Your look ahead to 2009 hits several points I have considered. Chances are at least three of the four players you mentioned will not return after the 2008 season. Even if the Mets don't deal their prospects for Johan Santana, they may be hard pressed to fill all the voids of 2009, particularly those involving El Duque and Martinez.

If the Mets retain Carlos Gomez, he may be ready to play regularly in 2009; then he and Ryan Church could man the corner spots. First base could be a problem, though.

Your earlier points were intriguing, too. I think we have to remember that the Mets lost by one game to the Phillies. As rough as the last 17 games were, as inadequate as they were in their final 112 games (55-57), they lost by one game. The injuries did play a significant role. But injuries happen; granted they happen more often with older players. The Phillies lost so much pitching and won regardless. It can be done.

I'm not sure Minaya is blaming Randolph or putting more pressure on him. And while each had a hand in what happened, the collapse was primarily the doing of the players. I thought what I saw from the beginning of the season was a lack of urgency. And no player has denied that assertion yet.

How do you feel about the following idea: No transactions between Major League clubs from Jan. 15 to May 1. This way, all teams have a fair chance to plan their year out and teams like the Twins and agents like Scott Boras can't muddy up the system until two weeks before Opening Day. It will force action, fair up the system and improve the Hot Stove in my opinion.
-- Nik, New York

Your suggestion is an intriguing one, but it has at least two flaws. First, the primary objective during the offseason is to improve the team, not improve the Hot Stove. Moreover, a no-trade period would cool the Hot Stove. I'm guessing the on-going Santana situation is what prompted your e-mail. A trade involving a pitcher of Santana's caliber takes time. And with at least three clubs pursuing a deal, more time is necessary.

Secondly, if a club were to lose a significant player to injury in Spring Training, it would be unable to repair itself if your proposal were in place. Any late spring trades would be impossible. And they're critical, at times, to players and clubs.

Mr. Noble, you don't seem to take a hard or harsh stand on many things -- Randolph's role in the Mets' collapse, Jose Reyes' terrible September, Carlos Delgado's awful season, Guillermo Mota's pathetic pitching. Why not?
-- Alex D., Lincoln Park, N.J.

I'm not sure it's my place to take a stand -- hard, harsh, soft or otherwise -- on anything. What I do when I cover a game is write what I've seen through my eyes (and glasses), which have seen a lot of baseball. I can say this: most baseball situations are not as black and white as most people think. Almost everything is gray -- which is to say, there are extenuating circumstances.

If a shortstop or second baseman arrives too late at second base for a double-play relay, is he wrong or was he shading too far? Did he misread the catcher's signal? Did the catcher give the wrong signal or did the pitcher throw the wrong pitch?

If you condemn Reyes' September, Mota's performance and Delgado's season, doesn't that reduce the onus on Randolph?

Have a question about the Mets? E-mail your query to MLB.com Mets beat reporter Marty Noble for possible inclusion in a future Inbox column. Letters may be edited for brevity, length and/or content. First Name, Last Initial: Hometown: Email Address: Question:

I didn't recognize the gray when I began covering baseball. There was a sense then that everything was good or bad, hot or cold, Ron Guidry (25-3) or Brian Kingman (8-20). A more moderate perspective developed with time, I'm glad to say. Yes, Delgado had a poor, not awful season -- for him. But he drove in 87 runs in 139 games. Awful? I think not. Disappointing? For sure.

Saying the Mets collapsed is saying what happened. Is more needed? The word collapse exists for circumstances like the Mets endured in September. Does "awful collapse" make it clearer? Not to me. My first boss at Newsday said a player who has two hits in 20 at-bats is batting .100 , not "only .100." I agreed with that.

Was the Mets' collapse the worst ever? How do we compare seven games ahead with 17 to play with what the Phillies endured in 1964 -- 6 1/2 games ahead with 12 to go? If I provide the numbers and some sense of perspective, the reader can determine which is worse.

I measure the impact of the words before I type them. Words commonly used often are misused. Case in point: obviously. What's obvious to one may be a revelation to another.

If I use moderate words, then when I do appear to "take a stand," it has the desired impact.

The game has few absolutes, so I try I avoid words such as "never" and "always" and use "seldom" and "often" instead. I seldom use the word "great." It is overused, I think.

Readers request opinions in the mailbag, so I provide them. But a "hard stand?" Seldom, but not never. Thanks for the question.

Looking at the Mets' roster, I noticed Johnny Estrada wasn't there, and I believe Estrada is a better option at catcher than Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider. I never heard of the release of Estrada. So what happened with him? Is he going to play for the Mets at all?
-- Levry S., Union City, N.J.

The day the Mets acquired Estrada, there was a sense he wouldn't play for them, that they had acquired him in case the trade they wanted to make and already had discussed -- Schneider and Church for Lastings Milledge -- didn't happen. The plan was to non-tender him if Schneider was in place. And that's what the Mets did. Estrada is out of the picture. Schneider will do the majority of the catching. Castro is the primary reserve.

Which outfield prospect would you rather keep, Gomez or Fernando Martinez?
-- Chris D., Glen Allen, Va.

Gomez has more skills. But Martinez is said to have the potential to be a superior left-handed hitter with power. I'll take left-handed power any time.

Are you the Marty Noble who graduated from P.S. 28 in the Bronx in 1960. And if you are, how can you be writing about the Mets? You were a big Yankees fan and the biggest Mickey Mantle fan.
-- Alan T., New Rochelle, N.Y.

One in the same, Alan, though I don't believe there was a "graduation." Anyway, my family moved to New Jersey in 1959, when you and I were in fifth grade. I was a Yankees fan. And I remain a fan of those Yankees teams. I came to know Mickey, and that was quite special.

But this job requires objectivity. It's not too hard to come by. I learned early in my career to put aside my childhood allegiance. Now I root for compelling games and against rain delays.