Two September collapses followed by a summer of long-term injuries to key components may be the big picture but the smaller one – perhaps an even more glaring one – is that neither Willie Randolph or Jerry Manuel were able to get the best out of their players. Heck, they weren’t even able to get a full day’s pay out of the majority of the locker room on a daily basis.

To say the Mets gave up before they were mathematically eliminated this past summer is like saying reality television has become a bore. Even the young replacement players for the banged-up veterans appeared as if they were just going through the motions. Mental and physical errors made the season reminiscent of the 1962 Mets, with the main difference that they were loveable losers while these imposters were down right deplorable.

Now we have the pleasure of seeing it all over again for the fourth consecutive season. Jeff Wilpon has already announced that both Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya will be back.

The core group of players that have all been either a part of the collapses, the injured or unable to take charge when needed may all return, as well. The one question mark is first baseman Carlos Delgado, who is a Type B free agent after his contract ran out while he was on the disabled list.

The 37-year-old underwent hip surgery back on May 19 and left a huge hole not only at his position but also as the Mets’ only real power threat, the team had a popgun offense. Delgado then strained an oblique muscle while rehabbing and that put him on the shelf for good. Not exactly much of an endorsement for his conditioning.

Now Delgado has stated that he will be playing winter baseball in his native Puerto Rico to salvage what may be a career nearing its end. If he shows that he can still consistently hit the ball out, the Mets may offer him a one-year deal with incentives. But has the front office taken into consideration that a veteran such as Delgado has been a part of both the 2007 and 2008 collapses and never has taken a step up to become a team leader?

While we’re on the subject of players who have no desire to be in the driver’s seat, let us bring David Wright into the mix. The young third sacker is certainly talented and a model citizen but had the perfect opportunity in 2009 to become Mr. Met. He certainly did not do that and actually took a few steps back. He also has shown that he is a singles and doubles hitter at a power position, more alarming especially since the Mets lacked a big stick everywhere else in their line-up. His home run total (10) was reminiscent of a utility player.

Carlos Beltran did his best to play through pain but still had to succumb to missing a good amount of time due to a bum right knee. But he also is a ‘stand behind someone else’ type of person. He is not a take-charge guy by any means, even though he gets paid like one. That was one intangible that Minaya did not seem to think or care about when he threw boatloads of money at the free agent centerfielder, who did his best to take less from the cross-town Yankees before settling on the Mets.

And the last of the fearsome foursome? None other than Jose Reyes, who has made a career out of committing rookie mistakes year after year. Bad habits such as not running out ground balls or pop ups and horrendous base running mistakes has definitely rubbed off on some of the younger players on the team.

What needed to be done was not and Manuel seemed more like a substitute high school teacher than a major league manager. Basic fundamentals that are a part of spring training were botched up through Game 162. Inexcusable to say the least, but management seems to be content with him as the field boss because he is the furthest thing from controversial. The image-conscious Mets love to remain squeaky clean, even to a fault.

While the outcome of 2010 may be predictable wit the Mets, their excuse of what went wrong will not be as easy.

It was a tough first half of the season for Manuel and these Mets. But the last two days, in particular when Jeff Francoeur arrived and was instead fifth in the lineup, something happened. The Mets bats revived with a stable lineup, 13 runs and 27 hits, two straight wins over the Cincinnati Reds.

“They feel good about themselves playing better baseball,” said Manuel after the Mets 9-7 win over the Red that saw their offense explode with 16 hits, and, finally two home runs at Citi Field from Brian Schneider and Fernando Tatis.  The home runs in the seventh inning broke an eight-game and 80.0 inning streak of no home runs coming from the Mets offense.

Coincidence that Francoeur makes a difference in the lineup, perhaps, regardless the Mets feel better about themselves before heading for the second half that begins Thursday at Atlanta, a 10-game three city trip that also takes them to Washington and Houston.

“I think to have something of a set lineup makes a difference,” said Manuel who will stay in town and have team evaluation meetings the next few days.  Decisions about the pitching rotation, how to keep that lineup consistent will be on the agenda. So will plans to know, when and how to insert Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado back in the lineup.

Both Beltran and Delgado continue to get better and are expected to return from injuries in the next dew weeks.  Beltran with a bruised knee, possibly by next week and Delgado, recovering from hip surgery maybe by the beginning of next month, The status as to when Jose Reyes will return is still uncertain, though the Mets leadoff hitter and catalyst to the lineup was running and doing sprints in the outfield at Citi Field prior to the game Sunday afternoon.

In the meantime, Angel Pagan returned this week from the disabled list, made some excellent defensive plays in center field, and became the catalyst for Manuel in the leadoff spot. “It gives me an opportunity to let the team know I’ll be there to help them them,” he said after going 1-for 5 Sunday,  He had two big hits Saturday along with two stolen bases, the first bags swiped by the Mets in seven games.

So things could get better for a team that finished 42-45, under .500 for the first time since 2003 at the break.  “We have some good vibes going into the second half,” said Wright who has been about the only player in the Mets clubhouse that has been speaking about their woes of the last month.

It looked better the past few days, and as Manuel said afterwards “We still have issues here and there. One night it is the starting offense, today it was the bullpen.” Indeed, the pen, a priority of GM Omar Minaya during the off -season struggled Sunday as closer Frankie Rodriguez is still trying to work on some of his issues giving up a run in the ninth and getting his 23^rd save of the season and win for starter Mike Pelfrey.

After Pelfrey (7-4) was lifted after seven innings, allowing five hits and three runs, the pen made it interesting as the Reds got three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth.  And there is the issue of a starting pitching rotation. Orlando Hernandez has lost his last four starts at the backend and Pelfrey after the fifth innings tends to break down.

