Lets Make Some Fresh Memories of Omar Minaya

[Ceetar]

archive thread: http://archives.thecranepool.net/14800/f1_t14869.shtml

now let's try again. re-hired as a special assistant to Sandy Alderson.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Interesting. Is Ricciardi out? Or are they finally getting around to replacing Jonah Hill?

[MFS62]

Had a reputation as a great talent evaluator. I hope this is a key first step in strengthening the minor league organization.
Later

[Benjamin Grimm]

archive thread: http://archives.thecranepool.net/14800/f1_t14869.shtml now let's try again. re-hired as a special assistant to Sandy Alderson.

Wow. Didn't they offer him that position, or something very much like it, seven years ago?

[metirish]

Fuck , i thought this was some sort of piss take, it's true.....wow.....reading over that old thread is a laugh

[Guest d'Kong76]

Can we get Steve Phillips hired as assistant special assistant?
Know what I'm sayin'?

[Ceetar]

d'Kong76 wrote: Can we get Steve Phillips hired as assistant special assistant? Know what I'm sayin'?

well Steve Phillips is a bad person.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I left him off my brush with fame list. Shortly after his 'bad news' came
out I rode up the elevator to The Diamondclub with his wife and 3-4 kids in
tow. That was a weird and icy minute-and-a-half.

[Guest 41Forever]

I think this is a good hire. Welcome back, Omar!

[metirish]

Joel Sherman is trying to paint this as undermining Alderson

[metirish]

#Mets re-up Alderson, but force him to take manager he fired (Collins), GM he replaced (Minaya). What those 2 have in common is beloved by Fred Wilpon. HIs fingerprints are all over this. #undermine

[Guest d'Kong76]

I doubt we'll find out (and I haven't read anything about this other than what
has been posted here) if a) this was a mutual idea they came up with over last-
week-front-office stuff, it was Sandy's idea, c) we'll give you an extension if
you agree to take on Minaya as a special assistant to help you out, d) were bringin'
in Omar like it or not, Sandy, or e) it just happened willy-nilly for no underlying or
_____________ reason.

OE: posted without reading Twiterwisdom of Joel Sherman.

[Edgy MD]

I tend to treat "special assistant" titles as symbolic roles. Which doesn't mean folks don't do anything in them, but they often go to minorities or veteran players who you want to publicly remain part of your brand.

Spring training instructors and luxury suite gladhanders and veteran scouts who were once GMs and are backsliding in their careers often get the same title.

[Frayed Knot]

A few days ago some column suggests that the Mets are weak in international scouting ... now suddenly they re-hire Minaya with the mention that he's here at least in part to improve int'l scouting.

Coincidence? prolly not.

[smg58]

When I think of Minaya's international scouting, I think of Jennry Mejia and that outfielder (whose name I have already forgotten) who were supposed to be precocious talents, but were actually juicers who peaked in AA. It's not a good impression.

[ashie62]

I see it as Minaya is the covering Dr. for Alderson.

Sandy could relapse, have a bad chemo week/month and he is 70.

Yeah, Minaya is preparing to replace Alderson.

I like the concept. Study Omar.

Omar, don't give Jeff W a hummer.

[Edgy MD]

smg58 wrote: When I think of Minaya's international scouting, I think of Jennry Mejia and that outfielder (whose name I have already forgotten) who were supposed to be precocious talents, but were actually juicers who peaked in AA. It's not a good impression.

You're thinking of Cesar Puello, I think.

I'm pretty certain that Minaya isn't the backup GM. If he's not even being given a department to run, it doesn't suggest to me that he's displacing John Ricco. Ricco has already served as interim GM while Alderson was being treated.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: smg58 wrote: When I think of Minaya's international scouting, I think of Jennry Mejia and that outfielder (whose name I have already forgotten) who were supposed to be precocious talents, but were actually juicers who peaked in AA. It's not a good impression. You're thinking of Cesar Puello, I think. I'm pretty certain that Minaya isn't the backup GM. If he's not even being given a department to run, it doesn't suggest to me that he's displacing John Ricco. Ricco has already served as interim GM while Alderson was being treated.

Ricco served as the interim GM under/after Minaya too.

Sherman's really driving the undermining stuff. Carig has been pushing that the front office isn't happy. (But does that just mean guys that think he's taking their job? This seems fairly normal at any company where someone is hired above you) Meddling or not I'd be shocked if Alderson wasn't okay with this. Same with Collins, who's just sorta lingering for the sake of lingering. I think Alderson is absolutely okay with that. Didn't they offer to let Minaya stay right after even? yeah.


here, a quiz. which of these guys is the Dodgers current GM?


Andrew Friedman
Farhan Zaidi
Josh Byrnes
Ned Colletti
Alex Anthopoulos

[Guest d'Kong76]

Why would a supposed cash strapped team extend the GM's contract
and then bring in a 'washed up' former GM to undermind things?

Oh wait, it's the Mets.

[Edgy MD]

Ceetar wrote: here, a quiz. which of these guys is the Dodgers current GM? Andrew Friedman Farhan Zaidi Josh Byrnes Ned Colletti Alex Anthopoulos

Zaidi is in the big seati.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Guys these stories from Carig are troubling. You'd figure Terry would be enough of a Fred spy, now he's got Omar too.

I had convinced myself Fred was getting too old for this shit.

[MFS62]

d'Kong76 wrote: OE: posted without reading Twiterwisdom of Joel Sherman.

That is a good decision.
Joel Sherman gets off on saying negative things about the Mets.
He throws shit out there just to get Mets fans riled up.
I don't believe a word he says.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah you've made that charge often but an objective assessment would reveal that Sherman is a very well-sourced reporter with a history of breaking actual stories, and though you may disagree with his point of view more generally there's very little in it for a guy like him to damage his credibility with takes that are untrue. Besides that Sherman isn't the only guy to have deduced something weird about this: Carig has been around the org now longer than any other beater, he's also a good writer and imo trustworthy and he's hearing the same things.


