How about that Paul Byrd?

Wore No. 43 in 1995 and 1996 (thanks) as a Met youngun, just ended the Yankees season in humiliation for the seventh straight time, the third straight in the first round. Heh.

There’s been an awful lot of talk about the Mets’ collapse, but I have to admit to being perfectly satisfied with the Championship Serieses, confident that the teams playing in them are the most deserving. And I don’t much mourn for what was lost. This Met team just didn’t have it; and I’ll be honest: Other than being convinced by Greg back in April that we might have something; and excited by the possibilities suggested by midseason wins over another team destined for failure, I never much offered my heart to this team for them to break.

They pretty much got what they deserved, and so enter the offseason at an interesting crossroads in their evolution. They say Willie Randolph won’t be held solely responsible: That’s OK with me provided they also show some faith in him and allow him to build a staff of his choosing and demonstrate he’s the leader of men he purports to be. I’m not a big fan of Randolph’s tactics but I think tactics are overrated. I want a manager to slap lazy ballplayers in the head when they deserve it, and get them to play together when they have to. I can only guess the Met brass feels Jose Reyes’ head-up-ass problem wasn’t caused… and can be cured… by Willie.

And for all the talk I don’t believe Omar is particularly safe either: He’s going to have to show some creativity in keeping this team going strong while guys like Alou, Wagner, Hernandez, Delgado, etc. continue to creep toward the points at which their stretches of ineffectiveness and injury grow longer and more frequent.

Thanks, Tom. Now scram. Go Kaz.