(by Brett Kahn)Willie Randolph's status as manager was indeed day-to-day. However, after two straight wins, why did Omar Minaya decide to pull the trigger now?
At 34-35, the Mets are far from where they want to be after 69 games. After two straight wins, however, Willie seemed to be safe for another day. That wasn't the case.
At 3:15 this morning, Randolph was given the official word that he was let go, along with pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto.
Whether it were the on-field pitching decisions that Randolph made, or the off-field racial comments, Minaya decided to step out of the dugout and make an iffy timing call to the bullpen for Jerry Manuel.
Manuel isn't that big of stranger to winning, however. In 2000, he won AL Manager of the year while guiding the Chicago White Sox to the best record in the American League at 95-67.
Although he might be the best man for the job at this juncture, the question will always be asked why now? Why fly Randolph out to the west coast to manage one game? Was it so that Minaya could hide the decision in the throws of the early morning? If so, Minaya might be joining Randolph on the unemployment line earlier than he thinks.
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