A complete show of disrespect

I have always been a fan of the New York Mets. My father cursed me from childhood by making me a fan because he was but that is another story all together... Usually, despite stupid player trades (Robin Ventura), unfortunate injuries (Pedro Martinez, the Beltran/Cameron collision), bad seasons and season endings (Beltran's play-off strike-out, the historic collapse of last year's team), I continue to be a fan. I continue to support my favorite players and root on my favorite team. I defend them to others who clearly see their faults by trying to channel the magic of earlier teams! Despite all of this, I have never been so incredibly disappointed and disgusted with the Mets as I was earlier this week when they fired Willy Randolph. Don't get me wrong, I think Randolph needed to go - not because he was the whole problem the Mets are having this season - but because his team wasn't responding to him and the questions surrounding his job security were distracting the team. What was wrong was the way Omar Minaya and the Wilpon's handled everything. Sending Randolph on a road trip feeling like his job was secure and then firing him after a win, in the middle of the night, across the country was just crappy. It was disrespectful to Randolph, disrespectful to players who hadn't all heard the news when reporters starting contacting them the following morning and disrespectful to New York fans who were likely sleeping at 3:15am when everything occurred. Randolph, the players and the Mets fans all deserved much better. Hiring, firing, trades, front office position changes, conflicts within teams - it is all part of the business of baseball and I understand that but I have to believe that business can be done just as effectively with at least a bit of kindness and respect as well.