New York has all the best managers.

The wide-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears New York press is apparently very easy to impress. At least when it comes to Willie Randolph:

Lupica incorrectly states that "the Mets have something else going for them: A rookie manager, Randolph, managing his team as well as some of the World Series managers he is up against, which means Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa and old Jack McKeon."

It is not easy to pick manager of the year. It's usually just the team's record compared to expectations. Ozzie Guillen is the favorite in the American League and all he has done is take advantage of a lousy division.

The Mets are certainly better than they were the past two seasons and they're probably playing with more energy than they did when Art Howe was their manager. But are they really exceeding expectations? I thought the expectations were 86 wins and third place. Randolph and the Mets are right on track for the expected mediocre season.

The freakin' Expos are only one game back of the Mets, and the Expos sure didn't add Pedro Martinez to their starting rotation.

One thing I know for sure: Cox, LaRussa, McKeon -- and Torre, for that matter -- would never, ever, EVER continue to bat Carlos Beltran third in the lineup EVERY SINGLE DAY for 130 games.


Lisa Olson wildly claims that Randolph is a legit candidate for Manager of the Year:

"(Here is where we pause for a PSA: Randolph's mark on a team that has a number of unschooled players in the field - among yesterday's starters were catcher Mike DiFelice, first baseman Mike Jacobs, second baseman Kaz Matsui, right fielder Victor Diaz - is undeniable. Dignified and reticent and unafraid to take dares, Randolph deserves to be considered for Manager of the Year.)"

I'm not sure what she means by the term "unschooled," but Kaz Matsui had ten years to work on his fundamentals in Japan and doesn't seem to be playing any better than he did under Art Howe.

Mike DiFelice is playing his tenth major league season. Any schooling he has received has been with other teams.

Mike Jacobs has a whole 23 at-bats. Any schooling he has received has been at the minor leagues.

I dunno, really ... I suppose Randolph is dignified ... he's certainly reticent (more reticent than Ozzie Guillen, that's for sure) ... if he's so unafraid to take risks, maybe he should actually bat the best hitter third or fourth one of these days.

But none of those attributes are virtues, per se. Winning is the bottom line.

68-62 evidently is very impressive to Lupica and Olson, but it should not be. It's send Pedro out there every fifth day and play just .500 the rest of the time ... even with the best left side of the infield in the history of organized baseball ever.