Willie, oh poor Willie

Let it be stated for the record: Gonzoball loves Willie Randolph. For a while at least, he even made it hard to root against the Mets. For a kid growing up a Yankee fan in the dull and ringless 80s, Willie was a classy mainstay, and along with Ron Guidry, the only links to Championship teams of the late 70s. But after presiding over the greatest late season collapse in baseball history, and following that up with the same kind of uninspired play in 2008, Willie's job is not secure. And he's playing the race card. Worse, he's comparing himself to Isiah Thomas and Herm Edwards. From Ian O'Connor's column: "Is it racial?" Randolph asked. "Huh? It smells a little bit." Asked directly if he believes black managers are held to different standards than their white counterparts, Randolph said: "I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I think there's something there. Herman Edwards did pretty well here and he won a couple of playoff [games], and they were pretty hard on Herm. Isiah Thomas didn't do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good. ... I don't know if people are used to a certain figurehead. There's something weird about it. I don't know what the appropriate analogy is here: apples, oranges, and dogshit, maybe? Herm Edwards didn't get run out of town on a racial rail, he coached the Jets for 5 seasons, more than any other Jets coach since Joe Walton (oy). In those 5 seasons, he took the team to the playoffs 3 times, but never made it past the 2nd round, and seemed to be oblivious to the concept of clock management. Then, in his final season, the team finished 4-12. Then, HE LEFT by breaking a contract, negotiating with another team during the playoffs, and abandoning his players. Isiah, as you might expect, is dogshit. No racial overtones needed to form a negative opinion on his character or coaching/GM abilities. As far as Willie is concerned, he's beleaguered, and probably suspects the end is near. But New York doesn't see the color of the manager's skin in the standings. It just sees a winning percentage of under .500.