Mets owner Wilpon: ‘Willie did a good job’

Mets owner Fred Wilpon praised Willie Randolph’s performance as manager, even though he agreed with general manager Omar Minaya’s decision to fire him last week.

“I think Willie did a good job. I think that the results the last, say, 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be,” Wilpon said Monday. “What Omar finally decided was that he had to make that change.”

Randolph, celebrated for bringing the Mets within one win of the World Series two years ago, was fired early on June 17 with New York at 34-35. The Mets are 3-3 under new manager Jerry Manuel, including Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

“Obviously, we’ve been playing well in the last few games,” Wilpon said.

Wilpon said Minaya made the initial decision to fire Randolph on June 15, after a doubleheader split against Texas.

Wilpon rejected criticism that the Mets were unfair to Randolph because of the timing of the announcement, which came just after 3 a.m. EDT. Randolph said he was stunned.

“The intent here clearly was to respect Willie, to respect his feelings and to do it in person,” Wilpon said. “It’s never easy to fire anybody. Believe me, it is not easy to do, and Omar took a lot of time. We took a lot of time listening to him and thinking about it.”

In the end, Randolph was fired for a lack of wins.

“It’s all a matter of performance, and Willie knew this when he started,” Wilpon said. “Recognize we gave Willie the chance – Omar gave Willie the chance to be in this position. He had never been a manager in the major leagues or minor leagues.”

Schilling surgery goes well

Curt Schilling’s shoulder operation has gone well and his surgeon says he could be throwing off a mound again by January.

The surgery on the 41-year-old Boston Red Sox right-hander lasted just under two hours and involved repairs to his tendon and labrum. Dr. Craig Morgan said he found no significant rotator cuff damage, which would have extended the recovery period by several months.

The operation was done in Delaware, where Morgan is based.

Teams to wear patriotic caps

The 30 major league teams will wear special Stars & Stripes caps during games on the Fourth of July weekend and on Sept. 11 as part of a “Welcome Back Veterans” program created by Wilpon.

The Welcome Back Veterans logo will be on bases used that weekend. Wilpon said he hopes the campaign will raise $100 million.

Major League Baseball plans to donate a portion of the revenue from the sale of the special caps. Baseball spokesman Rich Levin would not specify how much money from the cap sales would be donated.

Clearing the bases

Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis left the game against Arizona prior to the top of the fifth inning after getting hit under the right eye by Mike Lowell‘s one-hop throw during infield warmups. Youkilis left with a bruise and bump under the eye. The team announced that he was taken for “a precautionary CT scan.” … Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey dropped his appeal of a three-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing brawl with the Tampa Bay Rays. Casey will begin serving his suspension immediately. … Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson will undergo surgery today on his injured right wrist and may not return this season. Johnson has been on the disabled list since May 15 with a tear in the tendon sheath of his right wrist. … The Diamondbacks activated outfielder Eric Byrnes off the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Alex Romero to Triple-A Tucson. Byrnes missed 25 games with tears in both hamstrings.