Maybe the biggest benefit of the Willie Randolph firing

I had forgotten that Willie Randolph had prohibited the Mets from growing facial hair, stealing a rule that's both a registered trademark of the Steinbrenner Yankees and stupid on the merits.

Sure, Yankees and wannabe Yankees could grow mustaches like Jason Giambi's current gem, but why say no to the possibility of cool below-the-lip facial hair, like that sported by Billy Koch, Scott Spezio, or late career Jeff Bagwell?

It's good Jerry Manuel doesn't want to live in that kind of drab, soulless world.