Mets quickly end speculation: Randolph will return

NEW YORK -- Mets manager Willie Randolph sported a new, clean-shaven look as he walked past rows of empty lockers in New York's clubhouse.

"It's not a good time to be recognized in this town," he joked. "Hoping to slip by and dodge a few daggers."

Randolph dodged one Tuesday, two days after his team completed an enormous collapse. General manager Omar Minaya announced Randolph will be back with the club next year, ending speculation that he might be fired despite getting a contract extension before this season.

"I do believe that Willie is going to continue to work hard," Minaya said. "I do believe that Willie's passion for winning is there."

New York went 5-12 down the stretch, squandering its big lead in the NL East and missing the playoffs entirely. The Mets became 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 just hurts right now," Randolph said. "It's been tough sleeping the last couple of nights, trying to come to grips with what's happened."

The Mets were tied for first with the Phillies heading into the final three games of the season, and Randolph remained confident that his club would pull it out. New York lost 7-4 to Florida on Friday night, falling one back of Philadelphia, but bounced back with a 13-0 victory Saturday to move into a tie again.

Yet that was all washed away with an 8-1 loss Sunday that included Florida's seven-run first inning against Tom Glavine, and 10 runners left on base by the Mets.

"I've always been associated with winning and it hurts deep down inside, it really hurts to be associated with this type of collapse," Randolph said. "That's not why we play the game and there's no way in the world that I thought we'd be in this position right now talking about this."

Randolph, who grew up in Brooklyn, replaced Art Howe as New York's manager in 2004. The Mets went 83-79 the following year and 97-65 last season, matching the Yankees for the best record in the major leagues. They lost to St. Louis in Game 7 of the NL championship series.

Randolph agreed to a contract extension in January and had the Mets primed to go back to the postseason before their September swoon. New York was outscored 115-98 during its final 17 games and left 141 runners on base, an average of 8.3 per game.

"We didn't pitch at times," Randolph said. "Obviously, we didn't hit. We didn't take advantage of our opportunities and we should have. There's no acceptable reason why when you get a chance to close people out you don't. That's something that we'll kind of have to deal with and live with."