It was certainly a mild surprise this morning to see the Associated Press story that Willie Randolph had been dismissed as Mets’ manager, as well as Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. I’ve never been a huge fan of Randolph because some of his in-game decisions are a bit puzzling. He’s been stubborn, too, for much of his tenure as Mets manager, up until his job status began to come in question.

As everyone else has already said, the decision to fire Randolph after tonight’s win was particularly in bad taste. Now, Mets fans, let’s not fool ourselves. Randolph won the last three out of his last four games, but that’s not the reason why the decision was bad. When Omar Minaya basically said Randolph’s job status would take a series-by-series approach, it was silly. And it’s still silly.

If the Mets’ front office or Minaya or a combination of both wanted to fire Randolph, they should have done so last month. As Anthony De Rosa said today, it would have saved a lot of trouble for Mets’ fans and players alike. It would have also allowed the team to avoid the public relations nightmare they face now. If they weren’t sure a month ago, they should have at least fired Randolph on Sunday. I refuse to believe that enough happened within the course of the last 24 hours to make the decision in the middle of the night right after the start of a west coast trip. That decision is disgusting and cowardly.

Strangely enough, I will miss Peterson. His personality was entertaining, but for some strange reason, he also instilled a confidence in me. He seemed like a guy with an intelligent mind for baseball. And I just don’t buy that the Mets’ pitching is bad enough this season for Peterson to get fired. The Mets are exactly middle of the pack (15th) in ERA in Major League Baseball and in the top 10 (9th) in batting average against. The rotation looks to be in good shape, and there are worse bullpens in baseball than the Mets’ one, for sure. I think Peterson is simply a casualty of change for the sake of change, and that’s a shame.

As for Minaya, perhaps, we should have seen this coming. He clearly built a team to “win now,” and “now” was 2006. Trading for Carlos Delgado was not for his bat in 2008, but it was for the 38 homers he clobbered in 2006. Signing Pedro Martinez was not for his pitching prowess in 2008 but for his performances in 2005 and 2006. Minaya just guaranteed the 2008 to make sure he got those years from Martinez.

Signing Moises Alou in two consecutive years was certainly a “win now” move, hoping to catch a year when Alou is magically healthy. Unfortunately, both years he has not been. If Mets fans will remember, one of the big public relations rallying cries behind the trade and subsequent free-agent signing of Orlando Hernandez was his “big game” mentality and playoff experience. Minaya looked to tolerate his injuries and up-and-down seasons for what he would surely, in his mind, bring in the postseason. Suffice it to say, the investment has been less than successful.

Minaya should be lauded for how quickly he turned around a team down in the dumps after 2004 into a juggernaut in 2006. But that juggernaut would not remain because too many of the pieces were aging with their performances fleeting. Minaya did not do enough in the wake of the 2007 collapse to rejuvenate the team to its 2006 glory, hoping instead that the pitching arm of one man (Johan Santana) would magically fit the bill. While Santana has been predictably stellar, the team has been less than.

These “change for the sake of change” moves are hollow. Mets fans can only cling to the hope that the team will have one of those big winning streaks some teams have after foundation-shaking actions. Even if the team were to rally behind Jerry Manuel and adopt Randolph as a “gipper” to win for, that would not justify the actions the Mets’ front office has taken in the firing of Randolph. Nothing could.