Coming off of a very disappointing series against one of baseball’s most disappointing teams, it’s time for a little assessment. Larry Brooks of the New York Post had some hard reality for the New York Post yesterday:

“They are the residue of their historic collapse last September, a consequence of a flawed roster and a fragile rotation. They are a disappointment, no matter how much they wish to massage it, no matter how much they may detest their reflection in their own mirrors.”

Forget the fact that they mitigated the damage on Wednesday with an 8-2 win over the Mariners. It’s only a small consolation when you consider the all out drubbing they incurred the night before, losing 0-11.

Brooks says that this is the very definition of a mediocre team—to win a few, and then lose a few, as if they were ambling through life, without consideration of their actual performance.

The franchise would suggest that they’re taking their mediocrity very seriously, taking actions that demonstrate the repellent nature of said patchiness. I mean, why else did they fire Willie Randolph? Interim manager, Jerry Manuel suggested that it was time for tough decisions on Tuesday night after their embarrassing loss. What do you suppose he meant by that?

Time will tell. Let’s hope that those interested in buying Mets tickets in the coming months are able to stay patient.

Fred Wilpon is getting defensive about the decision to let Willie Randolph go. He insists that it was very simply a numbers a game—not enough wins.

An article today in the New York Post by Mark Hale paraphrases Wilpon saying, “the former manager was well aware of what the winning standard was going to be when he was hired.” Wilpon suggests that although Randolph did a good job, when they looked at the numbers, he wasn’t meeting their winning expectation.

Apparently Wilpon was also very defensive of General Manager, Omar Minaya, suggesting that he’s “done a great job.” He outlines how the firing transpired. Minaya called Wilpon on the 15th saying that he wanted to have a meeting the next day, that he wanted to fire Randolph and two coaches, that he wanted to do it quickly and in person. He also said that he wanted to sleep on it. Which he did. The meeting was then held the next morning at 9 am where the decision was finally made.

What still isn’t answered is why the Minaya disregarded his own resolve and made the move through an email in the middle of the night.

This will no doubt be a famous moment for Mets fans to relieve for years—the night Willie Randolph got the axe by email. Maybe if the Mets can turn around a mediocre season, it will be a decision that one sort of smirks at, rather than disgusts in.

It’s heartbreaking to see a great performance by a pitcher go unmatched by the hitters. But that’s exactly what happened to Mike Pelfrey and the Mets Thursday night.

Pelfrey only allowed one run in six innings. But the Mets only managed five hits and one run the entire game, allowing the Padres a 2-1 win. This was their third loss in 10 games, an improvement on the rest of the season, but disappointing nonetheless.

In spite of the loss, Randolph seems to be thinking positively about his team that performed well defensively. He felt good about keeping Pelfrey in his place in the line-up. And he kept him in even when things looked bad, pushing Pelfrey to be able to get through the ups and downs of a long pitching stretch, hoping he’ll be able to get to 120 pitches in a game at some point.

Randolph also had great praise for shortstop Reyes who performed well on Thursday, insisting in the Daily News: “He’s still an excellent shortstop. He’s going to win a Gold Glove someday.”

Even though these are great signs of a team with great potential, Willie Randolph cannot allow his ball club to lose games like this. You can’t keep a team to 2 runs and still lose the game. Mets fans demand more than this.

Can you believe that Billy Joel has sold over 100 thousand records? That amazes me. And apparently, he’s set to amaze Met fans as he performs the final concert at Shea Stadium. The concert will be called, “The Last Play at Shea,” and will feature “the piano man” paying tribute to this legendary venue.

The Mets website quotes Joel as saying:

“Shea Stadium is one of the most hallowed venues in rock ‘n’ roll history and it’s an honor to help throw Shea the ultimate concert farewell party.”

The world famous rock star has had 33 top 40 hits. It’s hard to imagine, but with all of those hit records, he hasn’t released a new album since 1993. But during that time, he’s done a lot of touring and performing, and seems to be continuing that trend, with no word of new material.

Shea Stadium has been functioning since 1964. It has always been the home of the Mets. It was home for the New York Jets and the New York Giants. It has also held many historic concerts, including the famous concert by the Beatles in 1965.

The new stadium will be built in what is now part of the parking lot of the old stadium. It will open Spring of 2009. Shea is scheduled to be demolished. To catch tickets for the final season of this classic venue be sure to buy Mets tickets online.

I was fascinated to read on SI.com about Santana’s hard won contract battle. Apparently, earlier in the day he had made his views clear through his agent that he wanted $140 million. The Mets were holding to $135 million.

Santana then flew from Florida to New York to make his stance firm. He arrived, with five minutes left in negotiations, and told them that he wanted $140 million and if they couldn’t offer that, he’d have to pass.

Mets COO, Jeff Wilpon, replied:

“I’ve been in business a long time. That’s a lot of money to walk away from.”

Santana’s response was confident:

“No disrespect to you. But I deserve it. I’ll just go back and pitch and I’ll get it later.

Santana then made reference to Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid player in the game. He then asserted that he’s the best pitcher and he’s not asking for that much.

In the end, Mr. Santana got his wish. The Mets asked for a two hour extension on the negotiation to reach an agreement. Two hours later, while splitting the difference, they agreed to $137.5 million.

Hopefully, for Mets fans, he’ll be just as competitive on the field as he was at the negotiation table. For Mets tickets, feel free to buy online.