In an article on Inside Bay Area, the word out of San Francisco is that a high-ranking official within the Giants organization believes the team should reach out to the recently fired Rick Peterson in an advisory role to help Barry Zito get back on track. The official declined to comment because Peterson is still under contract with the Mets.

Giants general manager Brian Sabean stated that he would not address anybody else’s business when asked about any interest from the team in Peterson.

When asked about a possible reunion with Peterson, Zito stated that, “If anything did happen, it would be completely out of my hands.”

Since signing a seven-year, $126 million deal prior to the start of the 2007 season, Zito is 13-23 with a 4.90 ERA. He is 2-10 with a 5.88 ERA so far in 2008. Under the tutelage of Peterson, Zito was 47-17 with a 3.04 ERA in three season in Oakland, with a Cy Young Award in 2002.

Video via NY Post’ Mets Blog

Rick Peterson disappointed nobody, leaving us with some final metaphors.

I just want to say that I came here five years ago, and Fred and Jeff gave me a wonderful opportunity and I left open to come here to be with my kids on the east coast, its been wonderful and I thank them for the opportunity. They welcomed me into their home and homes go through renovations and sometimes you have to go through changes when things don’t go that well and I’m part of that change, I understand that, I grew up in a baseball business and I’m the hardwood floor thats getting ripped out and they’re going to bring in the Tuscany tile [laughs] and it will be great, my heart and soul is with every pitcher I dealt with here, I gave them my heart and soul, its that kind of relationship, and I am sad for that but I am also happy for them. There’s a lot of guys on the right track that I hope they stay on that track, there’s a lot of guys on the wrong track and I hope that Danny Warthen can get them back on track. This is a team that has underachieved and I think it will get back on track

I wear this bracelet because I am very in tuned with eastern philosophy and universal law, [points to bracelet] this is faith, this is compassion, equnimity and love. In the eastern language they write in symbols and the symbol for crisis they also use for opportunity and I have been given a great opportunity here and as I walk out that door I seek my next opportunity and I walk out in peace and I wish everyone else here the best, Jerry Manuel, Omar Minaya and Jeff, and hopefully that Tuscany tile will do better than the hardwood floor.

Boy, I am gonna miss that.

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.

Newsday’s David Lennon at his blog On the Mets beat is really staying on top of the situation out in Anaheim. Lennon reports that he…

Just saw Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar leave for the stadium from the team hotel. No sign yet of Rick Peterson or Tom Nieto. Stay tuned …

No word yet on what Willie ate for lunch or if he actually has an appetite.

Update -7:03 p.m.- MetsBlog is reporting that Willie Randolph, Sandy Alomar, Jerry Manuel, Rick Peterson and Howard Johnson have all been seen at the stadium in Anaheim.

So that leaves the real root to all of the Mets problems… Tom Nieto MUST GO!!

Update -7:36 p.m. - The Journal’s John Delcos is reporting that Tom Nieto is at the ball park.

Well, I guess we can only hope to win despite his continued presence.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman just spoke to WFAN’s Mike Franseca about Willie Randolph’s job status. Listen here.

“Willie’s on very thin ice. I don’t think there is any other way to put it. I’ve heard he’s gonna survive today. I’m not sure why that is. Could be just linguistics. They met yesterday and Omar Minaya has been his biggest supporter and I think the other support has just fallen down. Its kind of Omar by himself right now.”

“I would be very surprised if he makes it through the next few days. I’m also hearing that there will be a big shakeup with the coaching staff and that would be the hitting and pitching coaches. I think they want to start a new but I’m hearing Jerry Manuel will be the guy. Even though that is not something new. I think they want someone who know what has gone on here the last sixty five days. They’ve discussed other candidates but that is for next year in case Manuel doesn’t turn it around. He has two thirds of a season to turn it around and if he doesn’t then they will go in another direction.”

“I heard they are very high on Dan Warthen, the pitching coach in Triple A, as a replacement for Rick Peterson. I couldn’t guarantee that would be the move but he used to be the pitching coach with the Tigers and is very respected around the league. I haven’t heard anything on the hitting coach front.”

“They are trying to shake things up with the players too but that’s not so easy to do. I hear Omar’s on the phones trying to do something. Obviously, they can’t go on much longer with Tatis in the outfield and the Alou situation. They would love to do something with the personal, it’s just not easy to do.”

“I would be shocked if Willie is not gone by the end of the week”.

On Fox Sports MLB pre-game show Ken Rosenthal reported that “Willie Randolph is one losing patch away from being fired” and if that does happen Rosenthal said, “Howard Johnson and Rick Peterson will also be fired”.

Took a look around the interwebs and some sports talk radio and this is what I found.

First up, Brian Schneider visited with Benigno and Roberts on their midday show on WFAN. Scheider told them even though he “hasn’t swung a bat yet” if they need him in an emergency he would “go out there”.

Asked if he had any thoughts on Oliver Perez, Brian said

“I just want to see an adjustment” when struggling with control. “I’ll go out there”, to the mound, “and tell him I don’t care if you throw the next two pitches in the dirt or if you hit this guy”… “He has to make an adjustment and I didn’t see that”.

Then I found these two nuggets that could kinda make you of scratch your head. First Adam Rubin of the Daily News tells us how higher-ups in Mets management mulled over the idea of replacing Rick Peterson this past off-season and Ed Ryan of Mets Fever points us towards a ESPN Jayson Stark article that reads:

So can Barry Zito ever get straightened out? We surveyed a half-dozen scouts and executives, and we found only one who thought he could. And that was a scout who said his only hope was to get reunited with Rick Peterson, “the only [pitching coach] Barry Zito ever had success with.”

So, baseball “experts” mull over whether Peterson was the problem with the Mets last year. Then six months later he might be the answer to one of the biggest flops in baseball free agency history…jeez.

Tim Marchman of the NY Sun has had enough of Willie Randolph an writes there’s nothing that Willie can do to change his mind:

It’s time for the Mets to fire Willie Randolph. They should fire him if his team sweeps the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. They should fire him if his team wins all three games by a total score of 27-0. They should fire him if his team puts on such a display this weekend that the greater Phoenix area literally burns to the ground around them, lit by nothing but the intensity of their passion and brilliance. The man’s time is up, and nothing can change that.

Jason at Faith and Fear in Flushing could not agree more.

NY Times Ben Shpigel gives us a pre-preview of the Arizona series in a small post he titled The Mets Past, Present and Future in Arizona.

Mets.com Marty Noble tells us about some bad memories Billy Wagner has from a ball that ricocheted off his head ten years ago in Phoenix.

Jeff Bercovici of Portfolio.com has a story about ex-Met Lenny Dykstra and some trouble he’s having with his publishing venture.

Lastly, Matt Cerrone over at Mets Blog writes about a story from the NY Post’s page six regarding Carlos Beltran’s 31st birthday party at Sofrito. Among other guest’s Jennifer Lopez was in attendance. Matt goes on to quote the page six story:

“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any wilder, Jennifer Lopez grabbed the birthday boy and shook her world-renowned booty. Then, the crowd improvised a song with the lyric, “We’re going to win the World Series.”

Then Matt totally cracked me up with this remark to finish up his post:

…take note, as this may be the first and last time the term world-renowned booty appears on MetsBlog…

Ben Shpigel of the New York Times runs down the some of the highlights of Day 3 at Port St. Lucie.