I will be brief, because I am completely sick of hearing that Willie Randolph was treated unfairly. The fact of the matter is that he didn't perform and he deserved what he got.
There is a sad underlying story for the Mets and their pitching staff. With Willie Randolph went Rick Peterson, the pitching coach of the last few years.
Unfortunately, Rick will be remembered for his overwhelming endorsement to trade Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. This, along with Peterson's firing, are very sad points in Mets history.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Since Peterson made that endorsement, he has done wonders to a sometimes aging pitching staff. He helped Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner revitalize their careers in New York, by learning new ways to approach batters.
He is also responsible for turning two "throw-ins" in trades, into top-notch No. 3 and 4 starters (possibly No. 2 and 3 starters). Of course, this is John Maine and Oliver Perez. Rick saw potential and taught both of these guys to control their emotions on the mound and learn how to win.
Furthermore, Rick brought a great sense of pitching to New York. Yes, he worked by pitch counts, which may have been his greatest downfall, but for any team out there looking for a coach to turn Old into New and Young into Competitor, Rick Peterson is looking for a job.
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6 months ago
i don't think he did anything for Glavine and Pedro
if anything their careers went down in numbers (well Pedro didn't play at all) but Glavine struggled in his tenure here with the exception of 2006
6 months ago
I agree with these statements to an extent. Rick Peterson should've been left for the rest of the season simply because his replacement has such little interaction with the current pitching staff that there will eventually be conflicting ideas, especially with Jerry Manuel. These pitchers now must confide in another coach who hasn't proven himself to the team to be a legitimate resource. Now I'm not trying to undermine the new pitching coach, but just stating that he has little experience with these Met pitchers.
Granted Peterson has done good work and revived some older pitchers, he gave input to Willie suggesting that most of these pitchers can't throw over 100 pitches. False. Young pitchers, like Mike Pelfrey, can handle 120 pitches thrown going into the 9th inning with a shutout, even if the situation pushes him to 140 pitches. There's no need to take him out after giving up one hit. The point I'm trying to make is that Rick Peterson gave his input to Willie of when to pull or leave pitchers, which leads me to believe that Peterson was fired because of his own judgment calls.
6 months ago
glavine, pedro, wagner????? come on, peterson didn't REVITALIZE their careers
maine and perez yea ill give you....but with the recent inconsistencies of both of those pitchers (primarily perez), his work with those two guys looks a little iffy
given that AND kazmir....i dont see how you can be giving peterson that much credit.....VICTOR ZAMBRANO!!!!!!!!! im still losing sleep over that...come on man
and, lastly, willie randolph did not deserve what he got...you are a huge met fan, as was willie when he was growing up as you know....put yourself in his position...yes he hasn't performed, but imagine hearing your gm tell the media on friday that he was confident and he would support you....you then win 3 out of four (and almost came back after being down 8-2)....you are called to a meeting after u win a tough road game 3000 miles from your home....and you get fired at 12 am at night.....okay, maybe you should have got fired, but you didnt deserve to get fired in that fashion
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