Mets Owner Fred Wilpon finally spoke on the Willie Randolph firing and Omar Minaya's current status as General Manager.

An excerpt from the Associated Press article:

Mets owner Fred Wilpon knew on Sunday that Willie Randolph would be fired on Monday, after flying to the West Coast to manage one more game.

Wilpon said today GM Omar Minaya made the initial decision to fire Randolph after the doubleheader split against Texas at Shea Stadium. After speaking with ownership, Minaya made the final call Monday.

I've been hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Led astray and misinformed by the rabid New York sports media. Since the collapse, I've been hearing about how this clubhouse has a Latin contingent that was hell bent on booting Willie Randolph, an African American, out the door. Article after article, column after column and on every WFAN radio show since September, has made a living spewing this Met "Latin Mafia" and its disdain for all things not Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton or Bachata.

Last week I read in the Daily News that Tony Bernazard is the "Godfather" of the "Latin Mafia" and hand-picked Jerry Manuel to manage the Mets after Willie Randolph was fired. All over the radio and in print sports writers and personalities have been saying how the "Latin Mafia" finally had 'their guy' leading the team. By 'their guy' they meant Latin. I heard Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts mention that Manuel can reach these guys because he "speaks their language."

There's only one problem: Jerry Manuel is AFRICAN AMERICAN!!! Holy conspiracy buster Batman! So you mean to tell me that the "Godfather" Bernazard and his "Latin Mafia" subverted one African American in favor of another? Adam Rubin of the Daily News wrote today that Manuel is the "second African-American baseball manager in New York sports history." So I did a little research after being knocked for a loop and found out that Manuel and Ken Williams formed the first African American GM/Manager tandem in baseball history.

This clearly means that the "Latin Mafia" and the "Godfather" aren't all Salsa all the time as has been reported. I must admit I bought into the media swirl. Does this mean that Willie Randolph wasn't unfairly booted and undermined by Bernazard? no. However, it does mean that you don't have to be Latin to gain the trust of the players on the Mets and you don't have to be Latin to speak their language.

Some of the coverage of this team is overblown, especially the "Latins Only" club and I hope that Met fans drop this issue for good. The media left out the fact that Manuel is Black just so they could string out the "Latin Mafia" storyline as long as possible or they just looked at his last name and made a distinction based on that alone. There is a Mets vs. the World vibe right now and I hope the team embraces that energy.

I am firmly behind Jerry Manuel, not because he's Black but because he's a gangsta! 

Former Cincinnati Reds General Manager Wayne Krivsky has been hired by the Mets as Special Assistant to GM Omar Minaya. Krivsky will be in charge of Major League scouting.

Krivsky is in his 32nd year in a Major League front office. He was mostly recently the General Manager for the Cincinnati Reds from the start of the 2006 season through April 23, 2008.

Before joining the Reds, he spent eight years as the Assistant GM for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins won three straight AL Central titles from 2002-2004. Wayne originally joined Minnesota in 1994 as a special assistant.

Last night the Mets played their most solid game of the year. In defeating the Rockies, the Mets displayed an energy we haven't seen in years. Tremendous defense in the outfield with Chavez and Trot Nixon making huge catches and timely hitting by the offense with 2 out RBI hits to key a 5 run rally in the 2nd inning.

The team has a new vibe and energy about them and it's nice to see. Firing Willie Randolph was the right move despite the fact it was handled in the most unprofessional way possible. That being said, the Mets have responded well and Jerry Manuel seems to have a solid grasp on the pulse of this team.

Manuel has made several philosphical changes that I like. First and foremost is demanding maximum effort and respect out of Jose Reyes. Manuel confronting Reyes in the locker room sent the message that Reyes will no longer be treated with kid gloves. Another aspect of Manuel that I like is playing Damion Easley at 2nd base again after his game-winning homerun in against the Angels. Here's the quote from Manuel:

“He hit a game-winning home run, I ain’t going to take him out. You’ve got to perform. This is a business of performing, and if you’re performing and doing the things that we want you to do, it’s important that you be rewarded. I like a little something to push a player. I like that little competition. Fire them up a little a little bit, get him going. It’s all good.”

Can you feel that 'gangsta'?

Manuel seems to be a light-hearted and genuine man. Hopefully that translates to Met wins. An unnamed Met player seems to like Manuel's style based on this quote to John Harper of the Daily News:

One uniformed Met who didn't want to be identified said of Manuel's transition to manager this week: "He's just really good with people. He listens to what you're saying and he's not threatened in any way by it. He just seems to be real natural as a leader."

Well, so far so good. The Mets look to continue winning against the Rockies tonight at 8:05pm ET.

Pedro Martinez 2-0, 5.31  vs. Ubaldo Jimenez 1-8, 4.85

In an interview with William C. Rhoden of the New York Times, Willie Randolph commented on his firing and specifically, the timing of his firing:

On Sunday, Randolph said, he asked Minaya to pull the trigger if that’s what he had in mind. “I actually asked him,” Randolph said, “I said: ‘Omar, do this now. If you’re going to do this, do this now. I know you’ve got a lot of pressure on you, but if I’m not the guy to lead this team, then don’t let me get on this plane.’ I did say that to him.”

Asked if he believed Omar Minaya made the decision to fire him, Randolph questioned that and said:

“I have my doubts. Let’s just leave it at that. I have my doubts.”

Randolph on his reaction to his firing said:

“I didn’t see this coming,” Randolph said. “When I spoke to Omar the day before I knew there might be some changes, but I got the feeling I was safe. I thought that maybe to the Yankees series or at least to the All-Star break.”

