Willie may be safe, but who else is?

Sorry for the lack of posts over the holiday weekend, but unlike the bloggers Bob Costas knows, I don't live in my parents' basement and actually have a life, so I was busy.

So here's where we stand the day after the Mets braintrust had a sit-down with Willie Randolph that resulted in a press conference where Omar Minaya declared that, like his team, Willie wasn't going anywhere.

The Mets lost again, this time to the first-place (yes, FIRST-PLACE) Florida Marlins. They have lost seven of their last eight games since winning two against the Yankees and are now three games under .500. And the comeback ability that used to be this team's trademark has completely disappeared. They are 1-19 when trailing after six innings (just six innings!), 1-23 after seven and 0-24 after eight.

The stats back it up. This team looks dead and plays dead.

Rather than ramble on about this team, do yourself a favor and read Peter Gammons' blog entry - it's far more eloquent than what I could provide. Gammons notes that this team is an enigma, and there's more we know than what we don't know.

But here's a snapshot: Without Pedro (himself a question mark) the starting pitching is one great starter, one good one and three dice rolls. The bullpen has been good some days, terrible others. Carlos Delgado is done. Jose Reyes is hitting and getting on base again but has had some horrible lapses. Moises Alou can't be counted on to tie his shoes without pulling something, and without Ryan Church we're not going to win much with Marlon Anderson or Endy Chavez in the outfield. Luis Castillo is old and getting older. David Wright is pressing like crazy. And Carlos Beltran continues to show the same demeanor whether the team is doing good or bad, which in the talk radio world is a BIG problem.

If Willie is safe, then the fans are going to want management to do something to fix that which is broken. It was great to see Nick Evans in the lineup making a difference in the one win against Colorado - maybe more new blood is needed. Evans was playing first base at Binghamton - maybe he and Mike Carp become a rookie platoon and we cut Delgado loose, hoping some AL team picks him up as a DH. Perhaps Angel Pagan provides a spark, or Valentino Pascucci from AAA.

I think we're all hoping Pedro provides a jolt when he returns next week.

But minor leaguers aside, who else could be brought in? Why not Kenny Lofton? The guy can play defense and has been on enough winners, and sure, he's old, but so is everyone else that's available.

Do they trade for Xavier Nady again, or Jason Bay? Exactly who would they trade?

Here's how bad things have gotten: I actually thought of the Mets getting Barry Bonds and didn't cringe. His lefty bat would replace Delgado, and he'd get spelled by Alou, who maybe can play some first base? He is the ultimate lightning rod and maybe that would take some pressure off everyone else.

Are the Mets that desperate? Apparently, yes.