Major League Baseball: Let the housecleaning begin

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For the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates, the 2010 season ended Sunday, but both teams still were busy Monday.

[Updated at 11:34 a.m.: It was also a busy day for the Milwaukee Brewers, who fired Manager Ken Macha after a 77-85 season. He went 157-167 in two years as the team’s manager.]

As expected, the Mets fired Manager Jerry Manuel and General Manager Omar Minaya after going 79-83 for a second straight losing season. The team, which opened the season with the league’s fifth-highest payroll -- $133 million -- has not made the playoffs since 2006.

Manuel took over as interim manager in June 2008 and led the team to a 55-38 record the rest of that season. Despite a September collapse that caused the team to miss the playoffs, Manuel was given a multiyear deal. The final guaranteed year of that contract has expired.

Minaya became the Mets’ general manager in September 2004. He signed a contract extension in 2008 that ran through 2012.

The Pirates fired Manager John Russell, who tied a team record by leading the team to 299 losses in three seasons. General Manager Neal Huntington was retained.

Pittsburgh finished with a league-worst 57-105 record.

-- Chuck Schilken