the new mets

so we're a couple of days removed from the media-fueled debacle that was the firing of willie randolph. since then we've heard the nonsensical ramblings of omar, seen a temper tantrum from reyes, witnessed the managerial quote of the year, "i'm a gangster" from new mets' manager jerry manuel and saw an improbable comeback win against k-rod, which may have been the best win so far this season.

first, let me say that the circumstances involving randolph's firing have been way overblown. new york reporters were just pissed that they didn't receive the news until 3:15 am et. what they fail to realize is that the world doesn't work around new york time. when willie was fired, he was fired in california which i believe works on pacific time. it was 12:15 when the email was sent out saying willie was fired, which means that he was probably fired before that. the game ended around 10:30 so it's safe to assume that willie was fired as soon as he returned to the hotel.

the whole episode was not handled as well as it could have been, that's without argument here. however, to make this out to be some indictment on the entire mets organization is just foolish. omar should have fired him way back when, but he was going to get fired sometime and somewhere. WILLIE RANDOLPH GOT FIRED AFTER A GAME IN CALIFORNIA. that's it. he didn't hear it from the media first. he didn't get fired right before the game. he didn't get fired on father's day or in uniform. everyone needs to relax and that includes almost every major baseball writer in america.

onto something actually important. i like jerry manuel he has this levity about him that i believe is going to be important in this clubhouse especially after all the drama that has ensued. do i think that his presence was a factor in last nite's comeback win? perhaps, but i doubt it. or rather, it has the same influence as the temperature of last nite's game, which is to say that i'm sure it has some influence but to what degree, either positive or negative is indeterminable.

there are two things i will proclaim right here and now. first, i think that the new coaches will have a positive influence on the team, if not solely for the fact that they're not the old coaches. the constant cloud hanging over willie will be gone. hopefully it will be a less stressful environment.

second, and more importantly, the mets will be in serious contention for both the wild card and division come late september. to say that they will win either would be a stretch as you never can foresee injuries or bad luck. but i can say that i have little or no faith in most of the teams above the mets in the standings.

the phillies have terrible starting pitching, save hammels. the braves are done, let's face it. the marlins? please.

the cubs are without soriano and possibly zambrano although i still believe they are the best team in the nl at the end of the season. the cardinals have outdone themselves, but i don't see that lasting. the brewers are talented but no more so than the mets and have just as many question marks.

the dbacks have been slipping and maybe last year's performance (getting outscored) is an indication of things to come. and the dodgers, who i picked to win the division, are playing terribly.

so who am i supposed to be afraid of? the cubs yes, but i assume they'll win their division. so in our division, we got the phils who are definitely playing above their talent level and will come back down to earth at least enough to give us a shot. for the wild card, we got the cards, brew crew, braves, marlins, dodgers and possibly the dbacks if they can't hold onto their huge lead. i couldn't be less afraid of any of those teams.

the problem is two-fold. one, i've named a lot of teams that we have to leap over or at least hold at bay. that's not an easy task. second, we actually have to win some games... no one is going to fold b/c they're afraid of us. but i believe we're going to do just that. by the all-star break we'll be no more than 4 games back of the phillies, if that. and by the last week of september, we'll be at least within a game or two of both the divison and wild card. you heard it here first.