The Mets fired Manager Willie Randolph this morning in Los Angeles at 3 a.m. New York time, after a victory (the team's third in four games), much too late for the news to make any of the morning newspapers back home.

In retrospect, it seems clear this was a done deal long before the team crossed the country Sunday night. Details of the changes (a coach elevated to interim manager, two coaches fired, two minor league staffers promoted) had been leaked to some reporters before the weekend.

Yet Randolph was forced to keep a stiff upper lip, the axe hovering, fly to California and manage the team one more time before being unceremoniously dumped. (The announcement was made in a press release.)

Managers in baseball get fired all the time. Randolph hardly was untouchable. But the way in which he was canned was classless.