wish of the Mets, it might be the perfect solution.
Say what you want about Randolph and his managerial shortcomings, he's not the biggest problem the Mets have. Randolph has very little say in who the team acquires, and unlike Valentine (and Davey Johnson), didn't have any time in the Mets' minors to target any “core guys” that he could bring with him to New York.
It is Bernazard, who oversees every single aspect of the minor leagues and how they are run, and that should be getting him some heat in the media. No one connected to the Mets is without blame, but Randolph is the one being hung out to dry, and that's just not right.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 June 2008 )
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