A very merry Willie Randolph Day to all our HSNY readers. We dedicate this fine morrow of the Amazin’s abbreviated sweep of the Bumbling Bombers to none other than the skip, who as recently as Friday was hearing calls for his head on the same day it was announced he would be joining the NL coaching staff at this year’s All-Star Game. That sure would’ve been an awkward arrangement were Randolph fired over the weekend.

Instead it was the Mets who fired – on all cylinders, out-scoring the Yanks 18-6 in the rain-shortened two-game set. Did the Mets get lucky, running head-on into an opponent that hadn’t scored more than 2 runs in a week’s time before the teams met on Saturday? Perhaps. But it’s never easy to sweep a series against the Yanks in their own “cathedral,” and even tougher to do so in embarrassing fashion, as the Mets did on Sunday.

So today we praise the manager, who clearly gets the criticism when the chips are down, and thus deserves credit on a Monday morning on which Mets fan are holding their heads just a little bit higher, moving with just a little more zip in their step.

On Friday afternoon, Willie went on WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog show and gave one of the more feisty interviews of his tenure as Mets manager. His ire wasn’t directed at Mike and Dog but rather at the silent assassins in the newspapers and the venom being directed his way by the majority of fans.

I love when Willie gets ornery, and I imagine most Met fans would agree. I don’t even care that he’s critical of the fans at times, just so long as he’s walking around with that chip on his shoulder and transferring it to his players.

Of course, in his interview with the Bergen Record’s Ian O’Connor prior to Sunday’s game, his talk of “SNYs selective camerawork” rings of paranoia and reminds us of Joe Torre’s accusations that the YES Network’s Kim Jones was being fed undermining questions from his enemies (i.e. Randy Levine) within the organization during the Yankees Post-Game Show. It’s a slippery slop when you start entertaining conspiracy theories, Willie.

No one can blame Willie for being on the defensive however. Even on this “feel good” day, there’s criticism in the New York Post concerning Willie’s reaction to Carlos Delagdo’s blown home run call. If you missed the action and were to check out the Post’s report, you’d believe that fans “who fault Willie Randolph for his emotionless style got some fresh ammunition last night when the Mets manager stayed in the game despite a badly blown call against Carlos Delgado” and that “Randolph barely protested when home-plate umpire Bob Davidson over-ruled as foul an apparent three-run homer to left by Delgado in the fourth inning.”

In reality, Willie busted out of the dugout and was as angry as we’ve seen him. Willie continued barking at Davidson after returning to the dugout, prompting the angry ump to approach the dugout and instruct Willie and his coaches to “shut up.” In a situation that could have turned ugly, bench coach Jerry Manuel took the bullet for his skipper, deflecting Davidson’s attention from Willie and getting himself ejected. As Willie said after the game, “that’s what bench coaches do.”

Willie made his point with Bob Davidson, believe me, and to indicate that he “barely protested” the play is a farce and irresponsisble journalism. Note to the Post: The games are on television now – print news can’t write whatever they like and masquerade it as the truth.

I suppose Willie could’ve gone out there and kicked some dirt on the umpire, but I much prefer that he stayed in the game and got to enjoy the rest of his team’s 11-2 spanking of their Bronx rivals.

Things can change in a hurry in this city, and Willie may have just punched himself a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card – good for one season. The vultures can return to their roosts for the time being, or perhaps fly over to Yankee Stadium’s third base dugout. Via the Daily News’ Filip Bondy:

It was hard to imagine a more humiliating moment for the Yanks and their new manager, Joe Girardi. Their two best starters were knocked around like bums for two days by cross-city rivals, who had scored a total of 18 runs in 18 innings – not counting a three-run homer by Carlos Delgado, incorrectly ruled foul by overzealous, overruling umpires.

This is how bad it was: If Joe Torre were still managing here, then he probably wouldn’t be managing here anymore.

Funny how a wet, one-sided weekend can change everything. Willie Randolph entered the borough on Friday reeling and rationalizing. He was supposedly losing control of his clubhouse. Two games later, the Mets are one game out of first place, while things are Subway Serious for the last-place Yankees and their beleaguered manager.

Merry Willie Randolph Day, everybody.