Mets Fire Willie Randolph; Jerry Manuel Officially On-Deck

Call it fate, call it destiny, or even call it eventuality, but after weeks of media speculations and fan clambering for his head on a stick, the Mets finally parted ways with Willie Randolph on Monday evening.

Along with Randolph, Pitching Coach Rick Peterson and First Base Coach Tom Nieto also were dismissed. Bench Coach Jerry Manuel will step in as Interim Manager for the remainder of the 2008 season. He'll be joined by Ken Oberkfell and Dan Warthen, the Manager and Pitching Coach of the Mets' AAA team in New Orleans.

The firing comes at an awkward time, roughly 2 hours after the Mets had won their second consecutive game, having defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Los Angeles and a little over two weeks after Mets General Manager Omar Minaya gave Randolph the dreaded "vote of confidence". Yet, after sticking with Randolph through the fire storm, the Mets oddly let go of him after the first day of a West Coast road trip rather than dismissing him while the team was at home.

Regardless of timing, a move was needed to get the Mets back on track. And while the New York media and loyal Mets fan base will be sure to tell you how dire the situation is, the Mets aren't completely out of contention, not by a long shot. Like the Mets, the Cardinals are nursing a number of injuries, which could quickly take them out of contention. In terms of the Philadelphia, the Phillies have a number of questions surrounding their pitching staff, notably their starting pitching, which lacks a single starter with an E.R.A. below 4.00 outside of Cole Hamels.

The new regime will be asked to turn things around for the Mets, who as of this writing, sit at 34-35, six and a half games behind the defending NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies and seven games behind the Wild-Card leading St. Louis Cardinals. Together, they will try to right a ship that has steered way off course from the high expectations after the team spent $138 million in player salaries and acquired Johan Santana during the off-season.

To turn the Mets around, Jerry Manuel and his staff will need to first close the rift in the clubhouse, as one of Willie Randolph's faults as a Manager was his ability to manage his players off the field, resulting in a divided locker room. Manuel will also need to ask for a bit of better luck, hoping that players like Ryan Church and Moises Alou can get healthy, and veterans like Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Pedro Martinez can turn the corner and make key contributions to the turn around.

Overall, Jerry Manuel acquires a team from Willie Randolph, that while mired in a slump, is universally thought to be underachieving. All the new staff needs to do is get them to play to their potential or else there house-cleaning will continue.

Sources:
Mets Fire Randolph Under Cover of Darkness, Fox Sports
Mets Name Manuel Interim Manager, MLB.com
MLB Standings, MLB.com
MLB Wild-Card Standings, MLB.com