But who blew it last season? Willie Randolph’s slow start? Omar Minaya’s reluctance to trade for Manny Ramirez at the deadline? Or a complete breakdown of the bullpen after Billy Wagner’s season-ending surgery?

If you believe this year’s team is a bona fide World Series contender, as many do, that essentially gives Minaya a pass. It’s the GM, with the backing of the ownership’s checkbook, that assembled this club over the winter. Tim Redding already is looking like a mistake at $2.25 million, but the bullpen apparently has been fixed, and that clearly was the Mets’ fatal flaw last season.

Jerry Manuel, signed to a two-year contract, is really the one who will be feeling the heat if the Mets get off to the same start as last season. I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but that deal doesn’t buy Manuel a lot of job security. With the expectations placed on this club, starting with this week’s SI cover, Manuel has never faced this type of pressure in the manager’s seat. Not in New York.

I believe Manuel is up to the task, but it’s just something to think about.

I have to agree with much of what Lennon says, and I fault Omar Minaya much more that I do Randolph for the failure during the manager’s tenure. The Tim Redding signing was curious to begin with as their were already pitchers on the 40 man roster who would have been able to fill Reddings role. Say Brian Stokes. But the signing itself was understandable as the Mets generally faltered when their fifth starter took the mound.

But it brings into question Minaya’s judgement on major league talent. Redding is now injured and will likley not provide support to the staff for some time. His acquisitions of the last few years – Brian Schneider, Ryan Church, Luis Castillo are not stars nor have they been particularly productive. Nevermind the disasterous signings of some aging latin stars which caused him some uncomfortable personal scrutiny.

But he’s been pretty good at the draft – Bobby Parnell, Mike Pelfrey, Daniel Murphy, Jon Niese and the promising Josh Thole are his. Players used to acquire current players Johan Santana and JJ Putz like Joe Smith and Kevin Mulvey were also drafted by the Minaya regime. The Mets current imvestment in its academies in the Caribbean also are proving fruitful.

It was Minaya’s hands-on approach and faith in his interpersonal skill which undermined Randolph’s credibilty with his players. The strange role that Tony Bernazard played behind the scenes with latin players was certainly unproductive and helped cause tension in the clubhouse.

Hopefully Jerry Manuel’s personality will command the respect that Randolph had bled away over the seasons. In the beginning, Minaya’s interpersonal skills had been seen by most observers – including this one – as a positive. He became the face of the franchise, but overreached into the psyche of individual players. More than anything else, Minaya and Bernazard’s meddling served to fuel the collapse of 2007 and the malaise at the beginning of last season.

Jerry Manuel halted the slide and began to install a swagger that the 2006 team had. This is Manuel’s team and not Minaya-Bernazrd’s. And it is a very good thing.

Today’s replay in the clubhouse of the seventh game in 2006 against the Cardinals was a bitter pill, but a good one to swallow again. It hardens and creates resolve of purpose.

Aside from Tim Redding, Minaya did a good job in the off season. If the new back end of the bullpen reminds of the 1990 Red’s Nasty Boys the Mets can win this thing. He added considerable major league depth and helped ready some young everyday talent in Murphy and Nick Evans. The Mets need their starters to stay healthy and one to emerge as a clear number two. These are not hard things in a grand picture. But Minaya-Bernazard will have to let it be Jerry Manuel’s clubhouse.

While its true there are indeed rules, they are actually more about such things involving going out for a brawl. Another one, though more unseemly, is to not let it get out if you know a guy is cheating on his wife. Its bad enough knowing but eventually worse you are the lead source. Within this same code fans may find their answers as to why players weren’t turning others in for steroids.

George Foster failed to go out when the 1985 fight broke out between Ray Knight and Eric Davis in Cincinnati. Wally Backman called him on it to the media. Foster’s days with the Mets were numbered afterwards. Foster was a sensitive and complicated man and at the time was going through the realization his days as an everyday player were over. I don’t believe he acted out of malice. But it was done.

Manny Ramirez’ last days in Boston were fueled by his own selfishness and his refusal to play is uncharted territory that very few have gone. People around him became unimportant. He easily turned his back on his teammates and actively attempted to disrupt the chemistry of his ballclub.

Papelbon’s outing of Ramirez serves as the sort of fair retribution thats deserved after crossing one of the real lines there are in sports. One can only hope that more than the money, Ramirez suffers justly an identity of shame. He’ll likley never have the respect of his former teammates in Boston. Nor should he.

Manny Ramirez hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBI in 53 games as a Dodger while lifting L.A. into the postseason in ’08. There’s no way Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis can provide comparable production. Still, with the Mets looking to maintain a $147 million payroll, Citi Field will open with a platoon of Murphy and Tatis in left field and not Ramirez. Murphy, who has remarkable plate discipline for a young player, hit .313 in 131 at-bats, and no longer qualifies as a rookie.