“Everybody here needs a day off because the second half is going to be important,” said pitcher Oliver Perez who will also stay in town rather than go to Mexico during the break. Perez will get some rest and work on the mechanics. Because the Mets need his arm to make a run at the post season as they closed the half trailing first place Philadelphia by 6-1/2 games and in fourth place.

And, it seems now that if things are going to get better, the Mets are going to have a big inning, as they did in the third inning with five runs Sunday. It will be with a single and the extra base hit The team, does not hit home runs and is next to last in that category next to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The hits and runs came on two-out hits, another sign that things could be turning around even if it was two games.  Some momentum goes into the all-star break after a dismal      first half of the season and they won their first series after losing the past four, their first one in July.

David Wright appeared more comfortable at the plate and Gary Sheffield had no problem with a slider and resembled the old Sheffield who was once the most feared hitter in the game. “It will give us a little more momentum and confidence going into the second half,” added Wright about the first half finish..

And Luis Castillo, still booed for that game-ending walk-off error in the first Subway Series at Yankee Stadium went 3-for-3 Sunday, got a good jump and stole second base, his 11^th of the season.  Sheffield drove in three runs and asked Manuel to put him in the lineup/.

Francoueur, in his second game as a Met got two hits, four in the series with the Reds and quickly fit in well with his new mates. “I’m excited to be here and I don’t see how we can’t make a run in the second half,’ he said.

So when that new apple in center field failed to come up, after the second home run in the seventh inning hit by Tatis, the Citi Field crowd began to chant, “Apple, Apple.”  Home runs have been hard to find at the new ballpark, so has offense from this team, so maybe the apple went on an earlier hiatus before the second half.

“It was good to finally see the apple come up,” said Manuel with his usual chuckle that has become customary after a win or loss.  “It took its time but it finally came up,” he said as the mechanical failures were fixed and the apple rose again when the inning ended.

And for the Mets, they certainly hope their first half failures are in the distance. Two straight wins and an offense that finally came together, with or without the home runs, leads to optimism in the second half.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

You might remember that one when the Ranger’s GM scrambled to fill his team with Czechs, just to keep Jaromir Jagr, his one superstar, happy. That worked with the Rangers making the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

But since then…Uggh.

The next off-season, Sather signed Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, and Brendan Shanahan. Sure, Shanny worked out ,but he solicited the Rangers, not the other way around. While Cullen was gone the next season and Ward turned out to be a disaster, coming into camp out of shape and getting into arguments with Jagr.

Then came the signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury the following year. If you listen to Sather you can hear him admitting his mistake.

“If you perform up to expectations, play hard every day, game in and game out and be productive, there’s a chance you’ll never be traded,” Sather said.

Gomez was shipped to Montreal on Tuesday.

And then we had last off-season with the bad signings of Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Markus Naslund. We all saw how that turned out.

So now with the Rangers signing Marian Gaborik to a five year contract worth $7.5 million a year, you can see where the trepidation comes from. It looks good on paper, but with Sather’s track record in the free agent market it’s hard to get excited.

If healthy, Gaborik gives the Rangers the sniper they needed since Jagr. He’s scored over 30 goals in five of his eight seasons in Minnesota, including 42 goals in 2007-08. But last year was an injury riddled season with hip surgery in January limited him to 17 games last year.

“His health is fine,” Sather kept repeating last night in a conference call. “He came back and played the last (11) games last season, and it hasn’t bothered him since.”

Sorry if I don’t share Sather’s optimism, but with his spotty track record, the Rangers general manager will have to show me proof before I start believing. Each off-season you think the team has enough to make it to the next level, but the season always ends in disappointment.

For this off-season to be a success, Gaborik and Chris Higgins – acquired for Gomez on Tuesday – need to play healthy seasons, while Donald Brashear, who was signed earlier yesterday, needs to play a more controlled game, meaning no suspensions and no stupid penalties.

Otherwise this off-season will be just another typical Ranger July. It looks great on paper, but that all changes when the games are played.

However, the Nets managed to bite off more than a hearty helping of mediocrity and stay out of the cellar despite injuries and inconsistency.

Nevertheless, the team isn’t happy with the way the season ended.

“You should never allow anyone’s outside expectations to affect your internal expectations. Our goal was to get to the playoffs and we didn’t make it so we’re disappointed,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who will return as the Nets’ head coach next season, told the Associated Press. “But I think our guys have played with integrity, honor and respect for the game.”

There is more than enough light at the end of the tunnel however.

Over the last 15 or so games, Chris Douglas Roberts proved that he could be much more than a player that could round out the bottom of a depth chart. With Keyon Dooling expected back healthy after hip surgery a few days ago, the Nets should have plenty of depth at the guard position and shouldn’t have nearly as many problems as they did this season when Devin Harris or Vince Carter were hurt or cold. That alone should play a role in the team’s success next season.

However, the development of Brook Lopez and hopefully the attitude adjustment of Sean Williams would sure up the Nets where they need it most, on the boards. If Lopez continues to be a guy that can score anywhere from 12-16 points and can grab a few more boards, the Nets will be in a much better shape and will officially have a new “Big Three.” Williams, in turn, can earn a reputation as an energy guy who can play power forward and center, giving the Nets added versatility, especially considering how inconsistent Ryan Anderson and Yi Jianlian can be at times.

The small forward position still seems like a conundrum at this point and maybe that’s something the Nets can solve in the draft. Nothing against my favorite lunch-pailer Trenton Hassell or the undependable Bobby Simmons, but if the Nets are ever to get back in the playoffs, addressing the situation at small forward is a great place to start.

Photo by Bill Menzel.