Heimlich, Anyone??

Mets fire Randolph; Peterson, Nieto also dismissed

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After weeks of speculation that his job was in jeopardy, Willie Randolph finally got fired by the New York Mets while most fans were sleeping.

Randolph was let go in the middle of the night Tuesday, 2½ months into a disappointing season that has followed the team's colossal collapse last September.

Bench coach Jerry Manuel takes over on an interim basis for Randolph, who led the Mets to within one win of the 2006 World Series. They got off to a strong start again last year but plummeted down the stretch and have been unable to rebound.

A preseason favorite to win the NL pennant, the $138 million Mets (34-35) had won two in a row when Randolph was dismissed early Tuesday morning -- making him the first big league manager to get fired this season.

Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto also were cut loose in an enormous overhaul that was revealed in a fact-of-the-matter news release at a stunning time -- about 3:15 a.m. ET, nearly two hours after New York's 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Ken Oberkfell, the club's manager at Triple-A New Orleans, and Dan Warthen, pitching coach for the Zephyrs, will join the major league staff along with Luis Aguayo, a Mets field coordinator.


The TrekMedic gleefully chuckles:

So,..blowing a 7-game lead with 17 to go wasn't a fluke? Wonder what motor-mouth Bill Wagner will say now,...

And YES,..the Phillies are STILL the team to beat in the East, boys!