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Minaya's full autonomy more like fool autonomy

Shaun Powell

June 15, 2008

He took the job for the money, obviously, and the title, because not many kids from Queens get the chance to become general manager of a big-league ballclub in New York.

In addition, there was one thing, or actually two words, that convinced Omar Minaya the Mets were right for him.

"Full autonomy."

That's what Fred Wilpon, chairman and owner of the Mets, promised back in September 2004. Minaya wasn't sure he heard right.

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"Full autonomy?"

"Full autonomy."

For those who need translation, full autonomy means you run the team. And in this particular case, it also meant Jeff Wilpon, the owners' energetic son, would steer clear, stick to learning the family business at the elbow of his brilliant father, and be thankful he was born rich and privileged.

But at some point, those two words lost more weight than Kirstie Alley, and Jeff began to stray. The true meaning of "full autonomy" now seems blurry. How blurry? That remains to be seen, especially if Minaya fires manager Willie Randolph.

Because if that happens, then Minaya should've trusted his initial reaction three-plus years ago when he asked Fred Wilpon to repeat himself.

When it comes to Randolph, Minaya doesn't want to pull the trigger, not now, not next week, not even in September unless this season becomes a complete wreck and he has no choice. He hired Randolph, likes Randolph and has faith that Randolph will turn the Mets around.

Therefore, if Randolph gets whacked in the near future, Minaya will indeed swing the ax. But his fingerprints won't be on the handle.

As owners of the Mets, and after putting up $140 million or so to build a champion or at least a respectable winner, the Wilpons have every right to be unhappy with the state of the team. Who wouldn't? Quite understandably, they're still annoyed by the stinging memory of last September, when the Mets were seven games up with 17 to play, only to crash with the resounding thud of the housing market. All well and good.

Still, that shouldn't change anything, in terms of protocol. The fate of Randolph should belong to the man the Mets hired to make baseball decisions, who shouldn't be subjected to a nudge from above or any "suggestion" that maybe a change is in order.

Because once they do that, once ownership starts doing Minaya's job, aren't the Mets back to where they were before, when Fred Wilpon thought Art Howe, the manager Randolph replaced, was worth a four-year contract?

After that disaster, Wilpon wisely started running the Mets the way he runs his other businesses. He looked to hire the right executive. He found a baseball man to handle baseball matters. That's what you do as an owner. You get someone you trust and let him do his job. You hold them accountable but you don't interfere, especially after you've promised to stay away.

When that agreement is broken, there's no reversing yourself. Essentially, you're telling the person you hired that you know their job better than they do. Say what you will about Minaya and the flawed team he's put together, but since when did Jeff Wilpon, who's heading the anti-Willie faction, become better qualified to know what's better for the Mets?

Randolph didn't, all of a sudden, forget everything he knew about baseball over the last several difficult months. His team has been a victim of weak relief pitching, mostly, and too many players ready for the baseball old folks home. He didn't make a string of bad managerial decisions that cost his team wins. He hasn't alienated himself from the entire clubhouse. However, if he's held to the bottom line, like all managers, fine, you'll get no argument here, as long as Minaya is the one doing the holding.

While admitting he's responsible for a 32-34 team that hasn't put together a winning streak to keep him off the respirator, Randolph wasn't shy about admitting the obvious yesterday, that as a manager, "there's only so much you can do."

Apparently, with the Mets, there's only so much a general manager can do, too. As long as Jeff Wilpon is around, pushing his last name, making "suggestions," holding meetings and doing everything he can to fire Randolph except the actual act, all Minaya has is a title.

As for the other thing he got when he took the job, those two words, they look suspiciously altered.

Fool autonomy?