30-minute meeting between GM Omar Minaya and manager Willie Randolph.Coincidence?
I don't think so.
I believe Minaya told Randolph to move Church there, against Randolph's wishes. Church went into the two-hole on Tuesday, April 15. Since then he has gone 8-21, driving in two runs, scoring nine, and raised his batting average almost 20 points. The Mets were 5-0 in those games. Obviously, he enjoys hitting second in the batting order, and even was quoted by the New York Post as saying: "I love it," Church said. "I've been getting some pitches that I've been able to do something with."
Great. Super. We found out #2 hitter for the rest of the season.
Not if Randolph has anything to do with it.
Luis Castillo was moved from eighth in the order (where he landed after getting bumped out of the second spot) back up to batting behind Jose Reyes for the finale in Philadelphia. Is it any surprise that Castillo failed in a huge spot in the top of the ninth inning as he was unable to get a fundamental bunt down to advance runners, and when he already had two strikes on him, was unable to even make contact and hope something happens. Instead, he waves at a slider inside and makes the first out of the inning. The Mets were unable to score and therefore lost the game.
Why in the world would you mess with an order that has won you five straight, and has seen the new #2 hitter bat .380 and score nine times is beyond me. Only Randolph will know.
Hopefully Minaya has a little sit down with the manager before Monday's game against the Chicago Cubs, and sets the record straight.
Why didn't the Mets kept Luis Castillo eight and Ryan Church second?
ReplyDeleteHow did you write three posts in two minutes?
ReplyDeleteOh, oh, it's magic.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I posted the Photo one, then I started the Willie article. I wanted that to stay up top, so when I wrote the Alou article, I backdated it.
;)
so basically you cheated time? try that with death... or watch final destination to see how that will end.
ReplyDeleteanyway, willie is not making a good decision here. i think church is old, so to me castillo is a dinosaur. (if i had my choice my entire team would be under 27, or at least 30).
also, i'd like to note that any day since CSFTW (clean shaven for the win) started that i've had more than a day of stubble, we've lost. i'd like to officially apologize to all mets fans. no promises that it wont happen again.
Basically, yes.
ReplyDeleteAnd Doug...SHAVE!
I think that is an interesting summary, 'Drew. (To get back on topic, LOL) I was thinking that maybe Willie was pulling the old okee-doke on his trusted veteran who has openly stated that he needs time off (because he's a big fat whiny b*tch but that's besides the point). Plus, with Willie getting some b@lls and standing up to the organization for openly courting Manny Acta during last week's games, I actually thought for a minute that Willie had half a brain cell in his head by moving Church to #2. On the other hand, I think you guys (and by you guys I mean, bloggers with conspiracy theories LOL) make too much of the Omar / Willie dynamic. Believe it or not, I think Omar is on just as much a short leash as Willie is this season. I don't doubt Omar is in Willie's ear about things (like last year with the whole Julio Franco for Rick Down rumors before they were released / fired), but the line up I wouldn't doubt is all Willie. I think simply he might have wanted more protection for Endy at the bottom of the line up? That's my only guess. Of course, he screwed up but perhaps we see Church back in there today. that was long, wasn't it? LOL
ReplyDeleteCoop, don't worry. You make total sense. The only thing I differ on is Omar is on a much longer leash. He's brought in a lot of talent, though he's also traded some away (Bannister). He's still Willie's boss.
ReplyDeleteI think the talent we have right now is good enough to get deep into the playoffs. If we don't, barring some sort of overhaul, I don't see Willie making it to next year. He needs to be able to wrangle this team together.