Tatis, the NL Comeback Player of the Year, who didn’t even play baseball in 2004 and ’05, hit .297 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in 273 at-bats. He separated his right shoulder diving for a ball in Washington on Sept. 16 and missed the rest of the season. Tatis opted for rehab rather than surgery and ultimately played in 38 games in the Dominican Winter League.

Right field remains a modest question mark as well. While Ryan Church appears to have post-concussion syndrome behind him, he did hit just .219 over his final 33 games, albeit after returning from a seven-week absence. However, before suffering his second concussion in Atlanta on May 20, Church was arguably the team’s MVP.

The most likely of the three to produce the kind of numbers a team would need in the outfield is the youngest of the three. Daniel Murphy’s gap power and clutch hitting gave the only boost the club received in the second half. The Mets need Murphy to win this job outright at some point in the season and return Tatis to the bench. Tatis was one of baseball’s feel good stories yet its unlikely he can reproduce the same numbers. The Mets will be weak a void of any power. If Tatis is in the line-up, no real threat from the right side will be on the bench if Nick Evans does not make the club. We can only hope that Church post concussion syndrome is behind him, but I have my doubts. A failure of Church to regain his early 2008 form will be detrimental to the Mets season. By all reports Citi Field has a large outfield and none of these three – save perhaps Curch has the kind of range needed.

Rubin then covers the issue of second base:

It’s no secret the Mets would have traded Luis Castillo and signed Orlando Hudson had Castillo not still been owed $18 million over the next three seasons.

So how long will Manuel’s patience with Castillo last if he underperforms? Remember, the manager started journeyman Ramon Martinez over Castillo at the end of the season. Manuel also rode Argenis Reyes through an 0-for-25 skid at one point as well, all to keep Castillo on the bench. The first signal of Castillo’s commitment level will be determined by his shape when he arrives in Port St. Lucie. Randolph was disappointed by Castillo’s weight when he reported last spring, although Castillo was coming off surgeries to clean out both knees.

If Castillo falters, newcomer Alex Cora could chip away at his playing time. This much is certain: Mets officials won’t hesitate to part with Castillo next winter, when the amount he’s owed is down to $12 million. But it appears Castillo has gotten the message as the Mets say he has been working out at the team’s Dominican Republic complex.

Castillo has not played well as a Met and his long-term signing by Minaya is one of a handfull of disasterous contracts he’s given to aging Latin stars. Minaya may be self conscience of this perception and may explain his hesitancy to bring in a Manny Ramirez or Pudge Rodriguez.

At any rate, the Mets need a comeback year from Castillo. And they need him to be able to bat second behind Jose Reyes. If the current personnel reamains the same – and the Mets 2B has to bat 8th instead of the catcher – one third of the line-up are outs. And with a weak bench, this does not bode well at all for a team that expects to compete for a division.

This makes Carlos Delgado a major key to success. Delgado clearly thrived under Jerry Manuel. And as Rubin says, Delgado hit .313 with 24 homeruns and had 70 RBI over his final 300 ABs. If the Mets can get these numbers over a season – and Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran stay healthy and have what can fairly be considered an average career seasons – it might be enough if the starters can get the game to JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez.

Manuel managed the White Sox when Albert Belle and Frank Thomas were there, so he’s accustomed to dealing with star players who can be difficult to handle. Manuel said that Ramirez’s bat would take care of any perceived problems.

David Wright’s statement of support and Jeff Wilpon’s denial leave it less than certain what the Mets will do, and it could be part of the sort of high stakes poker played by Scott Boras. It’s a sure bet that Boras would love to draw the Mets into a bidding war with the Dodgers for Ramirez while at the same time getting the Mets to resign Oliver Perez.

At any rate, I admire the Wilpons and Minaya from not getting into a bidding blitz. The beginning of spring training is over the near horizon and will seem like its upon us after Sunday’s Super Bowl. It’s easy to see why the Mets can feel they can stand pat with the players they have. Aside from his curious acquisition of multiple left-handed light hitting outfielders, Minaya’s done well. He took care of the last two innings in a manner which exceeded expectations and the pieces are there to refit the bullpen in a new, more confident image.

But virtually nothing was done for the line-up and the bench. Alex Cora is a net equal to Damon Easley and there are way too many lefty-hitting outfielders to choose from. It appears that fo the right side the club is depending on Fernando Tatis to have the same kind of year along with the development of Nick Evans power.

Its not hard to see what the acquisition of Ramirez would mean in the fourth hole batting in front of Wright and Delgado. Let’s face it, Ramirez is the most dangerous right handed hitter to play in the big leagues since, well, maybe never. The size of ballparks has changed in the NL and teams can get out slugged more frequently than in previuos years. No wonder teams carry 13 pitchers.

