By MARK HALE

June 24, 2008

Mets owner Fred Wilpon said yesterday that Willie Randolph simply hadn't won enough games over the last year-plus to continue leading the club.

Randolph was fired a week ago and Wilpon, speaking to reporters yesterday at an MLB event, indicated the former manager was well aware of what the winning standard was going to be when he was hired.

"It's all a matter of performance, and Willie knew this when he started," Wilpon said.

Wilpon also defended Omar Minaya, saying the GM, "has done a great job," and said the Mets' minor-league system - portrayed in the press as barren -is "in much better shape than is being reported."

Wilpon credited Randolph for his success during three-plus years, but added it was not enough.

"I think Willie did a good job," Wilpon said. "I think that the results the last, say, 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be."

Wilpon also explained how he found out that GM Omar Minaya planned to fire Randolph, saying Minaya requested a meeting with ownership after the June 15 doubleheader at Shea against the Rangers.

"He called me at the end of the doubleheader and asked me whether we can meet," Wilpon said. "He told us what his recommendation was going to be, and that what he wanted to do was replace Willie and replace the two coaches, and that he wanted to do it expeditiously. He wanted to do it in person. And he said, just like he always does, trades and everything else, he said, 'I want to just think about it overnight.' "

According to Wilpon, the Mets then had a meeting at 9 a.m. on June 16 and determined Randolph's fate. The owner also apparently felt compelled to point out that the Mets were the team that initially hired Randolph after he hadn't been able to land a managing gig.

Interestingly, Minaya said yesterday he was basically ignorant when it came to new manager Jerry Manuel's managerial style.

Minaya also admitted he had been clueless about such things as Manuel's stated plan to assign specific roles to individual Mets relievers.