Dear Mr. Randolph,

I am not a New York Mets fan, but I am a fan of you. I am a "thirty-something" so I was around to watch the twilight of your career as a legendary second baseman and spokesman for the New York Yankees and later as a thoroughly respected bench and third base coach for the Bronx Bombers.

I must say, you were quite the elder statesmen for the Yankees when the team started aging and went into the rebuilding process. You never made any waves, and played with the energy, emotion and professionalism a future hall of famer should. I guess that's why I'm so surprised at your latest comments regarding the media's treatment of you this past week.

Mr. Randolph, you are the manager of the New York Mets (emphasis on New York), as a former player for both teams, you should know better than anyone how the questions are asked and how criticism is handed out.

You were coached by Billy Martin, you've played with Lou Pinnella and Bobby Bonilla, and you've managed David Wells, Darryl Strawberry and Pedro Martinez; therefore, you have intimate knowledge on idiotic statements and the subsequent media fallout. How could you make such unrealistic and laffable comments?

Mr. Randolph, your team melted down in the pennant race last year, and you kept your job. It was probably one of the worst collapses of all time. Do you honestly think, after underachieving this year, being African American has anything to do with critics wanting you to step down now?

I've never played, coached or been anywhere close to a baseball player, and I know that Joe Torre got ripped with every team he managed before he joined the Yankees; I know Grady Little was run out of his Los Angeles Dodgers job, and if the Yankees don't pick it up, I know Joe Girardi will be on the chopping block too. And I know you know this as well.

I'm deeply dissapointed in you Mr. Randolph; not in your subpar season, because I was rooting for you to pull out of it, but in your judgement, and innappropriate choice of words. The treatment and scrutiny you are under has nothing to do with you being Black. It has everything to do with your team's underachievment and poor performance.

But you know that already.

You're the JACKASS OF THE WEEK!


D-Con