New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya visited Coca-Cola Field on Monday and quickly agreed with the prevailing opinion of fans who've been to the ballpark all summer: The Buffalo Bisons' 2009 season has been simply unacceptable.

"We had hoped to have a better year here, especially in our first year in Buffalo," Minaya said as he met the media in the Buffalo dugout prior to a doubleheader against Rochester. "In the past couple years, we've had a pretty good Triple-A team. But our organization from an

injury standpoint has been hit from top to bottom and it's been a domino effect."

Minaya got an eyeful of vintage Bisonball. The Herd got drubbed in the opener, 8-2, and then blew a five-run lead in the nightcap before pulling out an 8-7, nine-inning win on Andy Green's two-out RBI single to deep center.

In the opener, starter Ken Takahashi (0-3) gave up six runs in the fourth inning. Relief was the problem in the nightcap as Tim McNab got torched by Justin Huber's game-tying grand slam in the seventh that capped Rochester's comeback from a 7-2 deficit.

The Bisons are on pace for 87 losses and will almost certainly finish last in their division for the first time since 1994. There's already plenty of fan talk of a new parent if history repeats itself in 2010, the final year of the Mets' deal here.

Minaya understands such chatter.

"I hope that's not the case but I understand when the team does not win," he said. "It's up to us right now to go out there, work hard. We've communicated with [the Buffalo front office] our desire. We're here hopefully for the long term and we want to be able to improve.

"We want to tell the Buffalo fans that we care, we're going to continue to work hard and we're going to try to win a championship here. That's our goal."

Minaya, of course, has been embroiled in controversy the last couple of weeks in the wake of his dismissal of Mets vice president Tony Bernazard, who was overseeing the minor league system. Under Bernazard's watch, Buffalo is the worst team in Triple-A and Double-A Binghamton has one of the worst records in the Eastern League.

Minaya said farm director Adam Wogan has taken over Bernazard's duties and the entire organizational hierarchy will be reevaluated over the winter.

The GM said he's hopeful the Bisons will have a better team next year just from the standpoint of organizational prospects.

There's a good chance Nick Evans and Fernando Martinez, who was leading the International League in extra-base hits when he was called up to New York, will start next year in Buffalo. And the Herd figures to have several more inviting prospects in 2010 as the current Double-A

Binghamton roster includes stars such as catcher Josh Thole, 19-year-old middle infielder Ruben Tejada and first baseman Ike Davis, the Mets' No. 1 pick in last year's draft.

Thole is batting .333 for the B-Mets, Davis is batting .296 and is tied for the team lead with nine home runs while Tejada is at .294.

"We've never had problems as far as investing in quality guys," Minaya said. "We've already started the process of going into next year talking to the [Buffalo] front office about who are guys we want next year. You've got a blend of young, developing players but we also need

to have quality veterans.

"We feel comfortable that we will be aggressive in signing free agents that will either help us in the major leagues or come here and perform."

On the more immediate radar, Minaya said reliever Billy Wagner is the injured Met closest to perhaps making an injury rehab stint in Buffalo. Evans and pitcher Eddie Kunz are the most likely September callups although more players (outfielder Jesus Feliciano and pitcher Adam Bostick would be key names) could go to New York if the Mets fall completely out of the race.

"All things have worked out well here except that we haven't won enough games," Minaya said. "The communication has been great from the business side."

. . .

Outfielder Jason Dubois made his season debut after being involved in a trade from the Chicago Cubs. He was a hit batsman twice and also struck out in the opener. He was 1 for 4 in the nightcap.

Dubois was Buffalo's co-most valuable player and an International League all-star in 2006 after batting .275 with 22 homers and 87 RBIs. He has played for the Iowa Cubs the last two seasons, and was batting .302 in 91 games this year.

The Bisons and Wings will meet again at 7 tonight (TWC 13, Radio 1520 AM) with Tobi Stoner (3-6) pitching for Buffalo. It's Polish Festival Night, with a pregame tent party starting at 5.