On the Mets beat

BY DAVID LENNON

ANAHEIM – In explaining why he waited until after Monday’s game to fire Willie Randolph at the team hotel, GM Omar Minaya said that he would never do that to someone in uniform. It was too humiliating, Minaya said, for that to happen at the stadium.

So after these Mets, under the guidance of interim manager Jerry Manuel, stumbled to a 6-1 loss to the Angels on Tuesday, Manuel remembered what Minaya said during that afternoon’s news conference. The Mets looked tired against Anaheim starter John Lackey – it had been an exhausting 24 hours – but Manuel wasn’t taking any chances.

“I made it through,” Manuel said of his first game, “but I’m going to have to sleep in this uniform.”

The response brought laughter from the group of reporters – a rarity during Randolph’s tenure – and that had to be considered progress for a team that had been straining under the weight of its manager’s suffocating job situation.

The decision by Minaya to fire Randolph and two of his coaches late Monday night may have ended the rampant job speculation swirling around the Mets. Putting a stop to this team’s losing ways, however, is not going to be that easy.

Santana allowed five runs in six innings, including a solo homer to Jeff Mathis, and the Mets sputtered after the left hamstring injury to Jose Reyes, who immediately tested Manuel’s authority by throwing a tantrum during his removal in the first inning.

Fortunately for the Mets, Reyes, who has a long history of hamstring issues, was not seriously hurt. The discomfort he felt after his leadoff single was only stiffness and he is expected to play in the series finale on Wednesday night. But by stomping around first base, and flinging his helmet, the display made for an awkward few moments for both Manuel and the Mets.

As Manuel tried to put his arm around Reyes, who was acting immaturely, he was clearly saying, “You’re embarrassing me,” to the All-Star shortstop. Finally, Reyes made his way to the dugout and disappeared down the runway. Eventually, he apologized to Manuel and his teammates, and later he could be seen standing next to Maneul near the front railing of the dugout.

“Normally it’s an injury he can shake it out and it feels better,” Manuel said. “But to me, this being my first game, I didn’t want to lose Jose Reyes for an extended period of time. I said I don’t care how much you squibble and squirm, you’re getting out of here tonight. You can be mad all you want to -- throw rocks, sling snot, cry all you want to. But you’re coming out.”

Manuel called Reyes’ behavior “unacceptable” but did not hold a grudge after the shortstop said he was sorry for the outburst.

“I wanted to stay in the game,” Reyes said, “but I need to stay healthy all season. I understood everything he tried to say to me.”

Ironically, Minaya complained before the game about the Mets’ inability to rally from behind, and even cited it among the reasons for firing Randolph. Heading into last night, the Mets were 3-22 when trailing after six innings, and they went down meekly after the Angels took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first.

“How many times have we fallen behind and we don’t come back?” Minaya said. “That’s a trademark of something being wrong.”

Lackey struck out the side after Endy Chavez’s leadoff single in the sixth and retired eight straight before the Mets put two runners on in the eighth. But reliever Scot Shields got Luis Castillo on a bouncer to second to squash the threat.

The Mets certainly behaved as if they were ready to move on with Manuel. But as far as omens go, seeing Reyes limp off the field in the first inning with a stiffness in his left hamstring was an ominous start – especially with his long history of hamstring issues.

Reyes opened the game with a single to centerfield and took his usual aggressive turn around first base. As he headed back to the bag, Reyes didn’t look right, and moved with a slight limp that instantly brought Manuel and trainer Ray Ramirez from the dugout.

With both watching closely, Reyes tried to walk off the discomfort, but he couldn’t convince Manuel to leave him in the game. When told he was being removed, Reyes essentially threw a tantrum, yelling out and flinging his helmet toward the dugout. The Mets later announced that Reyes was taken out for “precautionary reasons.”

Notes & Quotes: Luis Castillo suffered a contusion of the left wrist when he was victimized by a hard slide into second base on Tuesday night and Manuel said following the game that Damion Easley likely would start at second on Wednesday. Ramon Castro is also expected to start at catcher … Johan Santana matched a season-high by allowing four earned runs in six innnings as he suffered his second straight loss.