When Joe Torre was practically run out of town by the Yankees following last season, many people were upset with how he was treated. Many of us thought it was an awful example of how to treat a manager who gave you a lot. Well, congratulations Mets. You just one-upped the Yankees.

Willie Randolph's job security has been an issue ever since the collapse that ended last season. With a payroll over $130 million, the Mets were once again expected to be the team to beat in the National League. They added a bonifide ace in Johan Santana and had a healthy Pedro Martinez coming back. But, things are not always as clear as they seem.

Martinez got hurt in his first start and was sidelined for months. Santana has been pitching well, but lacks significant run support. Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey have been inconsistent, and the bullpen has been awful. The hitters and the team for that matter have been more up and down than ever, and the team needed a scapegoat, but they could've gone about it in a better fashion.

Two days ago, when asked about Willie Randolph's job, Omar Minaya refused to confirm that Randolph would be the team's manager on Monday, and the Willie Watch was on. Then, the Mets go on and score runs, get better pitching than the scorecard indicates from Pelfrey, (2 inherited runners were allowed to score by Feliciano) and they even scored nine runs. But, that was not enough to save their manager and pitching coach's jobs.

Willie was informed in his hotel room late after the game that he was relieved of duty. But, the timing seems to make no sense at all. The Mets have won four of their last six, but it is not like they will be working for a completely new boss. Jerry Manuel takes over the helm. Ken Oberkfell will be hired as the team's new first base coach, Dan Warthen will be the new pitching coach, and Luis Aguayo will be Manuel's bench coach. The Mets need to evaluate how they make decisions, because with this one, they made themselves look foolish.

--MICHAEL GANCI

The A-Rod injury? Just a couple of weeks, no problem. Jorge Posada? What's a month early in the season anyway? But Chien-Ming Wang getting hurt, possibly for the season, is reason enough for Yankee fans to worry.

The Yankees may have a glaring hole in their rotation if Wang misses significant time, but we already know that. What we need to figure out is what do you do to fill his spot?

There are not really any major-league ready arms in the minors (unless you count Kei Igawa) that look poised to come in and contribute effectively, so a trade almost seems inevitable if Wang misses a significant amount of time.

C.C. Sabathia's name will come up time and time again this season, but despite becoming a free-agent following this season, the Indians are likely to have a high-asking price for his services and if the Yankees weren't willing to give up the prospects necessary to land Johan Santana, then Sabathia may be a pipe dream for New York (at least until the off-season).

The name the Yankees should target? A.J. Burnett. His overall season numbers look alright, but he's been much better of late and because he is almost a lock to opt-out of his contract after this year, he may come at a great discount. Burnett came under fire in Toronto over the weekend following comments he made about being traded to the Chicago Cubs, so his time in Canada may be over sooner than later.

--CHRIS STARBONELL

What a shot. Ken Griffey Jr. sent a pitch into the right field seats in the first inning against the Marlins on Monday for his 600th career home run. Griffey is one of my all-time favorites, because he has always gone about his business in a respectable manner and let his playing speak for itself.

In the early days of Griffey, when he was roaming the fields with guys like Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and company, the sky seemed to be the limit. Griffey was the guy who was finally going to break Hank Aaron's home run record. The first couple of seasons in his career seemed to justify that assumption. But, after he landed in Cincinnati, the injury bug struck. Griffey has been hurt for several long time-periods in his storied career, and many wonder where he would be on the all time home run list if he weren't hurt.

Personally, I think he would be going toe to toe with Bonds, and would have already passed him, but we can't go back in the past. If we could, we probably would’ve embraced guys like Griffey more, and we would’ve busted Barry bonds for steroids a long time ago.

--MICHAEL GANCI

Chone Figgins generally steals a lot of bases, so his value is tied to his ability to run and hit for a pretty good average. Oh and the fact that you can play just about anywhere on your fantasy roster.

A lesser appreciated guy like Figgins is Mark DeRosa, without the multiple-position eligibility, DeRosa would be a fixture on waiver wires everywhere. With the position flexibility, he becomes a decent bench option for fantasy owners who need to move players in and out of their lineups.

Both of those have become dwarfed this season by the new position master, Carlos Guillen. Guillen already had shortstop eligibility heading into this season and gained first base eligibility when he switched positions to start the year. He then earned the right to be played at third when he and Miguel Cabrera switched positions. Now he will be gaining outfield eligibility as well as he started his first game in the outfield on Sunday.

Sure he has the most value as a fantasy shortstop, but having the ability to move him around your lineup when injuries strike makes Guillen a very useful fantasy commodity. If you own David Ortiz and he's your starting first baseman, no worries, you can plug Guillen there. Worried about Ryan Zimmerman's shoulder? Just put Guillen there. Having a guy who can give your roster a bunch of different looks is an underappreciated thing these days. So if you own Guillen, enjoy.

