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But it wasn't until Monday night's game that my mind was totally blown: Aaron Heilman tossed two shutout innings, striking out three and allowing only one hit and no walks.

I kid, of course, but Heilman's success and the Mets' flurry of questionable roster moves got me thinking. First off, if the Mets aren't going to use Casanova as an emergency catcher to free up Ramon Castro for more playing time, they're making a mistake keeping him around.

Here's how Val Pascucci spent his Memorial Day weekend: He hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning on Friday, hit his ninth home run of the season for the only run in a 1-0 Zephyrs victory on Saturday, homered and walked twice in Sunday's 4-2 win, and capped off the series against Albuquerque with a three-run double that put New Orleans in the lead in its eventual 8-2 win.

I want to get Pascucci on the phone, because I want to know if he checks the Mets' box scores every night, holding his head in disbelief and wondering what else he has to do to crack the big-league club. The dude now has 10 home runs in 89 at-bats with a .411 on-base percentage since joining the Mets' Triple-A club. But Casanova -- the 35-year-old catcher with the .303 career OBP -- is on the 40-man roster, and so obviously deserves to be part of the Major League club. Ridiculous.

The Mets aren't winning, but they've decided it's not Willie's fault. Fine. Whatever. But how do they expect Willie to get them winning if they keep trotting out the same team? Roster moves need to be made, and though I'm happy to see a young player getting some time, Evans is not the answer. I think Evans can contribute to this club down the road, but he'll likely be overmatched by big-league pitching and overwhelmed by the unfamiliar position (he's a first baseman by trade) in 2008.

Of course, if Evans succeeds, there's no reason he can't coexist on the roster with Pascucci. The team's bench has been dreadful this season and could use a major shakeup. Neither Damion Easley nor Endy Chavez nor the now-injured Marlon Anderson has done anything this season to suggest he can help the club. I'm not saying all three have to go, but hanging onto guys because of past successes -- especially limited successes -- is the type of thinking that makes you keep rolling out Heilman in close games even though he seems to blow them at every turn.

Which brings me back to a point I set out to make. Heilman pitched well in a low-pressure spot on Monday and showed he still has the talent to get big-league hitters out. Sadly, he's not doing that in the eighth inning anymore, and at this point I wonder if the Mets or their fans will ever trust him in that spot in tight matches. In April, when readers suggested the Mets send Heilman to Triple-A to stretch him out and make him a starter, I dismissed the e-mails as knee-jerk reactions to his early-season struggles. Now, they seem to make sense. A Heilman stretched out and ready to start -- either in Triple-A or throwing long outings out of the Mets' bullpen -- could prove valuable in a trade. But for whom?

Playing Whataboutthisguy is as fruitless as it is inevitably frustrating, but it's fun nonetheless. Keep in mind that when I present solutions, I use them more as the type of answer I'm looking for instead of the specific one.

The Mets have plenty of holes to fill, but one I keep coming back to is second base. Sure, Luis Castillo is signed for the next three years -- a deal now widely agreed to be a mistake -- and will be tough to move. But his pay -- $6 million per year -- isn't so ludicrous that his contract can't be eaten or somehow moved to make way for a better, younger option at his position. Besides, it's sunk cost.

So once again, I'm left searching for low-cost second base options. And lordy me, who's that wasting away on the Cubs' bench behind Mark De Rosa? Why, it's Flushing Fussing favorite Mike Fontenot! The diminutive infielder, who has hit well in Triple-A for the past three seasons, has a solid .365 OBP with two dingers in 63 at-bats for the Cubs.

The Cubs have something of a logjam in the middle infield that could make either Fontenot or fellow youngster Ronny Cedeno available, and Omar Minaya would be smart to give Cubbie brass a call. Chicago's baby bears have some needs in the back end of their pitching staff and in center field, so maybe Heilman packaged with Angel Pagan or Chavez can get the conversation started. And if he's calling, Omar might as well ask about Matt Murton, a 26-year-old right-hand-hitting outfielder who can't get playing time to save his soul.

When I advocate for guys like Pascucci, Fontenot and Murton, I keep hearing the same argument: If these guys deserve a shot, why haven't they had one?

That's, frankly, as illogical a line of reasoning as I can think of. If no one ever tried anything different, we'd never have progress. No one wanted Dan Uggla once. No one wanted Johan Santana once. And with the popularity of free agency sure to fade soon, teams are going to have to start searching for capable but untested young players.

I'm not alone in my thinking. Just this weekend, I got e-mails from Howard Megdal and John Peterson, smart men who spend a ton of time thinking about the Mets. Howard wrote this:

"Three catchers, three outfielders, zero Pascuccis. This makes me sad."

John wrote this:

"Raul Casanova instead of Val Pascucci? Ridiculous. What the Mets need are more aging second basemen."

Honestly, I don't know what the Mets need. I only know that they need something different than what they've currently got. And if it's not Willie Randolph's fault, it's got to be Omar Minaya's. Changes need to be made to save this season, and it's time to start making them.