From BRIAN LEWIS
Just because the Mets demoted Nelson Figueroa doesnât mean they disagreed with him. And tonight, with Figueroa standing by his statement that the Nationals had been unprofessional and cheering like softball girls Monday night, Willie Randolph backed his player and said he had a right to be mad.
Naturally, in the other clubhouse, Nats manager Manny Acta said his players did nothing wrong and that there were bigger things to worry about than some clapping and chanting. Figueroa should have worried about his job, designated for assignment and taking his indignation and 7.06 ERA with him.
âIâm not a big fan of that, but thatâs their clubhouse. Guess they were trying to get something going. Thatâs not my cup of tea, but thatâs not my business,ââ Randolph said tonight. âThe gameâs changed; thatâs all foreign to me. I mean, play baseball; thatâs the way I was brought up, and thatâs the way it should be.
âI make sure my guys are professional and donât show anybody up. Guys understand that we want to respect the game.ââ
According to the Mets, the Nationals werenât doing that when backup Elijah Dukes started singing and chanting and clapping that spread to the rest of the dugout in the third inning of Mondayâs 10-4 win over the Mets.
âThat’s the first time I’ve seen that. They were pretty loud. He (Figueroa) had a right to be upset by that,ââ said the old-school Randolph. âIt was unusual, but a lot of things are different nowadays. You might see more teams doing it, but my team won’t.ââ
The Brooklyn-born Figueroa, who had clapped toward the Nationals dugout after escaping the third inning Monday, was clearly vexed by their antics.
âThey were cheerleading in the dugout like a bunch of softball girls. I take huge offense to that,ââ Figueroa had said Monday. âIf thatâs what a last-place team needs to do to fire themselves up, so be it. I think you need to show a little bit more class. For the manager and coaching staff to let that stuff carry on itâs truly unprofessional: Thatâs why they are who they are.ââ
He didnât back down from that yesterday. Predictably, Acta — a former Met coach — disagreed.
âEverybodyâs entitled to their opinion. We live in a world nowadays where anything you do and say, youâre offending somebody,ââ said Acta, the majorsâ youngest manager at 39. âThey werenât yelling names or anything like that. You donât see it everyday in the big leagues, but I donât think they were doing anything mean.ââ
Acta said he wasnât vexed with the characterization because âheâs entitled to his opinion. This is America.ââ But he was surprised that this was even being discussed, saying, âYes, because half of Florida is going on fire and weâre here asking questions about a few guys clapping and yelling at a game. That shouldnât even be an issue.ââ
At that point, a non-baseball Nationals employee asked if there were any baseball questions. Two-thirds of the room cleared out, several looking for Dukes, who admitted to The Washington Post that he was “just changing the feeling in the clubhouse. It was funny, though. Kind of softball-ish.”
But he declined three interview requests yesterday, with ex-Met Lastings Milledge turning down two.
