Are Willie Randolph's Days Numbered?

Terrible homestand, inconsistent offense, shaky relief, and a club that cannot seem to gel.

Willie has two weeks to right the ship, ie get to 5 over .500, or he is gone. It may be less time than that if this weekend's series against the Yankees is disastrous.

The Mets Yankees regular season subway series means a lot right now, and for all the wrong reasons for both teams.

We like Willie, but the simple fact is the Mets are 74-75 in their last 149 games, and that is simply unacceptable when you have the biggest payroll in the national league and a team chock full of stars.

Is this Willie Randolph's fault? That is a subject for debate, but regardless of where the blame lies, it is the leader who ultimately must take the fall for the performance of his troops.

A friend of mine was recently relieved of Command at Minot Air Force Base. You may recall the incident where nuclear weapons were flown from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base...live nuclear weapons...this should NEVER happen. The people at fault were subordinates to my friend.

So though the troops were responsible, he took the fall, and rightly so. This is the way of the military.

In Willie's case there is a similar situation, though the Mets winning and losing is only life or death to those of us so fanatical that our daily emotions rely on where the Mets fall in the National League East win-loss column.

So this is it...a last gasp, a dying managerial breath...one shot at redemption in 2008.

Get to 5 over .500 in the next two weeks or go.

It's that simple.

About the Author

I've been a Mets fan as long as I can remember.

One of my fondest early memories was sitting around a 13 inch black and white TV with my Grandfather watching the end of the 1973 season and wondering, "is my grandpa mad or happy?"

That early love of the Mets stayed with me always. I was at the Dwight Gooden 1-hitter and also at Strawberry's first game. I was home on my first military leave in 1986 after joining the Air Force and went to the pennant clinching game against the Cubs. When the game was over, we beat feet up to Rusty Staub's place in Manhattan and partied all night.

As my 21-year Air Force career wound down, I became a speechwriter at the Pentagon, but the pull of the Mets was always there, hence this Mets blog.

To all the wonderful friends and Mets fanatics whose paths have crossed along the way, let me say a simple "thank you."

Thank you for your friendship.
Thank you for your passion.
Thank you for sharing something special, whether it's tears of joy, or tears of frustration.

This is our special bond, another stop on the road of being a Mets fan, a place to hang out, read, joke, laugh, and hopefully chat a bit about the Mets news of the day.

I am very happy to count you as a friend.

God Bless America.

--Dave