Nothing good starts after 2am.

Whenever I was out with friends, had a few too many adult beverages and thought about doing something that I probably shouldn't I looked at the clock, if it was after 2 am, I knew it was probably not a good idea. The New York Mets should have looked at the clock.

Pro sport franchises take notice. General Managers get your interns to collect news clips. The New York Mets are giving every franchise in every sport a lesson in how to completely screw up a firing. And in the light of the terrible press that this firing has generated already today, Fred Wilpon, the Mets' owner, has thrown GM Omar Minaya under the bus, telling ESPN 1050's Andrew Marchand that the decision to fire Willie, and the timing of the firing were the sole decisions of Minaya. Sorry Fred, you sign the checks, the final decision on this stuff has to be yours.

Step One - Let a Bad Situation Fester:
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Assistant GM Tony Bernazzard are the two keys to this. Wilpon has wanted Randolph out for two years (ever since Randolph got a raise from the Mets - interesting since Wilpon is one of the owners, if he wanted Randolph out he was certainly under no obligation to pay the man)

Bernazzard has long wanted Randolph out too and has served as a hatchet man in Willie's clubhouse, often countermanding Randolph's instructions or criticisims of players (specifically veterans Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Julio Franco). Imagine if you were disciplining your children and then someone came into the room right after you lectured them and handed out punishments and told the children to ignore you. How is Randolph supposed to maintain any credibility with that going on? Bernazzard openly campaigned for Manny Acta to replace Randolph after the 05 season and went so far as to hang out in the Nationals' clubhouse when the team went to Washington. The Mets should have curbed this behavior. Omar should have curbed this behavior.

Step Two - Make No Decisions:
Over the last few years there has been a disturbing trend emerging from Queens. The Mets as an organization are so afraid of making a bad decision that they make no decisions. Rather than step up and make the call, the Wilpons test the public relations waters on EVERYTHING, and then they often still screw things up.

There were three times when Randolph could have been fired. 1. After the collapse last season. 2. After his comments where he hinted that he was being treated unfairly because he's African American. 3. When the news leaked about how the Mets planned to replace Willie on Friday.

Step Three - Make the Guy You're Firing a Hero:
By letting Randolph dangle like this they have turned him into a sympathetic figure. If the Mets had fired him after his comments, or even on Friday, there wouldn't have been any backlash. Lets face it, the way the team has performed, someone deserves to be fired (personally I think it is Minaya), but in doing it this way, the team is being ripped over the coals and deservedly so.

Lets go through the timeline:
 Friday afternoon: rumors circulate that Mets are going to fire Willie, Peterson and the firstbase coach and replace them with Jerry Manuel and AAA coaches
 
Friday night: Steve Phillips tells everyone that in his experience with the Mets you can discount most rumors, but when the rumors have a plan with them as this did - it's likely true, Mets win
 
Saturday: Nothing happens, game rained out.
 
Sunday: Rumors continue along with the added twist that the Mets are waiting so as to not fire the guys on Father's Day - Mets split double header
 
Monday: Mets fly cross country to Los Angeles, Omar Minaya with them. Everyone figures firing has been put on hold or else why fly these guys cross country.
 
Monday night: Mets win, Willie does post game, players and coaches go back to hotel, team sends out press release at 3:15 AM Eastern time announcing Willie, Peterson and first base coach fired. Willie and players are then contacted at hotel by scrambling reporters and have no idea what's going on.

And the way it was handled, a press release at 3:15 EST, was so pathetic. If Omar was going out there to fire Willie, which he obviously was or else why else fire him after a Met win, and you've decided to let him coach the game then what he should have done is this: after the game close the clubhouse, talk to Randolph and the coaches who are being fired. Talk to the players. Then be a man and go out in front of the assembled media and take questions. This was not a spur of the moment decision. The decision had been made Friday - that is plenty of time for Mets' PR Director Jay Horowitz to construct a statement for Omar to read to the media.

And Met fans, if you thought Randolph was too laid back, well with Manuel in his spot, you ain't seen nothing yet.

The Mets can spend like the best of them, they are moving into a new park and will have a good team on the field, but if they ever want a real manager to come to Flushing they had better clean up the rest of the front office. The backstabbing and infighting that goes back to Stan Cashen days and carries through Phillips vs. Valentine and now Randolph vs. Bernazzard - must end.

So what becomes of Willie? Well there's speculation that Brian Cashman could be a front runner after this season for the recently vacated Mariners' GM spot. Odds are John McClaren will not be back. Would Cash bring in Willie as his manager out there? Before Cashman started eying Mattingly and Girardi as eventual replacements for Joe Torre in the Bronx, Willie was the guy. Randolph would know he would have the GM's full support and Seattle's ownership is very hands off but still willing to spend freely.