It sure looks like this isn't going to go away anytime soon. The firing of Randolph could possibly cause more damage to this team than the collapse of last season. Everyone knows that Randolph and Minaya are very close. Minaya actually said he loved Randolph. How did a post-game conversation where Randolph asked to be fired, only to be given the impression he had some time to right the ship, then fired a day later.

There is now a cloud hanging over the top of this organization. The media has picked up on the fact that Randolph was undermined by Bernazard and now Minaya could be too.

You get the feeling that Randolph was just the tip of the ice berg. If the Mets don't start winning a lot of games, beat writers will make it their business to get the behind the scenes drama on the front page daily.

Here's hoping the team starts winning because with the collapse of 2007, the Ryan Church debacle, and Reyes pouting like a girl on the field, what would the Mets become if the fallout gets any worse?

Some quotes from Mets General Manager Omar Minaya from the Mike and the Maddog radio program this evening;

When asked if Ownership influenced his decision Minaya replied....

"I am the decision maker and it was 1000% my decision to fire Willie Randolph."

When questioned about the timing of the firing after the team won 3 of 4 Minaya had this to say...

"I made the decision Monday morning based on the cloud of uncertainty and the Willie watch that was going on this weekend"

He continued...

"The faces of the players from Friday to Sunday made me realize I had to make a change"

Would you have done anything differently?

"I don't see how I couldv'e done it differently"

Asked to explain why Tony Bernazard was sent to Anaheim and was seen speaking to Jerry Manuel and gloating that Randolph would be fired when Bernazard and Willie didn't get along Minaya answered...

"Thats just the perception, my staff takes trips with the team and Anaheim and Colorado was Tony's trips."

Minaya added this interesting comment...

"We invested a lot of time talking with Willie about baseball, myself and Tony, because Willie never managed. We'd spend hours meeting just the three of us and we'd go 'hey Willie what about this, hey what if that happens' Sometimes we disagreed, the only teams I've seen agree on everything were losing teams."

Here are quotes that stood out to me...

"It's standard procedure to fire a manager at the hotel room. I wanted to make sure that Willie heard the news from me and not from a reporter or someone else."

"I made a decision on someone very dear to me." Minaya replied when asked about how he felt about Willie Randolph.

Some quick thoughts...

Minaya stated he made the decision on his own yet he said he told Willie after the game before a reporter or someone else told Willie first. Other than the Wilpon's, who would know that Willie would be fired less than 24 hours of Minaya making the decision alone?

Bill Madden of the Dailynews writes that Jeff Wilpon and Bernazard made the decision to fire Randolph and Minaya was just the messenger. Bernazard was seen by multiple sources gloating and congratulating Jerry Manuel on the field in Anaheim.

It makes no sense for Minaya to fire Willie as soon as he got off the team bus unless he was trying to get Willie before the news got out. Since that is true, then Minaya wasn't the only person who knew and probably wasn't the person who made the decision.

Minaya's comments inadvertently revealed that he knew the news had spead throughout the Mets organization. Pedro Martinez stated that Equipment Manager Charlie Samuels pulled him aside in th hotel lobby and told him Willie was getting fired.

Minaya clearly liked Randolph and even stated that he loved Willie. Very tough to believe that Minaya made this decision.

What's done is done and a new era begins. A Met win will go a long way tonight.

I had hoped to channel Mike Lupica or Joel Sherman with my first contribution to the Metwork, however, the news of perhaps the most bungled firing in New York baseball history forces me to simply rant.

Is there anyone with any soul running the Mets? This team that aspires to be baseball royalty, constantly displays a mind-boggling lack of direction and worse, a lack of integrity and heart.

We desire to watch the Mets play with fire and heart and integrity and when they don't we boo and rant and rave because that's what fans do. We've wondered where the spark of the 2006 Mets had gone and who was to blame. Was it Willie's laid back style, was it Minaya and his desire to load the team with every player taking arthritic medication? The firing of Randolph has shed some light on what is truly wrong with Mets.

The very top of the Met organization is replete with gutless, heartless, soulless decision makers that continue to embarrass the fans and themselves. A Met source leaked to the press this weekend that Pitching Coach Rick Peterson, Hitting Coach Howard Johnson and First Base Coach Tom Nieto would be fired before the team left for Anaheim, California. Omar Minaya denied that and the team left New York, coaching staff intact. Randolph does the pre-game press, manages the game, wins the game, does post-game press, takes a bus to the team hotel 2 hours after the game. In the hotel lobby Randolph is told to meet Minaya in Minaya's hotel room, not in a conference room, where he is fired by Minaya. The slime doesn't end there.

Longtime DailyNews Columnist Bill Madden appears this morning on ESPN's Mike and Mike radio show and reveals some interesting information. Madden stated that Fred Wilpon felt that Willie fleeced him during contract negotiations after the 2006 season. Madden goes on to say that Minaya had effectively squashed any firings this weekend in meetings with Ownership only to be dispatched Sunday night to fire Randolph. Madden then says that Tony "the Knife" Bernazard is the "godfather to the Latin players" and has built a relationship with Jeff Wilpon that is clearly growing in strength. Madden gives the impression that Bernazard leaked the names being discussed and fast tracked Willie Randolph's firing by lobbying Ownership to do so behind Minaya's back.

This may or may not be true but Madden is a respected Columnist with solid sources. The key here is that there is a much deeper break down in the Mets front office than there is on the field. You can't ask a team to play hard with integrity and honor when there is an underhanded fight for control going on in front of those players. You are what your leaders are in every aspect of life and baseball is no different.

The Mets may have needed a change but the way they went about that change is gutless. In making this change they have shown a slim that used to be associated with that team in the Bronx. Much worse than that is the impending battle for control between Minaya and Tony "the Knife" Bernazard.

Madden gave this warning to Minaya, "watch your back." I have a better warning for him, watch your soul.