General Manager Omar Minaya may be the next New York Mets official to be fired if his new manager doesn't turn around an underachieving $138 million team.

Minaya took some blame for the Mets' disappointing season hours after firing manager Willie Randolph, replacing him with Jerry Manuel for at least the rest of the season.

"The team is underperforming not only because of Willie Randolph," Minaya said yesterday during a televised press conference at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. "I'm responsible too, and the players, we are all responsible."

The Mets, whose payroll is the second-highest in Major League Baseball, are tied for third place in the National League East and two games under .500 with a 34-36 record. The franchise has yet to rebound from a record September collapse last year that cost it a playoff berth.

Minaya said he made the decision to fire Randolph the morning after the Mets split a double-header with the Texas Rangers at Shea Stadium on June 15. He flew to California to join the club for its series against the Los Angeles Angels and dismissed Randolph at the team hotel after New York's 9-6 victory two nights ago. He also fired coaches Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto.

Manuel was promoted to manager from bench coach, and Minaya said he'd remain in that job the rest of the season.

"We are all responsible in this, and I take full responsibility," Minaya said. "We are where we are today — like all general managers — possibly because of some of the decisions that I've made in signing some free agents that have not panned out as good as they want, and some players are not playing to their capabilities."

Veteran Club

Minaya assembled a club that relies on aging veterans in key positions. Pitcher Pedro Martinez, 36, missed two months of the season after hurting his hamstring in his first start of the year and outfielder Moises Alou, 41, has been on the disabled list three times. Pitcher Orlando Hernandez, 38, has yet to play this year because of a foot injury and first baseman Carlos Delgado, 35, has seen his offensive production decline.

Oliver Perez, who won 15 games last season, has been inconsistent. The left-hander is 5-4 with a 4.98 earned run average and leads baseball with 46 walks. Mike Pelfrey, the club's first-round pick in 2005, has been slow to develop, going 3-6 with a 4.62 ERA. Relievers that pitch in the innings leading up to closer Billy Wagner in the ninth have had mixed results.

With Randolph gone, Minaya will be held accountable for the team's performance the rest of the season, said former Mets GM Steve Phillips.

"When you fire your manager for underperformance, you remove that buffer between the team's performance and your job," said Phillips, who was fired by the Mets in 2003, eight months after he dismissed manager Bobby Valentine. "You fire that manager and your buffer is gone."

Manuel spoke for 25 minutes after Minaya finished his news conference and said his first step was to get the players to change their perception of him after being their coach for four seasons.

Manuel, who won the American League Manager of the Year award with the Chicago White Sox in 2000, said he would try to keep the club's core players — David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran — fresh. To that point, Manuel made Wright the designated hitter for last night's 6-1 loss to the Angels, instead of playing third base.

Manuel said he'll define roles for relievers in the sixth, seventh and eight innings, and expect starters to last deeper into games and not be restricted by pitch counts. The lineup will fluctuate with batters moving up or down based on their recent performance, he said.

At the end of the season, Manuel said, he plans to keep his uniform on his back.

"When Omar comes through looking for me, he said he won't fire anyone in uniform," the interim manager said. "So I'm going to stay in mine. Take mine right to the house."