Down On His Firing

Don Burke at The Star Ledger writes about Rick Down and what he had to say following his release from the Mets:

"If I hadn't got that (first) phone call I might not have found out until I got to the ballpark today," Down said yesterday as he packed up his apartment and prepared to fly home to Las Vegas. "And that would have upset me."

"It was good enough last year when we were in first place and the first 50 games of this year while we were all healthy," Down said. "But that's the prerogative of the owner and the guy who signs the check.

"It's unfortunate because I'd rather be part of the solution than part of the problem. But it's in everyone's best interests, if they're not satisfied, to part ways. I'll end up on my feet. ... There's a reason for everything. This is not the end of my career. I promise you that."

Mets Fire Down And Hire Rickey

Over at The New York Times they write about the Mets and their coaching moves:

The Mets, seeking to inject some life into a struggling offense, have fired their hitting coach, Rick Down, and have added Rickey Henderson to the coaching staff.

Henderson will most likely replace Down, but according to a club official, the Mets were deliberating whether to make him the first-base coach and bump Howard Johnson to hitting coach.