I will be hosting a pre-game show  with Howard Megdal of the NY Observer to discuss the Willie Randolph situation at 9pm tonight. Howard and I will report on some of our findings as we spent the day talking to some people that we know around baseball. Steve Keane of Kranepool Society will also call in to give the fans take on the Willie Randolph situation. Calls and comments are welcome at 646-716-8187

Click here to listen live or go to the NY Baseball Digest Archive to download the replay.

WFAN’s Eddie Coleman spoke to Mike and the Mad Dog this afternoon.

“You could say it was inevitable but we were all caught by surprise, the way it went down. Willie was upbeat after the game, they just played one of their better games, they beat a good team, they have Santana going tonight, there was no reason for him not to think optimistically. He knew was on thin ice, under the gun but he was as upbeat as I’ve seen him because they responded in a big way for him and with Santana going he thought maybe the roll was coming.”

“I spoke to Willie early this morning. He was taking calls from everywhere and he was busy it was just a couple of hours after it happened. He was brief but I did sense a bit of relief from him and he use the term “this has been hanging over me for a while” and in a sense he felt at peace with himself… Its been tough trying to get this team ready and focused when everything is swirling around. He was disappointed and shocked by it but at the same time he told me he was at peace with himself and the job that he did.”

“I told him he kept his head high the entire time and that he had nothing to be ashamed of. We had talked over time about how I felt the deck was stacked against him on a lot of fronts. Injury wise, just normal baseball stuff and he handled himself better than any person in his position could during this time. He did the right things and did all he could to keep his team headed in the right direction. They are coming off two wins in row and Jerry Manuel is taking over at least that’s a head start for him.”

Asked about the way Willie’s firing was handled:

“Incredibly ill timed is the nicest way I could describe it. There are a lot of other ways you could describe it as well…I can’t understand why it was done this way, you put a guy on a plane and fly him out here… It makes absolutely no sense. I just don’t understand the thinking or the rational behind this whatsoever.”

“I will tell you one thing, when we were at the ball park last night. I did not hear this but I was told this from Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, he asked Tony Bernazard, who is here on this trip whether anyone would be fired? This was late last night, 11:30 or so west coast time and he asked if anyone would be fired tonight? Tony said no. Now, when he was seen later at the team hotel Steve Popper confronted him and said “you said nobody was going to be fired tonight”? his response (Bernazard) was “well they weren’t, they were fired today.” …So how about that one.”

Willie Randolph walked into the lobby moments ago at the hotel in Anaheim and appeared to be very disappointed. He said the following:

I’m very upset I won’t have the chance to fulfill my dream here of winning a championship in New York. I’m going to miss my players, the fans. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to fulfill what I wanted to do here. I’m going to go home and enjoy my family now.

Asked if Randolph knew he would be fired last night.

No I was stunned by it. I still am.

It was certainly a mild surprise this morning to see the Associated Press story that Willie Randolph had been dismissed as Mets’ manager, as well as Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. I’ve never been a huge fan of Randolph because some of his in-game decisions are a bit puzzling. He’s been stubborn, too, for much of his tenure as Mets manager, up until his job status began to come in question.

As everyone else has already said, the decision to fire Randolph after tonight’s win was particularly in bad taste. Now, Mets fans, let’s not fool ourselves. Randolph won the last three out of his last four games, but that’s not the reason why the decision was bad. When Omar Minaya basically said Randolph’s job status would take a series-by-series approach, it was silly. And it’s still silly.

If the Mets’ front office or Minaya or a combination of both wanted to fire Randolph, they should have done so last month. As Anthony De Rosa said today, it would have saved a lot of trouble for Mets’ fans and players alike. It would have also allowed the team to avoid the public relations nightmare they face now. If they weren’t sure a month ago, they should have at least fired Randolph on Sunday. I refuse to believe that enough happened within the course of the last 24 hours to make the decision in the middle of the night right after the start of a west coast trip. That decision is disgusting and cowardly.

Strangely enough, I will miss Peterson. His personality was entertaining, but for some strange reason, he also instilled a confidence in me. He seemed like a guy with an intelligent mind for baseball. And I just don’t buy that the Mets’ pitching is bad enough this season for Peterson to get fired. The Mets are exactly middle of the pack (15th) in ERA in Major League Baseball and in the top 10 (9th) in batting average against. The rotation looks to be in good shape, and there are worse bullpens in baseball than the Mets’ one, for sure. I think Peterson is simply a casualty of change for the sake of change, and that’s a shame.

As for Minaya, perhaps, we should have seen this coming. He clearly built a team to “win now,” and “now” was 2006. Trading for Carlos Delgado was not for his bat in 2008, but it was for the 38 homers he clobbered in 2006. Signing Pedro Martinez was not for his pitching prowess in 2008 but for his performances in 2005 and 2006. Minaya just guaranteed the 2008 to make sure he got those years from Martinez.

Signing Moises Alou in two consecutive years was certainly a “win now” move, hoping to catch a year when Alou is magically healthy. Unfortunately, both years he has not been. If Mets fans will remember, one of the big public relations rallying cries behind the trade and subsequent free-agent signing of Orlando Hernandez was his “big game” mentality and playoff experience. Minaya looked to tolerate his injuries and up-and-down seasons for what he would surely, in his mind, bring in the postseason. Suffice it to say, the investment has been less than successful.

Minaya should be lauded for how quickly he turned around a team down in the dumps after 2004 into a juggernaut in 2006. But that juggernaut would not remain because too many of the pieces were aging with their performances fleeting. Minaya did not do enough in the wake of the 2007 collapse to rejuvenate the team to its 2006 glory, hoping instead that the pitching arm of one man (Johan Santana) would magically fit the bill. While Santana has been predictably stellar, the team has been less than.

