Randolph on a short leash
Posted: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:27 AM
As if the Mets needed yet another distraction manager Willie Randolph has scrambled to deal with the fallout of comments made earlier this week to a New Jersey newspaper -- the Record of Hackensack.
Blaming the perception that he is not a "fiery" manager on many issues -- including race and the way he has been presented by the Mets' own television network (SNY) -- has placed Randolph under the microscope. So far, scrutiny is not serving Randolph well -- the Mets have dropped three straight in Atlanta since the manager spoke out.
What's tough is that Randolph is a good man with inner strength who has held up flawlessly to the relentless New York media pressure for decades as player and coach with the Yankees and now three years as manager of the Mets. This was his first major slip and it hurts him in two ways: the timing of the team's erratic play and the abhorrence of controversy by the team’s ownership. Don't underestimate the importance of the second point as it is the reason for Randolph's detailed apology last night.
I feel Randolph is on a short leash and this off-the-field affair has not helped. Ultimately, like most managers, Randolph's future will be determined by his players, perhaps in the next few days.
There’s an issue in the Mets’ clubhouse that is real and important. It reemerged in the headlines after Billy Wagner’s recent postgame tirade that pointed out key Mets who were not available to talk to the press after a loss. Wagner backed off his comments the next day, an obvious ploy to retain team unity. But those words were true.
I saw it firsthand in 2005, the first year of the Mets remodel around strong Latin players. Now before anyone takes this the wrong way let me be clear: there is no hidden statement here, no suggestion of anything sinister or untoward, simply a statement of fact. Once Omar Minaya became the general manager of the Mets a plan was instituted to make the team a destination for Latin players.
How do I know? In 2005, a veteran player told me about the pitch he received from Tony Bernazard, Minaya’s lieutenant. The player -- of Hispanic descent -- was told by Bernazard the Mets were on a mission to emphasize Latinos as Mets, that the team was going to become identified as the place for Spanish-speaking players to land, a mission that earned the nickname “Los Mets.”
Another point: Minaya is a good man and strong general manager. He personally attracted Pedro Martinez, albeit with a big dollars deal, to establish credibility and that spawned the later free-agent signing of Carlos Beltran. In just one year Minaya turned a deathly negative aura around Shea Stadium into an air of victory.
The subject here though is a circumstance of the heavy Latin presence on the Mets. And that is the sharing by the star players of the media demands in a market like New York -- the subject of Wagner’s rant as well as one last year by Paul Lo Duca, who at the time was on the Mets’ roster and the team’s No. 1 catcher.
Again I saw a firsthand example of the same in 2005. A veteran player -- no longer a Met -- went directly to management as he watched the trend of disappearing non-Latin frontline players begin. That veteran’s concern? The burden placed on third baseman David Wright, then in his first full major-league season but already emerging as a franchise cornerstone. It was obvious to the veteran that Wright was becoming the “go-to” man for the media swarms that are a daily ritual in New York as well as for the management types that wanted someone to shake hands with sponsors, kids and special guests before every game.
A pattern had emerged and this savvy veteran knew it had to change. New York demands more from its athletes and some Mets were not participating. As uncomfortable as players can be speaking a second language, it is equally unfair to dodge the obligation. Teams must provide translators or guides for the comfort of Latin players as they do so readily for Asians. But the players must all contribute to the media effort.
Why is this significant? The number of foreign-born players is not going to diminish and the majority will remain Latin. What the Mets have experienced in the last four years (although there was no public outburst in 2006, we can reasonably assume the issue was masked by a winning season) will eventually appear in other clubhouses. Teams should watch the Mets and prepare.
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. YES, I HATE THE DH…but I also have trouble watching the concocted interleague games that force teams to play against their design. National League teams trying to find a DH and American League teams playing without a significant bat just has something wrong about it. Last weekend Oakland sat Frank Thomas, Cleveland Travis Hafner, Chicago Jim Thome and Tampa Bay Cliff Floyd. That’s not fair to those teams and not appealing to the real fan.
2. ONCE UPON A TIME…if a player struggled he was sent to the minors in an attempt to have him regain his form. Money has changed that, although a terrific example of the “old school” way is Cleveland’s Cliff Lee. A stint in the minors last year helped Lee get back to the majors and the results are on full display now as Lee has established himself among the AL’s best starters. Could Barry Zito -- someone who is of no use in the bullpen and battered as a starter -- ever consider trying the same route as Lee?
3. ANOTHER GREAT TRADE…was the acquisition by the White Sox of Carlos Quentin. A top draft pick in Arizona, Quentin was slowed by injury and then blocked by the outfield of Eric Byrnes, Chris Young and B.J. Upton. He wasn’t supposed to start for the White Sox either, but had a huge spring and in the words of manager Ozzie Guillen is “carrying” the White Sox offense. Quentin was a college standout at Stanford, the alma mater of White Sox general manager Ken Williams.
4. WHY I LIKE ARLEN SPECTER…is that he’s one Senator who is willing to hold other sports to the high standard Major League Baseball is held to. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tried to be like NBA commissioner David Stern and say, “Trust me, we have no problem.” Specter wasn’t buying it. Now we’ll see if the NFL, whose teams clearly want Spygate put away (think Bill Belichick was the only violator?), finds a way to calm Specter.
5. THIS IS SO GOOD I HAD TO STEAL IT…Young blogger Matt Levine at dirtywatah.com on Jon Lester’s to-do List by age 24: 1) Beat Cancer (check), 2) Get the victory in the clinching World Series game (check) and 3) Become the first White Sox lefty since 1956 to throw a no-hitter (check).
