The Purge and the New Season
And one morning we awoke and the deed was done.
So what now?
The only thing you can hope for is that the players take this moment to forget everything that's transpired over the past 10 months, that they free their minds of all the failure and disappointment attendant on this organization since last September.
As for us, the fans, we got what we asked for. No matter where we stood on Willie as a manager, I think we all agree that the circus surrounding Willie's status had become distracting, almost even nauseating.
Looking at how things ended, it's tough to say why the team didn't pull the trigger earlier, but it doesn't make any difference now. What's done is done and all that's left is to move forward.
* * * * *
You can read an obituary of Willie on another web site (or, perhaps, in the coming days if Sip, Ched, or Nails feels compels to write one of their own).
But today is all about the future. When Jerry Manuel addresses his team for the first time, I want him to stress that point. Forget everything that's happened to this point. Forget September. Forget 7 up with 17 to play. Forget 35-36. Forget it all.
Forget the circus and just focus on baseball again.
* * * * *
A move of this magnitude needed to happen. Having failed to respond to last season's collapse with inspired play in the first half of this season, something needed to happen to shake things up.
Be that as it may, I'm not sure this move will have the intended effect; I don't know that we'll see rebirth and renewal on the diamond tonight. Time will tell.
Time has already told that the 2006 team that brought us so much joy has not aged well. In the wee hours of the day today, the Mets began dismantling that team.
And so we move forward.
Farewill, Willie.
- A.F.O.M.G.
So what now?
The only thing you can hope for is that the players take this moment to forget everything that's transpired over the past 10 months, that they free their minds of all the failure and disappointment attendant on this organization since last September.
As for us, the fans, we got what we asked for. No matter where we stood on Willie as a manager, I think we all agree that the circus surrounding Willie's status had become distracting, almost even nauseating.
Looking at how things ended, it's tough to say why the team didn't pull the trigger earlier, but it doesn't make any difference now. What's done is done and all that's left is to move forward.
* * * * *
You can read an obituary of Willie on another web site (or, perhaps, in the coming days if Sip, Ched, or Nails feels compels to write one of their own).
But today is all about the future. When Jerry Manuel addresses his team for the first time, I want him to stress that point. Forget everything that's happened to this point. Forget September. Forget 7 up with 17 to play. Forget 35-36. Forget it all.
Forget the circus and just focus on baseball again.
* * * * *
A move of this magnitude needed to happen. Having failed to respond to last season's collapse with inspired play in the first half of this season, something needed to happen to shake things up.
Be that as it may, I'm not sure this move will have the intended effect; I don't know that we'll see rebirth and renewal on the diamond tonight. Time will tell.
Time has already told that the 2006 team that brought us so much joy has not aged well. In the wee hours of the day today, the Mets began dismantling that team.
And so we move forward.
Farewill, Willie.
- A.F.O.M.G.
posted by A Friend of Mr. Glass' at 8:54 AM
5 Comments:
unless willie was supernaturally linked to the injuries of church and alou, i don't see this move doing much short term. that being said, willie was not an NL manager, and it is a good sign that (6 months later) the mets realize they cannot just "stay the course" and find themselves flying flags in november.
truth be told, omar can justifiably go on account of the castillo contract alone.
To be quite candid, I'm embarrassed to be a Mets fan today. The way this was handled for the last few weeks was disgusting, and even if Willie was a below-average tactician and didn't show a lot of emotion, he deserved a whole lot better than this.
And oh by the way -- my hunch is that Jerry Manuel is the freakin' status quo.
this is a bitch move. Fire him when it makes the most sense. when you are angry and need a scapegoat!!
this is like the 112th justifiable time to have done so...
Front office waited until they went away from the NY media to deal with the dirty work on the first day of a road trip...
seems like this was calculated so the story could die down a bit before the team got back to shea.
and fired dude after a win.
yuk
Forget the circus and just focus on baseball again.
I don't this was the move to do that. If you purged HoJo and Manuel maybe. Promoting the best prospects in AAA, which very well may have been the coaching/managing staff.
But Manuel and Willie were part of the same problem/not problem. This doesn't really change anything, for if there was an obvious solution, don't you think Manuel would've pointed it out?
Willie was very much a part of the thinking that this team is best served by veterans. His style of managing requires veterans he can run out there everyday (cf. Torre), and his even keel approach is a way of showing faith in the "track record" of his guys.
So, in light of that, I think it's a step in the right direction that he is gone. This team is losing not because of a Latino-Wagner divide, or because of Jose Reyes trying to hit homeruns. They're losing because they're awfully old at key positions and not getting offensive production from them. The outfield spots and 1B need to contribute with the bat, and that fundamentally hasn't happened because (w/the exception of Church) of age. Problem is, Omar is the dude who actually signed these guys. I think, unless he can somehow change his approach, that he has to go too at the end of the season. Thanks for Beltran and Santana; no thanks for 4 years of Luis Castillo.
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