-A day later after a heartbreaking loss, some Mets fans were second guessing manager Willie Randolph in their last licks when he opted to pinchhit Cliff Floyd with the first two runners on down two runs instead of sending up a Chris Woodward to bunt. Of course, the argument could be understood because it moves the runners over into scoring position and just a basehit would’ve been needed to tie it from either Jose Reyes or Paul LoDuca. Personally, I understood why Randolph opted to give his hobbled veteran outfielder a chance to come up with the big hit. Floyd had been there through the losing and will probably not be back at Shea next year. He deserved that last shot to drive his teammates in. Imagine if he had come through instead of taking a nasty breaking pitch for a called strike three for the inning’s first out. He’d have been compared to the Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson, who delivered a clutch walkoff Game 1 World Series home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley back in 1988. It was enough to propel them to a four-game sweep. Now picture Floyd pulling a Roy Hobbs in the falling rain, driving an Adam Wainwright pitch off the light beam as the Amazin’s celebrate a pennant. All you would have needed is some lightning. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t happen. But still, I have to side with Randolph for giving Floyd that chance to be the hero. So maybe he didn’t come through. But the Mets still had a golden shot to tie or win it. But even St. Louis killer Carlos Beltran couldn’t deliver.

-Credit must also go out to Wainwright for having the guts to throw that curve. He did it to get all three outs, including the ultratough Beltran. That was about as difficult a pressure situation for a rookie closer to get out of. When you combine what was on the line along with the electric capacity Shea Stadium crowd, it had all the elements for a Calvin Shiraldi-esque meltdown from 20 years ago. While Wainwright was able to make the pitches needed, one thing that got overlooked was the heroic backstop Yadier Molina having the presence of mind to settle down his pitcher after Jose Valentin and Endy Chavez singled and fell behind Floyd. Everyone will point to Molina’s big blast off Aaron Heilman as the camel that broke the Mets’ back and compare it to the Dodgers’ Mike Scioscia back in ‘88 off Doc Gooden. But the catcher also had the important responsibility of having to get his closer refocused because pitching coach Dave Duncan had already visited him. Molina was able to make the right calls behind the plate and help guide Wainwright through en route to a 1968 World Series rematch against the Tigers which begins tomorrow in MoTown. Molina might have been the unlikely hitting star in the NLCS but also was instrumental in the Cards’ staff’s ability to shutdown an explosive Mets offense. Even more amazing is that you had a 25 year-old closer and a 24 year-old catcher finishing such a talented team which was the NL’s best the whole summer off.

-All this Tiki Barber retirement talk is not surprising. It’s no secret that the Giants’ all-time leading rusher has hinted before that he would like to call it a career and move on to a broadcasting career. But still, with the 31 year-old leading the league in rushing with 533 yards in his 10th season as Big Blue enters a vital divisional game at rival Dallas Monday night, don’t you think he should have held off on these comments? His teammates of course said all the right things and that it wouldn’t be a team distraction. But how could it not? The Giants have worked hard to get back to 3-2 and are built to win now. Who knows? Maybe they can draw inspiration from this news. The good news is Barber wouldn’t fully commit to saying he’s 100 percent certain he’s calling it a career. Hopefully for Giant fans, he changes his mind and sticks around another year or two. The thought of Brandon Jacobs as a number one back is not the most pleasant. Nothing against the second-year big man. But could you really see Jacobs being an every week back? That’s a discussion for another day.

-Just from watching Pens’ rookie Evgeni Malkin in his second game against the Islanders last night, it’s evident that he’s the real deal. The dynamic Russian scored for the second straight game and teamed up with Sidney Crosby to help Pittsburgh defeat the Isles 4-3 at Nassau Coliseum. They even took some shifts together in the third period. If you’re an opposing defenseman, double yikes.

-Watching this Canes-Sabres game, it’s evident how dangerous each team’s transition game is. After a slow start, the Canes have won three straight and are currently knotted three apiece with undefeated Buffalo late in the third in a very entertaining game. It definitely looks like both should be back in the postseason next Spring. But we’re giving the edge to the Sabres, who are playing with an edge after coming so close last year against the eventual Cup champs. They can come at you in waves with four fast lines and a just as aggressive D which knows when to pinch. And Ryan Miller looks superb thus far in net. It could be a special year for those Sabres, ugly slug logo aside.

-With the Flyers losing once again this time 3-2 at Florida to fall to an NHL worst 1-6-1, is there any doubt that Ken Hitchcock is going to be axed? The shame is he just was given an extension by GM Bobby Clarke, who is even more to blame for his club’s putrid start. Maybe if he had addressed their immobile D which got run into the ground literally by Buffalo in last year’s first round embarrassment, his team wouldn’t be so bad. It’s going to take a lot for them to turn this sinking ship around. What would they have done if they hadn’t gotten those three points against the Rangers?