I'm a die hard Mets fan, and for myself and all my fellow Mets fans, to say we are disappointed is an understatement.  It's beyond disappointment.  It's anger.  It's frustration.  With a $140 million payroll comes $140 million expectations and reality is far from the expectations.  Willie Randolph is on the hot seat, as he should be.  This team is underachieving, and fails to have any kind of fire when they'r e out there, this according to David Wright.  We've heard Billy Wagner pop off to the media wondering why he's being talked to when he didn't play.  Willie stirring up a controversy with his comments regarding how he's portrayed on SNY, which is owned by the Mets. 

I want to say on record that Willie should be fired.  From June 1st of last season on, the Mets are a below .500 team.  They had a historic collapse blowing a 7 game lead with 17 games to go, and while he claims they've gotten over it, results seem to prove otherwise. 

This Mets mess is far from the manager's fault.  It's not like the GM, Omar Minaya has done WIllie any favors in giving him the parts he needs to be successful.  Too many of Minaya's trades not only haven't worked out, but have been downright disastrous.  Let's take a look at some of the deals that Omar Minaya has made since taking over the reigns as GM. 

1.  Trading Brian Bannister to Kansas City for Ambiorix Burgos.  In 2007, Bannister went 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 27 starts.  This year, he has slipped to a 4-6 record with an ERA of 4.94 in 10 starts.  Burgos in that same time frame hasn't thrown a pitch in 2008, and he was 0-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 17 appearances.  I'd rather have Bannister in the five spot than the enigma that is Mike Pelfrey right now. 

2.  After the 2006 season, Minaya sent Royce Ring and Heath Bell to San Diego for Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins.  Ring is now in Atlanta and hasn't been effective for the Braves in 2008 with an ERA of 6.43.  His only year in San Diego, he went 0-1 in with a 3.60 ERA in 15 appearances.  Heath Bell has become the Joba Chamberlin of the Padres.  In 2007, Bell went 6-4 with 2 saves and an ERA of 2.02 ERA in 81 appearances.  He allowed only 60 hits in 93 2/3 innings in 2007, truly an amazing figure.  His ERA in 2008 skyrocketed to a still miniscule 2.77 ERA in 23 appearances in 2008.  Now, let's take a look at the parts the Mets got back in that deal.  Ben Johnson hit a whopping .185 in 27 at bats for the Mets in 2007, and has not been in a game this year.  He never made the roster out of spring training in 2008.  Jon Adkins is now in the Cincinnati Reds organization.  With the mess the Mets bullpen is right now, Bell would be a welcome sight in that Mets bullpen. 

3.  Also after the 2006 season, the Mets sent Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to Florida for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.  Lindstrom in 2007 had a solid season with a 3-4 record with an ERA of 3.09 in 71 apperances.  He has also been solid in 2008 with an 0-1 record with an ERA of 3.18 in 20 appearances.  Owens has been injured for much of his tenure with the Marlins.  Jason Vargas (not to be confused with Claudio Vargas who is keeping Pedro Martinez's spot in the rotation warm until Pedro returns) is currently on the DL and appeared in all of two games for the Mets in 2007 with an ERA of 12.19.  Bostick is currently in the rotation of the Mets AAA affiliate in New Orleans. 

Minaya has made some good deals, maybe the best of the bunch being acquiring John Maine and Jorge Julio for Kris Benson (Julio turned into Orlando Hernandez in a separate deal with Arizona).  Also, trading for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider for Lastings Milledge has paid dividends this year as Church has been the most consistent performer in the Mets lineup this year, and Schneider is very solid behind the plate, and has been a surprise swinging the stick.  I do think the Santana trade is a good one.  Santana may not be as dominant as we Met fans would like, but he hasn't been horrible either.

I also look at the farm system the Mets have, and a move the Mets just made tells you all you need to know.  The Mets put Moises Alou on the DL, and logic dictates calling up an outfielder, but the Mets think so poorly of their outfield at AAA right now, they brought Raul Casanova back from New Orleans.  Casanova is a CATCHER.  The Mets now have 3 catchers on the roster.  Baseball America's top 100 prospects list released at the start of the season has one prospect on that list, Fernando Martinez (#20).  Their minor league affiliates aren't exactly lighting it up.  Here are the records of the Mets minor league affiliates so far this season...

New Orleans (AAA) 21-25

Binghamton (AA) 22-23

St. Lucie (High A) 9-38

Savannah (A) 19-28

The bottom line is that this organization has a lot of issues, and it's more than just Willie.  If Minaya isn't on the hot seat, he should be. 

Also, according to the radio broadcast of the Mets, Minaya is in Denver and will address the media sometime during the game.