The Back Alley Archives

rad, i gotta ask

why the hell do the mets send out the press release regarding the firing of randolph at like 2:30 in the morning?

edit to correct the time, it was 3:15 AM EDT

I just want to note that the last I looked, Carlos Zambrano was up over .300 and Piniella has used him as a pinch-hitter. That hombre don't steal many bases, but he ain't afraid to swing the bat.

better yet, why have him fly across the country and then fire him?

i watched both minayas presser and manuels presser. i even got to see the snippets of willie and peterson leaving their hotels yesterday morning.

minaya kept saying that it was standard operating procedure that in changing managers, you do it after the game and not when the employee is in uniform...it was HIS standard procedure...if he did it in the clubhouse, in uniform, he thought that that would be more humiliating and more disrespectful to both willie and the mets. manuel in his presser even joked about that in that if he thought HE (meaning manuel) was going to get the visit by minaya that he should wear his uniform home and to bed...minaya asserted that he did it immediately after the game, in the privacy of the hotel, at around 11PM.

minaya then said that he did it immediately when it was HIS decision that the mets had to make a change...so within 48 hours, he had to do it for fear of it leaking...obviously it was leaked already as all the major papers had eluded to the decision. he stated that he had had numerous occasions in which he had thought about firing willie as early as september of 2007 but was not as sure as he was after thursdays game and it needed to be done....the decision to do it on the road and after fathers day was bad timing...his decision to do it could have occurred last week on the home stand but as previously stated, his mind was not truly made up...he never really eluded to what event that had occurred that made his mind up...minaya referred to the randolph interview in which randolph hinted at racial overtones with respects to the way he has been treated of late...minaya said that they had had a meeting on memorial day about that and had left that meeting with a better understanding of each other and what those comments were about...minaya DID say at yesterdays presser that those comments were definitely not conducive to a better working relationship but added that it was not his ultimate ouster.

all the met beat writers felt as if minaya handled himself ridiculously and unprofessionally...the writers in ny are rallying around willie and are giving him support...funny, these are the same journalists and sports show hosts who were ripping him 4 days earlier.

i personally feel that minaya is a good manager and it seems as if minaya gave willie every opportunity to succeed....i personally have no beef with the way minaya fired willie....imo, it was done with dignity and it was done in privacy and it was done with class...willie will have an opportunity to spend some time with his family and there is no doubt in my mind that willie will land somewhere else as a big league manager...gotta remember, willie was minayas hire...minaya went out on a limb to hire willie...willie had no big league experience as a manager and he denied employment by at least 6 other big league clubs prior...it was a difficult decision for minaya to fire his guy because ultimately, it was a admission on minayas part that his hire was a failure...minaya looked pained at his presser and i believe it to be genuine.

i've been let go recently and the last thing i want (as the one being fired) is to have to hear rumors about it lingering for days and then get the axe in front of your peers...i've seen people go around shaking hands with former colleagues as they've just got let go, i've seen security escorts, i've seen people let go and then given lil going away parties at the bar...there's different ways to do it and each instance deserves it's own approach.

manuel looked great and spoke leader-like at his presser...we know he's got experience at this level and we know he's got a great rapport with the players....he eluded to that rapport he's got and he added that the players need to respect the office now that he's the manager...interestingly enough, the very first player to bat under the manuel regime, reyes, got a hit and kind of tweaked his knee running out the hit...as reyes was shaking out his leg, manuel and the trainer came out to assess...manuel pointed into the clubhouse and instructed damion easley to get ready...reyes balked and for about 20 long ass seconds, there was a tug-of-war going on live between manuel and reyes...it ended with reyes walking off pissed...he threw his helmet and pulled out his shirt...he then stormed into the clubhouse yelling and screaming...i thought that was TOTALLY bush of reyes to show up the new manager...just like that...the FIRST GUY under his regime to bat and there's more angst...it's worth noting that between innings, manuel trotted down towards the clubhouse (presumably to have a word with reyes) and didn't emerge from the clubhouse until after the first out was recorded the following inning....it's unclear to me or the viewers if he reyes was pissed about the injury or if he was pissed about the precautionary action manuel had just taken...thusly, it was unclear if manuel had sought out reyes to rip him a new asshole or if he was just checking on the injury assessment...either way, it was total bullshit of reyes to behave in that manner given the news of the day.

