Jerry Manuel, who took over for Willie Randolph during the 2008 season because the team had a monumental collapse the previous season and then came out of the box rather slow, has presided over a second collapse and then had the built-in excuse of last season’s injury bug. Players missing time are part of the game and Manuel needs to make the best with what he has at his disposal. The problem is that the former American League Manager of the Year does not fire anyone up in a leaderless clubhouse. Certainly a formula for disaster and the team’s 19-21, last place record heading into Washington is another indication that Manuel is not the right man for the job.

That can also be said about Omar Minaya, who is still trying to hold on and build the team around the core players from the 2006 team. That dream ended when Beltran left the bat on his shoulder while Adam Wainright’s duece sent the Mets packing in Game 7 of the NLCS. Since then, Minaya has put together a team void of any true power source and a weak pitching staff, sans an ace and closer.

The Mets actually do not need a complete overhaul and can make a few moves to get themselves back to respectable status. If they can pull off a deal for a real starter (and stop hanging on to the hope that John Maine and Oliver Perez can revert back to their old status) or two, then they can not have to rely on their weak middle relief as much. because their current rotation is uncertain, their bullpen has been exposed as a unit that cannot be trusted to hold any lead. In a perfect world, the Mariners take an offer for Cliff Lee that doesn’t include first baseman Ike Davis and he can be paired with Johan Santana.

To add some pop to a line-up in desperate need of it, a player such as Adam Dunne needs to be imported. The Mets should have signed him when he was a free agent before the 2009 season. Minaya relied on the aging and banged-up Carlos Delgado to come back and hit the long ball but instead first base (and the outfield corners, positions that the slugger just happens to play) was a continuos revolving door of bad performances in the field and at the plate.

Minaya could make up for his horrendous offseason, when he let many starting pitchers (Ben Sheets, Jason Marquis, Joel Piniero) pass by and overpaid Jason Bay to be his cleanup hitter, something that the former Pirates and Red Sox left fielder cannot even fake good. Sure, he hit 36 long balls in 2009, but that was in his walk year and came with half of his at-bats coming at Fenway Park, definitely not the same thing as signing a huge deal and playing at Citi Field.

The question is not if Manuel is fired or not, it’s a matter of when Wilpon pulls the plug. Also, does he clean house and get rid of Minaya in the same wave? Knowing this conservative organization, they will probably replace Manuel with Bob Melvin and keep Minaya around. That may be a slight improvement, but what they really need to do is make a big splash and promote Wally Backman from Single-A Brooklyn in the offseason. The former scrappy Met second baseman is not the type that will take Jose Reyes’s nonsense sitting down and if the undisciplined and overrated shortstop continues on the same path, that is exactly what he will be doing.

The Mets lack of baserunning skills is a direct reflection on Manuel and his coaching staff and they have run themselves out of an infinite amount of innings with decisions that make you spin, but Manuel sees no need to show any cause for concern. The next time that Wilpon decides to pack a bag, he should think of that and remember to bring along an axe.

Photo by Bill Menzel

Once the Jets finished their offseason shopping spree by bringing in Brett Favre, team owner Woody Johnson my have had visions of grandeur and foolishly thought that he was getting the quarterback of old, not just an old quarterback.

Even when the Jets were 8-3, they were winning in spite of Favre, not because of him. Their five-game winning streak was the one part of the season where Favre was not forcing the long throw and was having success underneath. Why they went away from that and started having the 39-year-old put the game on his shoulders is also a question that needs to be answered.

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Not even waiting 24 hours to digest what happened, Johnson canned Mangini the morning after the 24-17 loss to Miami that completed the Jets’ December collapse. “I appreciate everything Eric Mangini has done for this organization over the past three seasons,” Johnson said in a statement the team released on Monday. “He is a bright, young football mind and I wish him success in the future.

“In our judgement, we made the decision we believe is in the best interest of the organization. We will begin the search for the next head coach of the Jets immediately.”

And that man will no doubt definitely NOT be Bill Cowher or Mike Holmgren. Neither will be on any sideline next fall, especially not one as shaky as the Jets’.

This is an organization that is in a transition period, one that may go smooth or take a long time to fix. The quarterback position is one that holds the most questions. Both Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum stated that they would like Favre to return. A man turning 40 who led the league in interceptions (22) with possible shoulder issues is not a formula for winning. That was proven in the past five weeks, when the Jets were lucky to win even one of those games.

The remaining QBs on the roster are either unproven youngsters (Brett Ratliff, Erik AInge) or one that has proven himself unworthy of starting (Kellen Clemens).

Whatever direction the Jets go, the quick hook given to Mangini shows that Johnson expected big things out of this team, especially because of Favre’s presence. Unfortunately, the Jets were about five years too late.