But maybe its that the Mets do not have the money to compete as they once did before Jack Madoff. With the first morning of pitchers and catchers maybe two weeks away, the cards that the Mets have are playing will be flipped up on the table. If neither Ramirez or Perez or at least a Ben Sheets is not signed, then it will be clear the poker hand they had wasn’t very good.

I know Met fans were so happy for Aaron Heilman. Six straight outs. He vultred that win a bit yesterday, but justice was served. If Heilman is going to be ok, it could mean alot for that bullpen. I’ve always liked the kid.

Speaking of kid….how about Dan Murphy? Two more hits tonight with one in the first in front of Wright’s homer. I can’t imagine any player that Minaya brought in could have had the impact that Murphy has had. It reminds of Gregg Jefferries’ 1988 August call-up. Damn, that’s now 20 years ago. What an tired old blow hard I’m becoming.

Here’s hoping Murphy’s Mets days are more memorable than Jefferries. What a great thing for the organization it will be if they can develop a young everyday player in Murphy.

Do the Mets try to sign Oliver Perez afterall? I’d say its changed to yes, but its Scott Boras as his agent. However, the Mets have always had a fairly constructive relationship with Boras. It may be because around baseball, the Mets have always been considered as one of the better paying clubs.

Perez is young, healthy, energetic and seems to thrive on the big stage. New York’s baseball teams have a tendency not to let those kind of pitchers get away. Or they bring them back like an Andy Pettitte or Roger Clemens.

It would be nice going into next season knowing that Perez, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana will be four starters that open the gates of the new ball park.

So if the team finishes well, it can comfortably resign Perez and Delgado. Dan Murphy can either play left or he can be farmed out this winter to learn to play second base. Add a power bat for the outfield corner. Maybe even Manny Ramirez if the club decides Murphy can play 2nd. This would leave more valuable time to develop Fernando Martinez.

The emergence of Dan Murphy as a viable everyday player has changed everything for the Mets. In just a few days, one young virtually unknown player from AA made the overall Met outlook for this year and beyond much brighter.

“Then,” Favre said, “they tried to buy me off to stay retired.”

He added, “So they can say they welcome me back but, come on, the way they’ve treated me tells you the truth. They don’t want me back, so let’s move on. I don’t know where it’s headed. We’ll see.”

The tortured genious that is Metstradamus notes how much Farve mirrors Manny Ramirez.

With the Red Sox possibly looking to move the perennial All-Star, now is the time for Minaya to strike and bring the Washington Heights native back to the city to finish his career. It’s obvious the Mets need and outfielder – and some bullpen help as well – and the 36 year-old fills the bill nicely. He will slot right into the middle of the lineup, taking the pressure away from Carlos Delgado – who will cool down eventually – while allowing Carlos Beltran to assume the role he is better suited – a very talented secondary option, where the weight of the team is not his shoulders.

Ramirez will make the Mets a complete lineup which can go toe-to-toe with the Phillies nine on any given night and will give the team the extra runs, so the bullpen meltdowns are kept to a minimum. Even at this advanced age, the slugging outfielder becomes the most feared hitter the Mets have had in the lineup since Mike Piazza terrorized the Senior Circuit in 1999 and 2000.

More importantly, if Minaya is able to acquire Ramirez, New York not only becomes the favorite in the National League, but a serious World Series contender. No matter how well they are playing right now, the Mets are still a very flawed club, which will be lucky to play in October.

Joe takes a more practical and positive glance than do most. And it is true that the addition of Ramirez in the middle of the Mets line-up right now would provide the Mets the largest boost they could get right now.

Still, with the prospects it would cost the Mets, it makes no sense to acquire Ramirez unless you plan on signing him. Herein lies the rub. Would you want to? Would the Wilpons want to commit their money is a moody, aging slugger who has shown that his production is fallling off? They may have had their fill of older players, too.

But what internal discussions are taking place right now at Shea? The ballclub is embracing itself and rallying around the players they have. People who run the club are paid to think more long term and it is why they have proved reluctant to move their top three prospects in Jon Niese, Fernando Martinez and Robert Parnell. Ownership also knows that alot of money is coming off the books after the season.

Its been a sellers market thus far although the ptackage the Yankees gave up to get Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte raised alot of eyebrows. Will sellers back off their demands over the next forty-eight hours?

My own feeling are that the Mets will not be moving any of their top prospects at the deadline as they feel that Niese and Martinez will be part of their roster on opening day next season. In value, the kind of talent that would pry the two away are no longer on the market.

Besides, I want the Mets to keep Jon Niese for one little, nostalgic reason. He was born on October 27, 1986 the day the Mets won the World Series.