Lingering Thoughts On The Whole Randolph Circus

Jeff Wilpon - son of owner Fred, trader of Scott Kazmir, mismanager of all things Mets, and, by most accounts, an all-around pretty lousy dude - is making a serious challenge to James Dolan's throne as top dog in the Lucky Sperm Club.

Maybe Willie Randolph made some questionable bullpen decisions or failed to properly discipline Jose Reyes or was guilty of a dozen other offenses that managers get criticized for but probably have minimal impact on wins and losses. But, because of injuries and personnel decisions, he'd been forced to fill out a daily lineup that included a combination of Endy Chavez (.565 OPS), Damion Easley (.615 OPS), and Fernando Tatis (.596 OPS, old). The team is 21st in doubles, 21st in homers, and have only three regular positional players (David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Reyes) with an OPS+ over 100. This team can't hit.

True to form, Rick Peterson left us with a bizarre metaphor, saying "I'm the hardwood floor that's getting ripped out and they're going to replace it with Tuscany tile." This is also a dude who admitted to reading Eastern philosophy and drawing sketches of his players (the hell??) in the offseason to cope with last year's collapse. While Peterson's body of work never really matched the hype, we'll kind of miss the jacket in 95-degree heat, the curly mullet, and, especially, his habit of always touching the pitchers when he went out for a mound visit. Don't believe me?

The best news to come of the firings? Ken Oberkfell! That's right, a guy who absolutely epitomized 1980's baseball, part of the "Bearded Braves" along with Glenn Hubbard and Bruce Sutter. Just having him around improves their karma. And if you think I'm kidding, then you just don't know me. You honestly wouldn't be happy to have a guy on your bench who used to look like this?

What could poor Tom Nieto possibly have done to get canned?

Assuming Jerry Manuel is only manager on an interim basis, our wish list for 2009 manager: Bobby Valentine, Manny Acta, Wally Backman.