[tweet:126al16j]

[/tweet:126al16j]

I really thought Fred was too old for this shit. I was only writing earlier this week that at age 81 I was hoping his meddling days were over.

[Centerfield]

Well that’s disturbing.

If that’s true I don’t see why you would do that to your staff. I’m sure there are talent guys out there that wouldn’t shake everyone like Omar did.

Or maybe Fred is as mad as everyone says and wanted to put a charge in everyone.

I was thinking what this move means. I think Fred is definitely paying attention to what is being said and it bothers him immensely. (Which is why it’s important to keep up the criticism)

And though he may not be in a position to do anything about payroll, he felt he had to address the criticism that the Mets have a bad farm system on top of being broke. That the Mets produces more talent under Minaya. So he addresses it in the simplest, most unimaginative way possible, by bringing back Minaya.

(And I know I suggested bringing in Minaya or someone like him the day before it happened, but I am a poster on a message board, not the owner of the Mets)

Secondly, I wonder if this moves signals an acceptance of our small market mentality. Focus on player development, trade away veterans as they get more expensive. Invest in a class of prospects then hope they explode like Houston.

I guess time will tell on that last one.

[Guest d'Kong76]

MFS62 wrote: That is a good decision. Joel Sherman gets off on saying negative things about the Mets.

I was more making a twitter joke, I don't religiously read the the tabloid guys.
I lazily rely on most of my Mets news on what gets commented on and re-
reported here most of the time.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm all fired up on this. It would seem as though Fred -- who been blessedly quiet since Sandy arrived -- feels as though his ability to exert influence on the club is compromised by an intelligent guy in charge he never wanted and that Omar (and Terry, whom he also loves) are there to be Fred's eyes and ears and potentially at least, the means by which Fred can accomplish that which Sandy would recommend against. That's why Sandy's team is unhappy. That's why after years of silence we suddenly heard shit about Fred's "irateness" last week. He's begun meddling again.

This is the very same set-up Fred had used with Duquette, whom he also didn't want as GM, so he (and not Duke) hired two "white-haired baseball men" as advisors and those guys were ultimately influential in the huge Zambrano-Benson setback.

[Centerfield]

Certainly the last thing we need is for Fred Wilpon to become active again. I think this is in line with your characterization that he’s an idiot that thinks he’s a genius. He thinks the wrath of the fan base is a result of missteps by Sandy rather than his failure to fund the payroll.

Shut the fuck up Fred. Open up payroll and go away.

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I'm all fired up on this. It would seem as though Fred -- who been blessedly quiet since Sandy arrived -- feels as though his ability to exert influence on the club is compromised by an intelligent guy in charge he never wanted and that Omar (and Terry, whom he also loves) are there to be Fred's eyes and ears and potentially at least, the means by which Fred can accomplish that which Sandy would recommend against. That's why Sandy's team is unhappy. That's why after years of silence we suddenly heard shit about Fred's "irateness" last week. He's begun meddling again. This is the very same set-up Fred had used with Duquette, whom he also didn't want as GM, so he (and not Duke) hired two "white-haired baseball men" as advisors and those guys were ultimately influential in the huge Zambrano-Benson setback.

This is what I've been saying forever. Only I see Jeff Wilpon's fingerprints on this one, too. Silent fingerprints. With each passing day, the Mets are becoming Jeff's team more than Eff's team, and danged if Jeff isn't eventually gonna have himself a pliable GM that he can wipe the floor with if he wants to, which he will want to, because that's who Jeff is and every baseball insider knows what a colossal douchebag the guy is.

Great! A NYC team that can't outspend the Royals and with Jeff soon to take the reins. How old is his old man? Nothing lasts forever.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Guest

[Centerfield]

Run for the hills boys.

[Ceetar]

again, if Sandy signed off, and they just renewed him so I doubt he was against this move. and if the boss is okay with it, the peons should fall in line and stop whining.

Also Fred Wilpon needs to shut up, this is exactly why I said I didn't want to hear from him despite some clamoring for it. (including media guys that should've just asked him stuff ?)

I tire of this narrative junk. I also don't believe for a second that Sandy doesn't like Terry and that somehow Fred force him to keep him around after firing him. But I also don't believe Sandy was forced on Fred, at best it was a "I know a guy, I'll let you have Sandy. He's good. it'll give you a professional hire and look good"

And if so, that Sandy was foisted on the Wilpons, then he was forced by Fred to sign an internal guy as manager? and keep Warthen?

Minaya has worked in the industry since. he's still connected, still respected by more than just the Mets. He's not being hired to be GM. Sandy could literally take his advice and ignore it, but if he's got something to add, that seems likely, then sure. The Mets are completely unimaginative, I'll agree with that. Deciding they needed another scouting type guy high up, they resorted tothe first guy they thought of instead of shopping around? sure, I'll buy that. Alderson hasn't been as guilty of it though, but if Fred was like "What about Omar? we wanted him around still when we fired him, he knows us, comfortable here." and Alderson was fine with it?

It's the "undermining" quote from Carig that tips me off. No one's losing responsibility here, so it's gotta be personal. People that think they're in line to be GM when Sandy leaves and that Omar might be stepping in front of them. So Ricco.

And roughly every rich owner thinks they're smarter than they are. I still think Sandy's got (most of) the power and authority to do what he feels is best (sans another 20 million or so?) so I'm not really too worried about a minor hiring like this. The Dodgers have a billion GMs and are praised for it.