Better Late Than Never

Well, the timing was horrible, but then it would have been bad whenever the final decision on Willie finally came in. That the decision followed a great team performance is ironic at the very least. That it came at about 3 AM in the morning smells funny, like those stories of the Colts and Irsay leaving Baltimore in the middle of the night.

But they finally ANNOUNCED a decision. That they made the decision a week ago is perhaps indicative of what really ails these Mets, unprofessional management. To keep a good man hanging that long is despicable. While I'm sure there were reasons for the delay, they would seem to pale compared with the indignity they inflicted on a guy who did his best for them for three years.

Incredibly enough, some of the very players most responsible for Willie's demise were great last night. Aaron Heilman was especially good, getting two outs while leaving two Angels on the bases. Reyes was mercurial, scoring the first run virtually unassisted. Beltran, although he has been fine in other ways all year, smacked two home runs last night, helping cement his place in the Mets batting order. Sanchez and Wagner showed how to close things out.

This is a group that apparently needs constant pressure to bring the best out of them. Of course, that’s at odds with the reality of their fall from grace last year. The pressure of having a seemingly insurmountable lead in a pennant race didn’t prevent their 2007 disintegration. Maybe they just wanted to do something nice for their longtime mentor. I prefer to think of it that way.

And if they were feeling guilty, it was late in coming. Without singling out any individuals, their team performance was always just short of a win. And just unremarkable enough to send their fans off to the bar for a stiff one.

Some of you may recall Sparky Anderson’s style in leading one of those Reds teams to the pennant many years ago. Sparky was infamous for his pitching changes; he’d flash the hook with just the slightest provocation, sometimes just on a whim. But the quick hook worked for that team.

That’s what Willie could have used – a quick hook. And not just with the pitching staff. I really feel the Mets could have won ten games more this year if Willie just moved a little faster, faster to get a non-performer out of the lineup, faster to pull his relievers when it was obviously not their day.

Willie’s style would work only with a team that was solid, top to bottom. Willie constantly challenged each of his players to be champions. These Mets just weren’t. These Mets needed a riverboat gambler, someone who could maneuver a way to finish ahead, even with a bad hand.

Early reports seem to point to Bobby Valentine. While that would be nice, I don’t expect that to happen. But he’d be just the guy to revive this moribund group. This is a group that sits on its laurels, they win one or two games and think they’re world-beaters, then they revert to their old ways, the full swings when just a hit would do nicely, the stupid base-running when nothing fancy was required, the lack of focus in the field.

I hope the players don’t start thinking the pressure is off now. They need to start winning two out of three, and three out of four, to have a chance of making the playoffs at this juncture of the season. They have to climb over some good teams, Philly and Florida and Atlanta all present their special challenges.

Judging by management’s incredible bungling of the Randolph affair, I’d hope the new manager, eventually, is a strong personality, someone who can roll over obstacles coming from the front office. For now, we have a temporary fill-in, Jerry Manuel. It’s doubtful he can materially change anything unless the players buy in and start performing as they never did for Willie.

For now, it’s Omar’s show. Omar Minaya brought this group together and will be judged at the end of this season. We won’t see a permanent manager until a decision is made on whether a new general manager is needed. The new GM can then hire a permanent manager. The only thing this Wilpon Group has done right so far has been their decision to defer the naming of a new permanent manager.

Omar’s another one of those “good guys” whose force of personality alone brought the Mets players they otherwise would not have gotten, Carlos Delgado and Pedro Martinez for sure, and maybe a host of others.

This was a Mets team built to win a World Series, one that eliminated the risk of having any unproven players in the lineup or in the field. The only risk not eliminated was age. And age reared its ugly head. Just look around the clubhouse and see who’s missing, or who’s hurt again, or who’s too old to get motivated by a young upstart manager.

For this Mets fan, this firing is the beginning of payback, not for Willie really at all, but for all those players who wouldn’t perform for him. You can count on one hand the players who really did try their hardest all the time, or at least gave the appearance of doing so.

And, just maybe, these players were indeed trying their hardest and performing near the top of their capabilities. And, if so, then look to October and a new GM, a GM who’ll need a very large broom indeed.

Sometimes things just don’t work out. Look at the recent firing of Bavasi in Seattle. He had a team that won 88 games, so he brought in Richie Sexson and Carlos Silva. Any fantasy player could have told him those two wouldn’t have a positive effect. The good GM’s manage risk more evenly and don’t take huge risks unnecessarily.

The Mets risks know who they are. Hope they’re tuned in.