May 28 (Bloomberg) -- For all the talk about sharpened machetes, Willie Randolph still occupies the manager's office at Shea Stadium. Know this, though: Votes of confidence can be fleeting in this town.

With Randolph's job safe, for now, one question lingers: What's next for the New York Mets?

We know from his days with New York's other team, the Yankees, that Randolph is fond of professional basketball. He would mill about the clubhouse making small talk about the New York Knicks.

Basketball was central in Randolph's most recent foot-in- mouth moment, the one that got him summoned to a meeting with owners wanting answers about their manager's curiously timed musings on race and face time on SNY. His comments to the Bergen Record in New Jersey smelled of panic at a time when the Mets need clear thought.

Randolph went so far as to align himself with former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas while making a point about just how tough New York sports fans can be on a black manager or coach.

Silly stuff from a smart man who should recognize that Thomas, as both the Knicks president and coach, has the opposite of the Midas touch.

Luckily for Randolph, his passion for basketball just might be his salvation.

Randolph should, indeed, be watching basketball. Only anything worth learning won't be gleaned from game tape of the Knicks.

By the Book

Randolph's how-to guide should come from Los Angeles, where the best coach in the team-building business, Phil Jackson, has his Lakers poised for a championship run.

In case you've lost count, Jackson has nine championships as a coach. And another as a player with the Knicks. Maybe, just maybe, Jackson knows something.

The arguments against Jackson as a great coach always centered on his having an abundance of talent with which to work. Critics such as Red Auerbach were fond of saying that almost anyone could've won it all with the likes of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and then Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

Not true. Just ask Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, who knows big names and big salaries don't guarantee anything.

``There's a difference between championship talent and a championship team,'' Minaya said, making it clear that he'd done his job and now it's time for Randolph to do his.

When it comes to defining roles, and getting players to understand how they fit into the bigger picture, no coach is more successful than Jackson. His teaching tools range from lay- up lines to literature.

Hidden Meaning

Jackson likes to give his players books as gifts. For each player there is a message to be decoded, provided they're willing to put forth the effort.

``They don't pay me to think,'' says Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, whose leadership and production this season leave something to be desired. ``They pay me to play baseball.''

Yogi Berra said it best. Baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical. With that in mind, it's time for Randolph to borrow from Jackson and give his players some reading material. No lectures. No closed-door meetings. No pep talks. Just a book and a message. Let them figure it out.

Here are a few suggestions for a summer reading list for the Mets:

Willie Randolph -- ``The Book of Job'': A reminder that bad things happen to good people.

Jose Reyes -- ``The Art of War'': Jackson years ago gave this to Kobe Bryant, who was this season's Most Valuable Player. A number of lessons to be learned, but Reyes would mostly be helped by understanding that planning and strategy can change depending on conditions and situation.

Carlos Delgado -- ``The Odyssey'': The 35-year-old could use a reminder that with age come wisdom and cunning. And when he's done, perhaps Hemingway's ``The Old Man and the Sea.'' The central character, an octogenarian named Santiago, is inspired by his baseball hero, Joe DiMaggio, who did great things in spite of obstacles, including injury.

David Wright -- ``The Last Season: A Team In Search of Its Soul'': Phil Jackson's most recent book provides words of wisdom for Wright, who, as his stature grows, should always keep fresh the importance of team dynamics.

Carlos Beltran -- ``Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'': It would behoove Beltran to think about something other than baseball every now and then.

Mets fans -- Shirley Jackson's ``The Lottery'': All sports fans can use a reminder that winning isn't everything.

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 28, 2008 00:05 EDT