Just like any of his players, Buffalo Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell wants to be in the big leagues. But if Oberkfell can't be there in 2010, he definitely wants the parent New York Mets to give him another shot at the head of the Herd to try to make up for the franchise's worst campaign since 1994.

"If I'm not in the big leagues, I'd love to come back here," Oberkfell told The Buffalo

News on Thursday prior to the Herd's 4-3, 10-inning win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the home

finale at Coca-Cola Field.

"This is a great baseball city with great fans. Naturally they were frustrated this year

like all of us were with our record. We've become a much better club than what we started the

season with. Unfortunately the major-league club's injuries really affected us."

Oberkfell, 53, has been in professional baseball since 1975 (marked by 1,602 big league

games as a player and 15 years as a minor league manager). But he's never endured a season

like this.

With injuries battering the Mets and the Bisons out of spring training, the season began in

disastrous fashion and was essentially over before it started.

The Bisons were 1-10 and already 10 games out of first place on April 19 because Scranton

broke from the gate 11-0. The Herd has been last in the International League North every day

since April 14 and at least 10 games out since April 22. The team had a pair of seven-game

losing streaks in the first three weeks of the schedule and was just 2-17 on May 1.

"We'd played 19 games and we're like 15 games out and you're thinking, "Holy bleep,'"

Oberkfell said. "Then [the Mets] were like, "You got to win games and we got to try to get

players.' I know the Mets wanted to win so bad here for the city and the fans. It was just a

tough situation."

The Mets have made no decisions on their staff for next year but General Manager Omar

Minaya highly praised Oberkfell when visiting Buffalo two weeks ago.

Oberkfell entered the season with a 755-715 record as a manager in affiliated baseball and

had winning records in seven of the last eight years.

I've always been very positive but I've had to try to be extra positive this year," he

said. "You have guys going, "They've got all these injuries. Why aren't I in the big leagues?'

You can't control that.

"I've been not only a manager but kind of a counselor at times, too. It's part of it but

I'm proud of how those guys have worked hard. They haven't quit."

The Bisons were 28-53 on July 7 but improved to 27-30 since with Thursday's win on Luis

Rivera's two-out RBI single in the 10th with the bases loaded. Scranton had tied the game in

the ninth on Shelley Duncan's two-out, two-strike RBI single off Jim Ed Warden.

"It was a nice win because we battled the whole game," Oberkfell said. "We were one pitch

away from winning it in regulation ... and I was like, "Aw, that just typifies the way our

season went.' All I saw was about 15 innings coming after that but Rivera did a great job."

Buffalo outfielder Jesus Feliciano went 3 for 4 with a walk, pushing his average for the

season to .304 and giving him 146 hits. That put him in a three-way tie for the International

League hit lead with 146 with Scranton's Austin Jackson, who was 1 for 5, and Gwinnett's

Barbaro Canizares.

The Bisons finished with a 29-43 record at home, setting a franchise record for losses

downtown. Thursday's paid crowd of 8,316 put the final season total at 529,788. The total and

the average of 8,067 is the lowest in the ballpark's 22 seasons.

The Bisons conclude the season with a five-game series at Lehigh Valley. It opens with a

makeup doubleheader at 5:30 tonight (Radio 1520 AM). Arturo Lopez (0-1) and Chris Mason (1-0)

will be the starters.