Robinson Cancel saves Willie's skin

With his first hit in...nine years? As pathetic as the 2008 Mets' season has been, you know things are getting interesting when the third string catcher wins the game with his first hit since Orel Hershiser was pitching for the Amazins'.

Which brings me to my next point: the third string catcher? The Mets' roster management has been so bungled in the past three weeks that its left me with a healthy doubt that anything can change this season with the current hierarchy.

Extending well beyond the status of our beleaguered manager. Two or three weeks ago, whenever it was we got swept by the Braves, I was fairly confident that the firing of Willie Randolph had the singlehanded potential to turn these Mets around and get us on a roll toward the playoffs. A fiery type - Lee Mazzilli perhaps? - could have gotten this thing fully turned around.

Now I'm singing somewhat of a different tune, inspired by Jim Mora. PLAYOFFS?!? Let's hold a lead first. Or replace our injured starting right fielder with someone other than, say, a third string catcher.

Apologies to Robinson Cancel, who makes Ramon Castro look like Kate Moss

This Mets team is deeply flawed. The flaws carve a canyon far deeper than the depth of any of Willie Randolph's ineptitudes. Would I still like to see Randolph fired?

Maybe, but I'm not so sure it would make any difference at this point. Perhaps Willie would do a better job if, say, the Mets had a starting left fielder. Or a real first baseman. Or a bench that included hungry players who have put up numbers in AAA and earned a chance at the major league level. Instead of, you know, Marlon Anderson and his sub-Mendoza line batting average.

Where's Chris Aguila? Hitting over .300 with good power in New Orleans, he was up for a day last week, until Omar Minaya somehow determined that Cancel was a better option. Then there was Abraham Nunez, and Nick Evans, and, heck, Raul Casanova, all promoted over Val Pascucci, the 6 foot 6 first baseman/left fielder in triple-A who's got 10 home runs in just over a month with the Zephyrs.

Nunez had one hit in about three weeks with the AAA club. Raul Casanova, like Cancel, is also another catcher...a waste of space with 25 precious roster spots. Nick Evans came from double-A. Omar Minaya doesn't seem to have the attention span anymore to perform any General Managerial duties other than making a blockbuster trade.

I'll tell you what I can't stand: that the Mets continue to trot out a old first baseman who doesn't look like he gives a crap, despite his .240 average and power numbers in a two year decline. Or that they don't have the balls to release the 42 year-old left fielder who's played all of fifteen games this season due to three different injuries. Or that their pitching coach seems like a better fit at a zen monastery or on a self-help bookshelf than in a major league dugout. Why isn't anyone talking about Rick Peterson (myself included)? The Mets' pitching hasn't exactly been stellar this season.

All I'm saying is that the Mets' travails these past couple of weeks have made it abundantly clear that this whole thing is so much bigger than Willie Randolph. Do the Mets have some quality pieces? Sure. But if the Mets rallying to win 7 of 9 and then going 3-6 in their next three series has taught us anything, it's that this is absolutely not all Willie's fault.

I used to think that in order to save 2008, the Mets would have to man up and fire Willie. Now it seems clear that in order to save 2008, the Mets are going to have to grow a pair and find a way to cut the dead weight. Omar Minaya should dump Delgado, Alou, and Rick Peterson. Then learn that the 23rd, 24th, and 25th men on the roster are just as important as Wright, Reyes, and Beltran, and perhaps give some of those minor leaguers who have earned it a chance when the Mets have a roster vacancy.

The Mets need change, but it's of the more wholesale variety. What they do with Willie Randolph doesn't matter. Several smaller but still significant moves are both more pressing and can easily match firing the manager for shock value. I don't want to root for Carlos Delgado in October, or a pitching staff that's still led by the Mullet, or the Jacket, or whatever you want to call him. Which is convenient, because there's a good chance that with the present orange and blue formula I won't face that dilemma.

In true Mets' fashion, the job status of Willie Randolph is what's being truly mismanaged. I'm thoroughly convinced, though, that if the Mets want to catch a good Phillies team this season (or the two other teams in front of them), they might want to look at some other potential improvements.


Image courtesy bp1.blogger.com