The Mets' historic collapse reportedly won't cost manager Willie Randolph his job.
A source close to the situation told Newsday that general manager Omar Minaya has decided to keep Randolph, who has two years and $4.25 million remaining on his contract, as the team's manager.
Minaya will meet with Mets ownership on Tuesday to talk about Randolph's future.
"I think looking at what he has done here in the past three years speaks for itself," Minaya told reporters at Shea Stadium on Monday, according to Newsday. "I think Willie works hard and my relationship with Willie is very good. But because of the way we lost, I think it's fair to at least sit down with ownership."
New York went 5-12 down the stretch in one of the most stunning and colossal collapses in baseball history.
"We blew it," Carlos Delgado said Monday as several Mets packed up for the winter.
An 8-1 loss to Florida in the season finale Sunday -- with Tom Glavine getting chased after just one out -- allowed the Phillies to win the division title by a game when they beat Washington.
The talented Mets were left out of the playoffs, making them the first major league team that failed to finish in first place after owning a lead of seven games or more with 17 remaining. New York, which had that margin on Sept. 12, also matched the largest lead blown in September.
"It still doesn't feel like the season is over. It feels like we should be playing today, but we didn't make it," pitcher John Maine said.
In a town where the Mets often struggle to take headlines away from the crosstown Yankees, the not-so-Amazin's owned the tabloids Monday -- for all the wrong reasons.
The back page of the New York Post blared: "CHOKED TO DEATH." The front page of the Daily News read: "FROM CHAMPS TO CHUMPS."
"It's hard to figure out how it happened," pitcher Orlando Hernandez said through a translator.
Remember, it was only a year ago that the Mets advanced to Game 7 of the NL championship series before losing 3-1 to St. Louis.
"You say to yourself, 'You know what? We're better than an 88-win team,'" Minaya said during a lengthy news conference. "But it's not only about talent."
Minaya did say he spoke with Randolph on Monday and their relationship is "excellent." Randolph wasn't at Shea Stadium.
"All of us at the Mets are bitterly disappointed in failing to achieve our collective goal of building upon last year's success. We did not meet our organization's expectations -- or those of our fans," chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a statement.
"We will be meeting with Omar shortly for him to present his plan on addressing our shortcomings so that we can achieve our goal of winning championships in 2008 and beyond."
The team also sent an e-mail to fans with a similar message, thanking them for their support and saying they "deserve better results."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: ESPN.com
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