--CHRIS STARBONELL

There have been talks recently of using instant replay in baseball. Due to the recent rash of blown calls, many people think this is the only way to get things right. I completely disagree.

The whole concept of instant replay completely undermines the umpires. These people are paid to make the calls, and they have total power over what the call is. Whether they are right or wrong, umpires are the people who should get the final say. The problem here is that umpires are not in poisition, and the chief of umpires needs to call a meeting to address this issue.

If instant replay is put into place, it should only be used on home runs. If they use it to decifer safe or out, games will get longer, and the traditional baseball fan will most likely lose interest. I think people need to stop overreacting, and they should just appreciate the game for what it is.

--MICHAEL GANCI

Is Barry Bonds being blackballed by baseball? While some may laugh at this conspiracy notion, something has to be up. The MLB Players Association has grown concerned and for good reason. How in the world has Barry Bonds not yet signed with a major-league club?

It is not as if there are teams that couldn't use him. Plenty of AL teams (including the Mariners, Rays and Twins) could use Bonds as a full-time DH. Last season, in 126 games, Bonds swatted 28 HR and had an OBP of .480! You're telling me NO team in baseball can use those numbers?

And I don't want to hear any of this "clubhouse chemistry" nonsense. It's not like Bonds is going to sign a club and immediately pick fights with his teammates. If Milton Bradley and Jose Guillen (two known controversial lightning rods) can still get work in the big leagues based on their bats, then Bonds should surely get a shot.

Perhaps there is an unspoken agreement between every MLB team that Bonds is a hands-off commodity. But if I'm an owner with a sagging offense and I have to watch my team plug the likes of Jason Kubel and Jose Vidro into the DH spot, I'm tripping over myself to get Bonds on my roster.

--CHRIS STARBONELL

Frank Thomas is going to land somewhere. That much we do know. Where (and how soon) are the questions that still need to be answered. A couple of teams (the New York Yankees and Texas Ranger) have been mentioned in rumors, but to get a better idea of where he may land, let's look at teams with curious DH situations.

Detroit Tigers: With Gary Sheffield hurting and team officials not sure how healthy he will be for 2008, Thomas may not be a bad idea. Even if Sheffield plays the rest of the season, they could move Jacque Jones and Marcus Thames to the bench and let Sheff' return to the outfield while allowing Thomas to DH full-time.

Oakland Athletics: Jack Cust has not been getting it done this season and we all know how much GM Billy Beane loves OBP guys. It's not as if the A's have much speed on the base-paths either, so Thomas' slow base-running should not be a huge detriment. If the A's were playing poorly, it would be hard to imagine them making a serious run at Thomas. But because of their history and Oakland's competitive play, a reunion between the Athletics and Thomas would make some sense.

Seattle Mariners: I think we have a winner. This situation is perfect because, let's face it, Jose Vidro is not going to help lead Seattle anywhere, and the Mariners could use another power-bat in their lineup. If Erik Bedard comes back strong and the Mariners have a dynamite one-two starting pitching punch, they would become a legit playoff threat if they make the post-season. Thomas' bat could be the missing piece to Seattle's championship puzzle.

--CHRIS STARBONELL

One of the oldest and most-touted fantasy baseball philosophies goes like this: never invest too highly in closers. A tired mantra in some ways, it has become common knowledge amongst most fantasy owners. Still, in the first couple of days of regular season baseball that ideology has never looked more dead-on.

J.J. Putz, Kerry Wood, Eric Gagne, Huston Street and Matt Capps had all blown save opportunities by the time Tuesday night came to a close. While I'm not saying that fantasy owners need to be worried about every one of those players, it just goes to show that the closer's position should not be a focal part of your draft strategy.

Wood and Gagne could both lose their jobs sooner than later due to the depth in the Cubs and Brewers' bullpens, so if you spent a draft pick on either of them, you should feel pretty nervous. Even someone who drafted Putz might have a reason for fear. Putz is an elite closer, but the guy's 31-years old and has only had two great seasons in the majors. Who is to say that he's immune to imploding and having a poor season? There's always a large turnover at the closer position. Fantasy owners should not expect this one to be any different.

Keep your eyes on the waiver wire. Here are a couple of relief options that could be turned to for ninth-inning duties at some point this season:

Tony Pena, Arizona Diamondbacks

Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs

David Riske, Milwaukee Brewers

Luis Ayala, Washington Nationals

--CHRIS STARBONELL

Okay, I am sure that most of the people reading this know this already, but let me give a quick rundown of why I am angry.

