Willie Randolph Fired

The New York Mets have fired Willie Randolph

Willie Randolph just found out how easily people and situations can turn ugly as he's been fired from the New York Mets, less than a year and a half after signing a multi-year contract with the team.

Randolph had taken the Mets to their first division title in nearly 18 years. But since then, the team has been in a virtual free fall. Losing is not something that's tolerated for long in the Major Leagues, so the rest is history.

Bench Coach Jerry Manuel is scheduled to take over for Willie Randolph as interim manager. Manuel has head coaching experience with the Chicago White Sox, but it's not clear if he's a viable long-term candidate for the manager's job.

Players seemed surprised by the news.

"I'm in shock," Catcher Ramon Castro told the New York Times. "I don’t know what to say."

The Mets record is 34-35.

Copyright 2007-2009 by Times of the Internet. All Rights Reserved.