LONG after the crush ing final out, that moment in time when Adam Wainwright’s backdoor curve ball froze Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded and kept the Mets from going to the World Series, a visitor made his way to the team’s clubhouse.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa poked his head through the door, spotted his old Charleston Charlies minor league teammate, Willie Randolph, and the two men slid into a side conference room.
The Mets’ dream of returning to the World Series had died. The classy La Russa, though, had something important to tell Randolph and sought him out after the Mets manager had gone to the Cardinals clubhouse and could not make it through the mayhem to get to La Russa.
This game was not about the end, but about the beginning.
“Tony gave me a big hug, looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Get used to this. You guys are going to be there,’ ” Randolph said earlier this week in his Shea Stadium office.
Those were words Randolph needed to hear. It’s one thing to lose, but to lose when you think fate is riding along with you to the World Series is quite another.
Randolph also revealed he became quite emotional after the 3-1 defeat. “I kept saying to my guys, ‘Keep your heads up,’ because guys were totally distraught. I felt so bad for them because we worked so hard and they never quit. I’ve been tough with them at times, it’s a family and these are like my kids, but through all the adversity, all the injuries, these young kids kept picking each other up.
“I just felt so much emotion spilling over that when I got in here, I just couldn’t hold it because I felt these kids deserved to go to the World Series.”
The moment Endy Chavez made his Immaculate Grab over the left field wall, Randolph turned to Jerry Manuel, his bench coach, and said: “We’re going to The Show, man.”
It wasn’t to be, but Randolph is convinced his Mets are going to be there. He will head to Port St. Lucie this week for mini-camp. Then, in about a month, he will go back to Florida with one goal: Get the Mets ready to be there at the 2007 World Series.
He can’t wait.
“I’m really looking forward to spring training,” Randolph said. “I just feel that this team is on a nice climb, a transformation. Transforming into winners. We got a lot out of this year. I spoke to Carlos Delgado the other day and he is champing at the bit.”
More than ever, Randolph believes he can take this team where it needs to be. He is going to continue to manage in the same aggressive style that has turned the Mets around during his two-year tenure.
He will attack. Randolph said if he were presented again with the same Game 7 circumstances, he would not bunt the runners over in that fateful ninth.
If the Mets trailed by one run instead of two, he would have bunted, but he did not want to give up the out. He had faith in Cliff Floyd and rolled the dice, and the bottom line is Beltran got to the plate with the bases loaded.
“I don’t believe you always play by the so-called book,” Randolph said. “No one counts how many times that you play by the book and it doesn’t work. Nobody keeps that stat. I remember talking to Jim Leyland and he told me, ‘Willie, don’t be afraid to be second-guessed.’ ”
All that is history. There is only looking ahead for Randolph, who is thrilled to head to Kansas City next weekend to be honored by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as its Manager of the Year.
Randolph’s office features pictures of Jackie Robinson, Josh Gibson and other Negro League stars. The Brooklyn kid who is 52 is part of a legacy as he tries to build a “Mets way” of playing the game.
“This award means a lot to me,” Randolph said. “I understood the struggle; I wasn’t there, obviously, but I understood it. To me the legacy is what’s most important and to be the first African-American manager in New York is special. When I was around guys like Buck O’Neil and Double Duty Radcliffe, I could sense they were really proud of me and that blew me away because these were guys that I read about.”
This winter there have been roster disappointments. The Mets had hoped to sign Barry Zito, but Randolph said the $126 million price tag was just too high.
“We’ll make it work,” Randolph promised of the pitching staff. Part of his confidence stems from his belief the Mets offense is capable of so much more.
“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of how good we can be from an offensive standpoint,” Randolph said. “We can be devastating offensively because of our speed and our talent. When we roll offensively we are taking our walks.”
Randolph will have one central message for his players.
“Lean on each other,” he explained, his voice rising with passion. “When you are at the plate, keep the pressure on the pitcher. It’s OK to take a walk. Don’t feel you have to take it upon yourself to be The Man.
“You don’t have to be The Man,” he added. “We will be men together.”