i think the mets will benefit from this change...if nothing else, it shakes up the chemistry and it attempts to fix something which is obviously broken...the mets are definitely underperforming and something needed to be done...randolph the last year and a half to two had had this label put on his as being unemotional and subsequently, not a good motivator or leader...manuel is a different guy...he's firey...he's vocal...he's expressive....he's a nip it in the bud kind of person...in fact, it was willies thought that the collapse of sep2007 should have been erased from everyones mind and it was a new season and we should start fresh...manuel was quick to express his feelings on that decision yesterday stating that if he were the manager, he would have hung that over them from day one of the 2008 season...keep it fresh and lingering so the players can remember how bad and embarrassed they felt about their performances...he intends to do it now is what he said...two different people and two different approaches...the first approach wasn't working, we'll see about manuel.

Rays beat the league leading Cubbies last night in the "Oh shit, you know the apocalypse is coming if these two teams are doing this well" series. Aw, yeah!

And the Rays just beat them Cubbies again!

huge news.....josh johnson should be back either a week before or after the all-star break. and by august, both sergio mitre and anibal sanchez should be back. me thinks the marlins can make a run at the playoffs...

Braves got Mike Gonzalez back from the DL and recorded a perfect ninth for his first save of the year. Maybe he can give some relief to our bullpen woes.

Yankees win again today. That is 7 in a row.

It should be noted that, thus far, the Rays have played the toughest schedule in professional baseball.

The Rays, unlike the Braves, are actually fun to watch. The Braves frustrate the hell out of me.

The Rays also completed their sweep of the Cubbies last night. Their bats went off in the 7th last night!

We also signed our first round draftee yesterday, Tim Beckham. He was down at the Trop for the game--heard the kid on the radio and he was having a blast. He's going to be sent down to play with his brother in the minor leagues for the summer.

Gibbons shit-canned by the Jays. The axes are beginning to fall.

Yankees shit canned by the Reds this evening. Ah the Reds, only beating teams they shouldn't since 1895.

Got to love the Braves getting pummeled 10-2 by the worst team in baseball.

Good god.

I hate to seem like I'm rubbing it in to my boy, urap. BUT...the Rays kicked the living crap out of the Marlins tonight. At the Marlins' homefield, no less. I mean, that was just ruthless right there.

I hate to seem like I'm rubbing it in to my boy, urap. BUT...the Rays kicked the living crap out of the Marlins tonight. At the Marlins' homefield, no less. I mean, that was just ruthless right there.

I am a believer in the Rays. I truly think they will win the wild-card. That saddens me.

where's TT

his yanks are getting crushed on their homefield today...the first of a home and home double-header.

Who were the Yankees playing today, rad? Refresh my memory.

delgado has set a new mets record with 9 rbi's SO FAR

mets up 15-5 with delgado hitting 2, and beltran hitting 1

6 runs scored by castillo

the 'let's go mets chant' is ringing at yankee stadium because most of the yankee fans have left by the 6th... [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lmao.gif[/img]

I am not surprised. I said two weeks ago that the Yankees were done. We have lost an All-Star roster to the DL this year.

A-Rod, Jeter, Matsui, Damon, Hughes, Wang and Posada have all missed extended time this year. Tell me what team in MLB could lose all of those players and still play well?

BTW, the Yankees went to Shea last night and beat them right back 9-0. I still believe that the Rays, yes those Rays, are going to make the playoffs ahead of the Yankees.

I'm hopeful with the Rays, but I'm not taking anything for granted (and neither is the team, from everything they've been saying publicly). Their offense seems to be finally heating up of late. The stinking Red Sox come to town next week, so we'll see.

Your first place Rays just added to their lead in the standings on the Red Sox with a win in game one of the series.

a sweep of this series (yes, I know - very premature still) would be huge for the Rays. Would give them a 3.5 game lead on the Sox going into a series with the Royals while the BoSox would be going into their rivalry series with the Yanks.

I'm taking this one one game at a time, Jimmy. But yes, that would be awesome if we can pull off a sweep of the stinking Red Sox. You don't know how happy that would make me.