These “change for the sake of change” moves are hollow. Mets fans can only cling to the hope that the team will have one of those big winning streaks some teams have after foundation-shaking actions. Even if the team were to rally behind Jerry Manuel and adopt Randolph as a “gipper” to win for, that would not justify the actions the Mets’ front office has taken in the firing of Randolph. Nothing could.

Today I am embarrassed and ashamed to be a Mets fan. I awoke this morning to see an “ALERT” on SNY; the Mets had fired Willie Randolph. I was surprised because the Mets did it after a win and they waited until 3 a.m. eastern time to announce it.

I am ashamed to be a fan of a team that was so cowardly and gutless that it didn’t have the courage to fire Willie before they travelled across the country. I am also ashamed that the Mets let Randolph wave in the breeze for weeks.

I have never seen anything handled so poorly in my life following sports than this situation.

If you thought it was bad that the Mets collapsed at the end of last year, it is even worse with the way this team has gone about firing Willie. Omar Minaya is the general manager, but this was a move that the Wilpons forced; plain and simple.

Look, I understand the reasoning for firing the manager, don’t get me wrong. Willie was the manager and he is the “boss” of the on-the-field product. But, the way this whole debacle was handled can be described with one word: pathetic.

Deadspin reports that according to an email newsletter distributed by Rick’s Cabaret in Manhattan, Willie Randolph does not have the support of the women working at this fine New York City establishment.

Several NY Mets and NY Yankees can be considered “regulars,” and the dancers at the club are unofficial experts on Baseball because they have met so many players from so many teams.

A Rick’s dancer has been conducting a poll asking her fellow dancers if Mets Manager Willie Randolph should be let go. The “Dressing Room Poll” results are an approximation from the last week, with about 100 dancers saying that he should be fired, and only a handful saying that he should stay.

Rick’s Cabaret Spokesperson Lonnie Hanover said, “The girls have a keen interest in Baseball, and they are entitled to their opinions. The club itself did not participate in the vote.”

No word on if Willie still garners favor with the ever important “Scores” contingent of their stripper fanbase.

Newsday’s David Lennon at his blog On the Mets beat is really staying on top of the situation out in Anaheim. Lennon reports that he…

Just saw Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar leave for the stadium from the team hotel. No sign yet of Rick Peterson or Tom Nieto. Stay tuned …

No word yet on what Willie ate for lunch or if he actually has an appetite.

Update -7:03 p.m.- MetsBlog is reporting that Willie Randolph, Sandy Alomar, Jerry Manuel, Rick Peterson and Howard Johnson have all been seen at the stadium in Anaheim.

So that leaves the real root to all of the Mets problems… Tom Nieto MUST GO!!

Update -7:36 p.m. - The Journal’s John Delcos is reporting that Tom Nieto is at the ball park.

Well, I guess we can only hope to win despite his continued presence.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman just spoke to WFAN’s Mike Franseca about Willie Randolph’s job status. Listen here.

“Willie’s on very thin ice. I don’t think there is any other way to put it. I’ve heard he’s gonna survive today. I’m not sure why that is. Could be just linguistics. They met yesterday and Omar Minaya has been his biggest supporter and I think the other support has just fallen down. Its kind of Omar by himself right now.”

“I would be very surprised if he makes it through the next few days. I’m also hearing that there will be a big shakeup with the coaching staff and that would be the hitting and pitching coaches. I think they want to start a new but I’m hearing Jerry Manuel will be the guy. Even though that is not something new. I think they want someone who know what has gone on here the last sixty five days. They’ve discussed other candidates but that is for next year in case Manuel doesn’t turn it around. He has two thirds of a season to turn it around and if he doesn’t then they will go in another direction.”

“I heard they are very high on Dan Warthen, the pitching coach in Triple A, as a replacement for Rick Peterson. I couldn’t guarantee that would be the move but he used to be the pitching coach with the Tigers and is very respected around the league. I haven’t heard anything on the hitting coach front.”

“They are trying to shake things up with the players too but that’s not so easy to do. I hear Omar’s on the phones trying to do something. Obviously, they can’t go on much longer with Tatis in the outfield and the Alou situation. They would love to do something with the personal, it’s just not easy to do.”

“I would be shocked if Willie is not gone by the end of the week”.

According to the always informative Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Willie Randolph’s job status has become so unsafe that it essentially “day-to-day.” Rosenthal cites that there are large amounts of criticism out there for Randolph for having Billy Wagner come in the middle of an inning on Wednesday, rather than just pulling Mike Pelfrey after eight innings. 

However, at ESPN in his column “Rumblings and Grumblings” Jayson Stark thinks that while his job is by no means secure, Willie is safe for now:

But the fellow who has to make this call, Minaya, isn’t giving in to that talk. Minaya “has made his decision,” said the same baseball man. “And the decision is, this is Willie’s team. And he’s not going away.”

Well, so much for the ‘middle of an inning argument’, as Wagner come out the next day to start the ninth and blew it.  I really hate that comment too, closers are supposed to be your best relievers and sometimes they are such babies with things like, “I only pitch in save situations” or, “I enter games at the beginning of innings” and “I refuse to enter the game in the 8th.”  Their job is to be the team’s best reliever, and they should work when called upon. 

Back to Willie, I think unless we spark a turn around vs. the Rangers this weekend, it’s his time to go.  Depending on how the series goes, I could definitely imagine Willie not being on the plane for the west coast trip coming up, starting on Monday.