Issues with Willie Randolph

Willie Randolph has done a good job these past 3 years and has helped turn the Mets back into a contender. Wait a second, that's Omar Minaya.

So what has Willie done? Sure he has made some smart moves, some good pitching changes, perhaps a few situational hit calls, but I'm concerned that he's making some serious errors this season.

I'm not calling for Willie to be fired, far from it. I like Willie Randolph. I think he does good job for the most part. I think he handles the press extremely well. But there are some issues I'd like to address that I think are serious problems effecting this Mets team.

1. Willie Randolph's hatred for Lastings Milledge - Please tell me you see this too. Doesn't Willie see he's the best batter with runners in scoring position the Mets have? Doesn't he see the kid plays with fire and energy that ignites this club? Can't he see that this kid is playing better than Shawn Green and yet he still subs Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson in right field? Maybe he doesn't like his attitude or his rap music, but give the kid a chance Willie. It's for the good of the ball club.
2. Willie Randolph's infatuation with Guillermo Mota - This has got to stop. Unless Mota goes back on steroids, I don't need to see him in another ball game for the rest of the year. From Brad Hall to Josh Willingham, Mota has been getting crushed. He only throws change ups and sliders because he's lost his giddyup on his fastball (hmm, wonder why?). Now that Sosa is proving to be effective out of the pen, there's your right-handed 7th inning man.
3. Willie Randolph's refusal to situational hit - I know that situational hitting is greatly in the hands of the batter, but there are plenty of times runs can be created by play calling from the bench. Randolph rarely hits and runs. He never calls a squeeze play. And even though he's got some of the fastest guys in baseball, he doesn't send runners when his power hitters are up (i.e. Delgado, Alou). This team is built for these situations. How many times has Reyes been on 3rd with 1 out and he hasn't scored. A safety or suicide squeeze would be perfect in these situations, especially now with Castillo batting behind him. We've lost too many one run games not to do this in the future.

There are more issues, but I think these are the big ones (except for maybe Randolph pulling his starting pitchers too early just because they're in trouble. Like the bullpen is any better?). I'm hoping these will be addressed in the very, very near future.

Let's get this ship turned around. Please.