Will-ie Stay, or Will-ie Go?

It's May 28th. The New York Mets currently sit in 4th place in the National League East division, 6.5 games in back of the first-place Florida Marlins. Of course, playing in New York, there has been a media frenzy over the last few weeks, as the performance of the Mets' ballclub has been lacking. A lot has been made over the job security of their skipper, Willie Randolph. Well as an avid Mets fan, I say...LET HIM STAY!

As far as I am concerned, Randolph has done NOTHING that warrants termination. Granted, the Mets have been playing almost lethargically lately. But Randolph is doing the best he can with what he's got. Between injuries (Church, Martinez, El Duque, Alou, Anderson) and the media constantly on their doorsteps, the Mets have been victimized of some bad luck along the way. Everyone loses games - but at this point, it's as if a Mets player was dealt a Royal Flush in a game of Poker, and still managed to lose the hand.

There has been a lot of criticism about Randolph's lack of fire. But I pose this question: if a ship is sinking, or a plane is crashing, would you prefer the captain to be running around panicking? Or would you feel better if he was calm, cool and tried to resolve the problem logically and thoughtfully? I choose the latter. His mentor, Joe Torre, has been that way for years, and he lead the Yankees to a dynasty. Randolph can't choose his cards - he can only play with the hand he has been dealt.

A final point - who would replace Randolph? Obviously, the ideal replacement would be Bobby Valentine. But he is just short of a god in Japan, and the Mets would have to offer he and the country a lot of Yen to lure him away. I wouldn't mind seeing Lee Mazzili or Ray Knight at the helm, should a replacement be necessary. But other than that, there are slim pickings right now. Bench coach Jerry Manuel is not what the Mets need. Gary Carter is supposedly job hunting, but I don't feel he is a good fit with this group of personalities. Phil Garner, Tony Pena, and Ken Macha are all recent managers who were let go by their club, but all lack the passion and the fire that would spark the Mets.

So given those caveats, why would the Mets want to replace Randolph? Perhaps they should look into replacing some of their on-field talent first to try and salvage their season. I would love to see a trade of Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman for a second baseman and/or an outfielder. Pedro Martinez is scheduled to come back June 3, so that should be a boost. But Mr. Minaya, and Mr. Wilpon, I implore to let Willie stay!