NEW YORK (AP) -Willie Randolph is having trouble sleeping with his job seemingly in jeopardy. The New York Mets manager may have reason to worry.
Amid fresh reports the embattled skipper won’t last through a weekend series against the Texas Rangers, general manager Omar Minaya was noncommittal Friday when asked whether Randolph has the backing of club executives.
“Bottom line is, I’m just not going to answer every report that’s out there,” Minaya said. “This is a game of performance and you have to do certain things.”
Expected to contend in the NL East, the $138-million Mets (31-34) have lost six of seven and find themselves 7 1/2 games back of division-leading Philadelphia entering play Friday night.
The often upbeat Randolph has been under fire for weeks, after comments last month about his portrayal on Mets broadcasts in which he raised the issue of race and the talented team’s overall sluggish play.
He acknowledged that the constant speculation about his future is wearing on him.
“It’s a little tougher to sleep, and you just get up every morning ready to come out and try to do something to help your team win,” he said. “It gets to the point where the last week was embarrassing. These guys don’t want to be embarrassed.”
Randolph sat down with owner Fred Wilpon, his son, Jeff, the club’s chief operating officer, and Minaya more than two weeks ago and walked out of the much-anticipated meeting with the general manager’s support.
The Mets responded by winning five of six to close out a homestand against Florida and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They opened a West Coast trip by taking two of three from San Francisco, then started struggling again.
New York was swept in a four-game series at San Diego, three of the losses coming by scores of 2-1, and lost two of three to NL West-leading Arizona at home to fall three games below .500 and match their low-water mark of the season.
“It’s just been unbelievable,” said Randolph, who’s been picked to coach in the All-Star game next month. “Players want to get this going in the right direction, but it’s like you’re fighting some other kind of force. That’s how it feels sometimes. You just try to get guys in position where they can produce.”
To be fair, Minaya said, not all the criticism should fall on Randolph.
Starting pitchers have given the Mets a chance in their last nine games, but they’ve won just three of them because the bullpen has given up 25 runs in 32 1-3 innings over that span. All-Star closer Billy Wagner has blown three straight saves, the last coming Thursday when New York squandered a four-run lead in a 5-4, 10-inning loss to Arizona.
Injuries continue to play havoc with Randolph’s lineup card. Moises Alou is headed back to the disabled list, Ryan Church is out with post-concussion syndrome and Pedro Martinez has made just three starts this season because of hamstring problems.
“We’re playing what we have,” Randolph said.
Several of the team’s stars said Randolph’s future has been a distraction, but most said they should be held accountable and Randolph doesn’t deserve the blame.
“They tell us he’s going to be here. He’s our manager and nothing has changed,” Carlos Beltran said. “It’s been rough lately but we need to move on. We need to play better, that’s the bottom line.”
When asked whether a managerial change is warranted, especially after missing the 2007 playoffs following one of the worst late-season collapses in baseball history, Carlos Delgado tersely replied: “I don’t answer ‘if’ questions.”
“It’s kind of frustrating because we know what kind of potential we have,” he added. “We just can’t catch a break.”
Minaya didn’t rule out personnel changes, either, and said: “Nobody is untouchable.”
He spoke to a few general managers Friday, just as he does every day, looking for ways to improve the team.
“The bottom line is, we’re all responsible. The players are responsible, the manager is responsible, the front office is responsible,” Minaya said. “We’re a team.”
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