Progress, But No Results

I prefer results oriented activities, but some people are looking at the silver lining in this 3-7 skid the Mets are mired in.

"We have to dig down deeper, and I think we have," Randolph said. "It might not show in our record, but we are starting to play better. We have to start making our own breaks." As for his situation, he said it is not weighing on the players, noting some may like him and some may not. Everyone is always so concerned about the fragile psyches of ballplayers. Here's a tip - just go out and play.

I typically would not expect him to say anything else because he cannot be outright negative, but I think everyone is past the point of sugar coating things. There is one thing about Willie that has made him a bit more endearing these days and it was his stand up comedy performance during the post game on Friday. Frankly, I like that side of him a bit more and maybe he should let that permeate his entire being and maybe he should be showing a bit more personality. Of course, that makes him more fun of a manager, but that still does not cover up his shortcomings as a tactical manager.

That being said, I think things have gone a bit out of control. The entire Pelfrey thing was ridiculous, the Pedro chants were silly, etc. Everyone is now getting on him for non-issues. I have seen Willie do plenty of egregious things and they helped build my disdain for him as a manager, but he simply cannot win these days. It has gotten to the point that actual sound baseball decisions are being scrutinized and this my friends, is not good.

I have not wanted him since his facial hair edict but I have discovered that I actually do have a heart and actually feel bad for him. There should be a different manager leading this ballclub, but I just hope everyone can keep perspective whilst this ridiculousness is going on.

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A little Michael Iona chatter.

I would actually love to see the A's make that type of splash. It is always nice to see smaller market teams jump into the fray on these types of players and if the Mets do not get him, Oak-town would be a great landing spot.

By way of tc, a 3-d look at the new home of the Mets.

It is always good when Johan Keri weighs in on anything and especially so when it is on the Mets.

All those teams did a better job of scouting and player acquisition than the Mets did. They also did so with smaller payrolls, in some cases much smaller.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe necessity is what the Mets have been missing.

Part of their '06 success is exactly what Jonah is talking about. These kind of lightening in a bottle scenarios happen every year and typically propel a certain team to, and possibly through, the playoffs.

There were a few people who look really smart stating that the Mets were due to regress in 2007 as a result of the likes of Valentin, Oliver, Chavez, etc. playing over their heads and the unlikelihood that Omar would be able to replace their unrealistic output.

Willie gate is getting ugly.

The rumor mill is churning.

Sources have told the Daily News that principal owner Fred Wilpon and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon have authorized Minaya to fire Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. Bench coach Jerry Manuel would ascend to manager if Randolph is ousted, while Triple-A New Orleans manager Ken Oberkfell and pitching coach Dan Warthen would join the major league staff.

The ever-looming presence of Kenny.... Everyone is on notice these days.

Church is feeling better these days.

“I’m improving every day, getting better,” he said. “I haven’t had any dizzy spells. Now it’s just about waiting out the time on the DL. Everything is completely gone.”

Cocaine helped the Mets land Keith Hernandez.

Wally has some pointed things to say about the Mets.

These $140-million Mets are looking more and more like a one-run horse, and that run is now almost two years in the past. Someone has to take the fall and as always, the ready-made scapegoat is the manager.

Randolph's big mistake, it turns out, was his failure to understand the modern ballplayer, many of whom make more for one season than he made for an entire career but still need to be "motivated" by someone else. Randolph, in his own way more a self-made man than Fred Wilpon, thought he was coming here to be a manager, not a kennel-keeper. He arrived a grown man and expected to work with other grown men, in his clubhouse and the front office.

On the surface, you would have to agree with him. We cannot 100% for sure know if this is true, but it sure seems true, doesn't it? That still does not change the fact that Willie is not a good tactical manager, but it certainly adds another dynamic to his non-self imposed

Here come the Yankees....

They are now three games over .500 and feel like a different team. There was some debate on the Boomer and Carton Show about who is in a better position to make the playoffs. The Mets and Yankees are both five losses behind the division leader, but the Red Sox were a more formidable opponent than the Phillies. However, the Yankees took a while to get a healthy team on the field and did not gel until late in the year and Mets are still mired in a funk with a healthy team.

Alou is done for and Church will be great to get back, but the shake ups on the Yankee side that are getting situated have a much greater impact to their push for the pennant than the Mets. The x-factor here is that the Yankees might have lost Wang for the majority of the remainder of the 2008 season, but I still have more faith in Kennedy and Hughes straightening out a bit more to give some meaningful innings than say Delgado or Castillo turning things around and dropping down some quality production.

The Yankees are looking to be in a much better position these days and I do not think it is all that much debatable. Wang is a big loss, but at least if they so choose, they have more bullets to get some sort of a deal done to replace his innings than the Mets would have to augment their current team and production via a trade.