The Mets placed Ruben Gotay on waivers a few days ago and he was snatched up by our division rival, the Atlanta Braves. Also, the Mets elected not to carry reliever Steven Register, who had a good spring, and returned him to the Colorado Rockies, where he'll rot in the minor leagues.

I don't know why, but I feel like Gotay's bat was too good to ignore. If he abandons batting right handed all together, he could be a force from the left side of the plate. It really pains me, because I was always a big fan of Jeff Keppinger, who turned into a pretty good utility player in his own right, and now the guy we traded him for is gone as well. If he turns into the next Melvin Mora, I may just tear my hair right off of my scalp. Oh, and another thing. Supposedly, the reason we got rid of him is so that Fernando (Who hasn't hit since 2003) Tatis could make the team.

I thought Register proved himself to be worthy of a bullpen spot this spring, and to use Joe Smith over him doesn't seem like a smart decision, considering that Smith still has options. We pretty much gave away two quality players for nothing. I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the backside.

--MIKE GANCI

Read all of Mike's blog's at http://gancisportsblog.blogspot.com

It looks like the Jarrod Saltalamacchia hype-train has come to a screeching halt. The Texas Rangers announced that Gerald Laird, not Saltalamacchia, will be the team's starting catcher when camp breaks.

This is not news to yours truly, who has been touting Laird as the horse to bet on in fantasy drafts this off-season, but to many fantasy-heads, it comes as a great surprise. Salty's power potential and offensive gifts had fantasy owners salivating heading into this season, but his sub-par defense and the raw-ness of his game were no match for Laird's superb defense (plus, Laird has some offensive skills of his own).

So what do fantasy owners do with Salty now? The short answer: drop him. The Rangers appear as if they may go as far as demoting him to the minor leagues, rendering him utterly useless to fantasy owners. But even if he stays as Laird's back-up, he will get no time at first base (unlike last year, which helped get his at-bats up) and figures to start about once a week barring an injury to Laird.

If you have the roster space to spare, holding onto Salty may be advisable. Laird is only signed for this year and he may be shipped before the trade deadline. The Rangers have no need to hold onto him beyond 2008. If he does get moved, then Saltalamacchia should assume the starting catcher's role. If Laird stays with Texas all season, however, don't expect Salty to take over everyday gig.

CHRIS STARBONELL

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was up in arms on Saturday after Tampa Bay Rays rookie Elliot Johnson barreled over Francisco Cervelli on a play at the plate, breaking the catchers right wrist. "It's just disheartening. It's spring training. I just don't understand," Girardi said. "I told all my players to play hard, but when you do something like that you take your chances that you will get someone hurt."

Ex-Yankees bench coach and current senior advisor with the Rays, Don Zimmer, took a different approach to the subject. "You block the plate. If I slide into him a break a leg, nothing is said. Instead of breaking my leg I bowl him over and it's not the right play?" Zimmer said. "Well, to me it's the right play, spring training or no spring training. Play the game the right way. To me, our kid played it the way he thought it was right, and I think it was right."

We want our athletes to play hard everyday, right? Even when they stink, we applaud them for their effort. We clap loudly when they dive into the stands, hustle down the line on a slow grounder or reach back for extra zip on that fastball. But what about spring training? Do the rules still apply? We want our athletes to give all they got, but we also want them healthy for the regular season. Where do athletes draw the line?

There was obviously no ill intent on Johnson's play at the plate. The outcome, though, leaves a Yankees catcher sidelined for two months.

This is incident is receiving a fair shar of attention for a spring training game not because of the play itslef, but because of the differing philosophies each manager has taken towards the game. And it's not an easy question to answer. How do you earn your players respect and diligence without asking them to play hard every game?

Girardi's right to be upset that his catcher is injured. But can he really fault the Rays for playing hard?

ANTHONY LAMBERTI

The Orange County Register reported that premier closer Francisco Rodriguez is likely entering his final season with the Los Angeles Angels. Heading into arbitration with his team, K-Rod's feelings about 2008 being his last year in an Angels uniform were fairly blunt, "Yeah, probably. Probably. If they wanted me here they would have done something a long time ago." Now the Angels are supposedly still interested in retaining Rodriguez long-term, but who knows if K-Rod will stay.

One thing's for sure, the Angels better pony-up big time or have a superb plan-B, because the Angels bullpen does not look as strong as it once did. Scot Shields is coming off the worst season of his career and is turning 33 in July, while Justin Speier and Darren Oliver (arguably the team's two best relief arms outside of K-Rod and Shields) are both over 35 years old.

Should K-Rod indeed leave town after 2008, the Angels may go from having one of the most dependable bullpens in the majors to owning a mediocre, if not poor, relief corps.

Chris Starbonell