June 20, 2008
SNY analyst and former Met and Yankee Darryl Strawberry told The Post's Justin Terranova that the problem with the Mets was not with Willie Randolph, but with the players Randolph managed.
Q: Was firing Willie Randolph the right move?
A: Omar Minaya obviously has the right to fire whoever he wants. In my opinion, Randolph was doing a wonderful job. I think basically what he had to work with was the problem. He was asking for more, and guys were not responding. As a player, you have to look at yourself and say we are the ones not getting it done.
Q: Do you think the Mets could have handled the firing better?
A: They probably could, but again it's Omar's call. It's not a call that is up to public opinion, and Omar's statements were that he didn't want to fire a guy in uniform, and that is understandable.
Q: Was this whole ordeal a distraction for the team?
A: It's not about the front office or managers being fired for this team. When you step between the lines, that's your business. That's what you get paid to do, and you have to take a lot of pride in that.
Q: If Randolph's situation were not a distraction, what would you attribute the mediocre play to?
A: Inconsistency, lack of fundamental baseball that costs you baseball games. You win doing the little things, and that's why we won in '86 and almost in '88. We played up to a standard where fans could look at us and say these guys laid it all out for us. I think guys can't be fearful of being booed and guys writing negatively about you in New York. Expectations are high, and the fans have knowledge, and they expect players to step it up. That's something that you haven't seen from these players.
Q: Do you think the team is good enough to make a playoff run, or does Minaya have to make a move?
A: They are good enough on paper. You look at them on paper and you say that's a pretty good lineup, but you have to take that to the field. It's going to take a little more energy from them. You just lost your manager and you let him down because the performance comes from the players, not the manager. He put the best players out there and your best players are not showing up every day.
