(of the men in the above photograph, only Jeff Wilpon’s job is safe)
“Willie Randolph’s status as Mets manager is extremely tenuous now,” wrote Jon Heyman at SI.com today, an item that appeared shortly before Heyman rang up WFAN’s Mike Francesca to suggest a managerial change “could happen as soon as this weekend”.
Later in the day, Heyman —- shown at Mets batting practice (!) — appeared on SNY’s “Wheel House” and called bench coach Jerry Manuel the likely successor to Randolph (presumably, there’s no thought to bringing back Art Howe). When it comes to predicting Willie Randolph’s unemployment, Heyman is truly the hardest working man in sports journalism.
On both WFAN and SNY, the Mets’ allegedly cavalier attitude towards winning and losing was discussed, and the mind readers in question reached a consensus the club would be far better off with some Bowa-esque screamer in charge. That’s just fucking awesome —if you’re gonna blame Willie Randolph, please, let it be for something as impossible to accurately gauge as his ability to motivate the players.
I’m curious, how is it that Omar Minaya remains out of the crosshairs? Who actually assembled this team? Should the manager be held accountable for 2/3rds of his outfield barely being of sub PCL quality? Was it Randolph who actually promote Abraham Nunez earlier this month? If Willie is to blame for the regression of Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, who receives credit for Ryan Church’s pre-concussion breakout?
Considering Jim Fregosi’s role in Mets lore, rumors of his becoming the 19th Mets manager are somewhat curious. Is Kevin McReynolds not available?