MLB

WILLIE’S DOOM IS TOPIC ‘A’ AT SHEA

Players share rumors. Coaches wait to be summoned for a meeting they dread. And the manager senses the clock expiring on his run in charge of the Mets.

This is the atmosphere the Mets are enduring right now, as GM Omar Minaya decides whether to go the last few inches and dismiss Willie Randolph.

The Mets’ game against the Rangers last night was washed out, but the rain did not cleanse the tension that comes from the lingering belief the manager is more minute to minute than day to day.

One Met player, in fact, went as far as to tell a friend in another organization that Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and hitting coach Howard Johnson will be fired tomorrow, according to an industry source.

However, other players said they had heard nothing definitive. And it appears that Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto are much more likely to be removed now than Johnson.

Some Met officials actually think Johnson’s instruction has improved the approach of the hitters over last year.

The Mets leave for Anaheim after today’s doubleheader. It would seem unlikely the Mets would fire Randolph on Father’s Day. But the fury of ownership is real, and the Wilpons have let Minaya know they are willing to eat the roughly $3.4 million left on Randolph’s deal through next year if the GM believes that will get the players’ attention and evoke better performances.

Minaya, Randolph’s last strong ally in the front office, was given the authority by the Wilpons to make this decision and is closer to removing Randolph than at any other time this year.

But there’s also the belief Minaya is stalling on his decision, hoping for a miracle turn-around – because if Randolph goes, it removes the last firewall before Minaya himself becomes the target of ax rumors.

If Randolph is removed, bench coach Jerry Manuel will be elevated to become the manager.

The Mets played their best game in nearly two weeks on Friday, pounding the Rangers 7-1. It’s unclear if there is a magic number for victories this weekend that would increase Randolph’s chances of remaining the manager.

The underachieving Mets are 32-34, seven games behind Philadelphia in the NL East.

Already, Randolph has survived one scare this season, emerging unscathed from a meeting with ownership on May 26, after the Mets had completed a horrid road swing through Atlanta and Colorado, losing six of seven.

The latest Willie Watch is the result of a four-game sweep in San Diego that preceded the Mets returning home to lose two of three games against Arizona.

Randolph tried to wear a brave face yesterday.

“I think I’m calmest under pressure,” Randolph said.

Randolph admitted he has discussed the situation with members of his coaching staff.

Does Randolph sense players are pressing because of his situation?

“I’m sure there’s some guys that like me a little bit and some guys that don’t, for whatever reason, and that shouldn’t even make them play any harder,” Randolph said.

David Wright said the firing talk is something that comes with the job of manager, and that Randolph hasn’t made it an issue with the team.

“He’s handled it professionally and he’s kept us from being distracted by it,” Wright said.

The Mets haven’t made an in-season managerial change since 1996, when Dallas Green was fired on Aug. 26 with a 59-72 record and replaced by Bobby Valentine.

But that move wasn’t made with the hope of resurrecting a season as much as getting a jump on the following year.

Manuel, a former AL Manager of the Year with the White Sox, would have the same edict as Randolph: Win immediately and erase the lingering stench from last year’s September collapse.

mpuma@nypost.com