FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Secret Squirrel said 06/14, 11:53 PM
I believe the answer to the stated question is Willie Randolph.

The Mets are underachieving this season...they were projected to make the playoffs and at least make the NLCS, if not win the whole stinking World Series, however, right now the team is 32-34, seven games back of both the division and wild card leads...

All of this is coming with a good young lineup including David Wright and Jose Reyes and having strong veterans with Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Luis Castillo...

Not to mention the best pitcher in baseball coming to the team in a trade during the offseason, Pedro coming back, and the only loss from the rotation being Tom Glavine and El Duque, who were replaced by Santana and Martinez...

Also, this is just 2008...the Mets had an EPIC collapse in 2007, having a seven game lead September 12, and going 5-12 over the next 17 games, blowing said lead...Since September 11, 2007, the Mets are 37-47, after going 83-62 prior to September 11.

Willie Randolph has done a horrendous job of using the good talent that he has and fulfilling it's maximum potential...

Secret Squirrel said 06/15, 08:43 PM
Those same issues have been boiling up in Queens this year as well...

Billy Wagner has been ripping his teammates...

Darryl Strawberry is saying that Randolph is unable to get through to his players...they won't listen to him...When that happens, you know that you've lost all control of your team...especially when it happens to a guy like Randolph, who hasn't exactly been a slouch when he's managed...

Randolph was given a roster that could have easily won the NL East this season, contended in the playoffs, and had the potential to win a World Series, and has completely blown it up...

The Mets have 0 complete games this season...when you've got Johan Santana, who has had at least one every year he's started, on the roster, that's unacceptable...You DON'T bring in the closer when Mike Pelfrey's been dominant the entire game, is up 3-0, and gives up a single to start the ninth...You start with the closer or wait till it gets worse...They have one of the best staffs in baseball...there's no reason to be 33-35

The Brewers have improved vastly since Yost took over and every single year, the pitching staff gets destroyed by injuries...they collapsed due to the lack of pitchers not NY

Secret Squirrel said 06/16, 06:48 PM
Let's look at season records for both of them as well...

Randolph's Mets

2005: 83-79 T-3rd in NL East
2006: 97-65 1st in NL East
2007: 88-74 2nd in NL East

Have the Mets been terrible under Randolph? No....they improved over the 71-91 team they had under Art Howe in 2004; however, the fact needs to be shown that the Mets have made the playoffs just once out of the three years that Randolph has been the manager, which, with the players that he has been given, is unacceptable...The Mets returned almost the entire 2006 team, yet they failed to make the playoffs in 2007...

You want to talk about second half collapses, yes, Yost has not done well in the second half, but...has he ever allowed his team to just completely blow a seven game lead by losing 12 of 17? Scoring over 5 runs in seven of the losses?

Yost's Brewers

2003: 68-94 6th NL Central
2004: 67-94 6th NL Central
2005: 81-81 3rd NL Central
2006: 75-87 4th NL Central
2007: 83-79 2nd NL Central

When Yost took over for Davey Lopes, the Brewers had just lost 100 games...he took a team that had been the laughingstock of baseball and made them a contender...He has had time to put a plan in and it shows in the records...