It's the players, stupid.
Jim Leyland is as hard-as-nails a manager as there is in the game.
He currently manages the Detroit Tigers, the worst team in the AL, a team that is underperforming far more drastically than the NY Mets.
Ozzie Guillen is fiery and emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve. The Chicago White Sox have been in decline since their 2005 World Series, currently a game below .500 in the AL Central standings. They finished 2006 with a very respectable but ultimately playoff-missing 90-72 record, and finished 2007 with an inverse record. 72-90.
Joe Girardi, your 2006 Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins, is currently at the helm of the last-place Yankees.
If Girardi was Manager of the Year with the 2006 Marlins, will Fredi Gonzalez be manager of the millennium if the 2008 Marlins win the division outright? Keep in mind, Fredi Gonzalez also managed the 2007 Marlins to their NL East last-place finish of 71-91. Did Fredi Gonzalez magically become a better manager during the offseason? Or maybe his players are finally producing as a team?
Jeebus-freak Clint Hurdle, after toiling as manager for years with the perennial 4th-place NL West Colorado Rockies, led his team to the 2007 World Series after an unprecedented win streak that began in September and ended after they swept the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. The Rockies are now back in 4th place and will likely battle with the San Diego Padres to stay out of the basement.
Speaking of the San Diego Padres, with Bruce Bochy at their helm, the 2005 and 2006 Padres won the NL West each of those years, only to lose to the Cardinals in the NLDS each of those seasons. Bruce Bochy then went to manage the Giants in 2007, which finished the season 71-91 at the bottom of the NL West.
Oddly enough, with mostly the same core of players as the 2006 Padres had, the 2007 Padres, then led by former Angels coach and MLB rookie manager Bud Black, lost to the Rockies in the NL wild card playoff game. The 2006 Padres (Bochy) finished 88-74. The 2007 Padres (Black) finished 89-74.
Joe Maddon, much like the unpredictable Lou Piniella before him, managed the Tampa Bay Rays to a last-place finish over the last two years. But this year, Tampa Bay is atop the AL East, and most people believe they're for real.
Did Joe Maddon all of a sudden become a better manager? Or does he have the right makeup of talent on his team, young and old, to win games like they've never done before?
If you feel at the heart of the team, that Willie Randolph is truly the problem with this team, then how come I've yet to read a reasonable explanation anywhere, how the same terrible clueless Willie Randolph led the 2006 Mets to a 97-65 division win, a sweep of the Dodgers in the NLDS, to a thrilling game 7 loss in the NLCS, with what is primarily the same core of players (Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Wagner, Heilman) that he had at that time.
Was losing Chad Bradford or Steve Trachsel more devastating to the clubhouse than anyone ever realized?
If there is a leadership problem with Willie Randolph, and you believe that the manager of the team is so incredibly vital to the success/failure of the ballclub, then you also have to give props to Willie for the 2006 team.
But the anti-Willie loonies can't put up a cogent argument for that. It's... beyond their understanding. It's much easier to create a scapegoat.
I'm not necessarily AGAINST a managerial change, but short of a Jack McKeon, I'm not remotely convinced it's going to make an iota of difference.
The team as a whole, wins and loses on their own merits and talents. The manager plays a part in the overall success/failure, but it's on the players to execute. When they don't, it's on them, not the manager.
Aaron Heilman throws the pitches, not Willie. Jose Reyes fails to hit, not Willie. Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran continue to struggle at the plate, not Willie.
And conversely, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, you know, the two guys who Omar Minaya got in that TERRRRRRIBLE trade... continue to hit and play very well, not Willie.
Going with the supposition that Willie Randolph is a terrible manager (I've always maintained there are better managers in the game, just as much as there are many who are worse), if Willie gets fired and ________ is his replacement, how long a time will fans give _________ before calling for his head when the team performs no differently than before?
