Why I Love Willie Randolph

From today's NY Times, and other papers:

"Come on, give me the first Milledge negative question, C'mon, throw it at me. I know you can't wait."

Willie starts his morning presser, which followed a session between the media and young Lastings, with that beauty. I love it! He knows the vultures want to start up on Lastings. He knows they want to dredge up the crap that went on last year. SO he says, let's go, ask away, and I'll answer.

Look, I'll admit, Lastings made some mistakes last year. You don't show up 70 minutes before a game, even if you are not starting. You don't turn your back on the manager when he is talking to you (though we do not know if that was intent, or if he merely thought Willie was done speaking and he went to walk away). You don't act like you are all that and a bag of chips when you are a rookie. But you know what, that was then, this is now. New season, new beginnings, and a new start for Lastings.

He said all the right things yesterday. He worked out during the offseason, cutting out the hamburgers, and adding on 12 pounds of muscle. He looked to be in good shape, and had a good BP session. His teammates appear ready to move on. Wagner said "He just has to come in here and respect his teammates. If he does that, his play will be good enough for him." On Day 1, it looks like he has. I'm hoping Lastings learned from last year, and is listening to his teammates. THey don't have it in for him, they want him to succeed.

Last week, John Delcos of the Journal News, posted a blog piece about how Wright was a week early, but Milledge was not. This is the type of crap Willie was talking about yesterday. Taking a nothing and turning it into a negative. Some fans, myself included, posted in Lastings' defense. Others decided to re-hash the stuff from last year, and even stuff from when Lastings was 16 years old. How long do we need to keep reading the same stupid stuff? That HS shit happened 5 to 6 years ago. It is done, and it is no different than what a lot of 16 year old kids do. I'm not saying I like it, I'm just saying I understand it happens, and that he does not need to walk around with a scarlet "A" around his neck for the rest of his life. A lot of players do some messed up stuff, even now (PLD anyone?), and we do not hold it against them. Let's give Lastings the same treatment, shall we? Besides, Willie will keep an eye on him:

"Just because you're talented doesn't mean you have a feel for the game. I'll be watching him for that reason."

Willie and the guys will watch him. Let's hope the vets help him a tad. I want to see him reach his full potential in NY, as a Met.

Willie also said the following :

"I feel that's one of the only things missing from his game since he's been here. That's another dimension. He can steal 50 bases, 50 bases, easy. He could steal more than Jose."

That was in regards to Carlos Beltran. Man, could you imagine Beltran stealing that many bases in NY? Forty is not out of the realm of possibility, he's done it twice before. What an added dimension that would be.

Willie grew up playing for the Yankees during the Bronx Zoo era. He knows what can happen if the players run things. If personalities clash. He seems to do a good job making sure everyone is on the same page, and that they toe the company line. If he can continue to do that, we have the makings of something special here.




Meanwhile, in Tampa, you have Rivera screaming for more money. Bernie not willing to be a non-roster invitee. A-Rod saying he and Jeter are not BBF anymore. The Big Eunuch throwing darts to the media. Giambi saying he would like to play 1st base. Contrast that to PSL. It is night and day.

Few things warm the cockles of my heart more than angst in the Yankee clubhouse. The acknowledged best closer in the past 10 years, if not history, is not happy. He could very well walk away at the end of the season. One of the great Yankees, Williams, is being shunted aside, even though he has a pretty good bat. Giambi appears to be accepting his DH role, but how will he adapt? And then there is A-Rod, who finally told it how it is and said he an Jeter aren't having sleepovers anymore, and that all he wants is for the team to succeed. Now, Jeter has yet to respond, but you can be sure that the repsonse will be very measured, and non-incendiary.

I say bravo to A-Rod. Tell it like it is. You messed up and called out Jeter in 2001 in the media. Jeter got rightfully pissed (though I do think Jeter's role in those WS wins is a tad over-hyped, A-Rod was right in what he said, he was wrong for actually saying it). The bottom line though is Jeter needs to say, it's done, he said something that pissed me off. But now, he is a teammate, and I realize that in order for us to reach our goal, we all need to play to the best of our abilities. The guy had a good season last year, and I think he will do better. So fans, lay off, so we can concentrate on reaching the World Series.

But he won't say that. And the media won't let it go. So there will be a fun sideshow in the Bronx this year. The first slump for either player will be magnified. And if the booing keeps up, A-Rod will opt out of his deal, and go elsewhere. Leaving the Yankees with a sizable hole at 3rd base.