Omar watch?

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

With Wright taking a day off and Beltran getting tossed, the team had exactly ONE decent major league bat on the field. A 137 million dollar payroll, and ONE decent bat.

I know Church is coming back and Wright won't get many more days off and Beltran won't get tossed in many games, but still- the way this team is designed, if Reyes and Wright and Beltran aren't doing everything, they can't win. Church will help, but how much blame for the whole concussion disaster belongs to Omar?

Frustrating.

[Mex17]

I think that he gets one more managerial decision (either keeping Manuel or one more hire) plus another foray into the Free Agent/Trade market in order to retool this team.

This coming international signing period will be important for him also.

[Guest AG/DC]

Jerry Manuel is unlikely to make Delgado rally against time.
Jerry Manuel is unlikely to make Brian Schneider the hitter he's never been.
Jerry Manuel is unlikely to get Church and Alou off the DL, ready to play, and to keep them off.
Jerry Manuel is unlikely to make Castillo more than the gimmicky hitter he is.
Jerry Manuel is unlikely to help Jose Valentin cheat death one more time in order to contribute at the big-league level.

It's a tall order he's being asked to fill.

It seems 2007 was a lot like 2001, where we realize that we should have capitalized on the previous year, because that was the small window of opportunity.

It seems 2008 is a lot like 2002, when it became clear that our missed opportunity two years before wasn't just the way the cookie crumbled, but a cold hard reality, a realization whose denial cost a manager his job.

Maybe 2009 will continue the trend and it'll be the year (it took two years the first time around) the team realizes that the problem is systemic, and not directly related to the field general, and they make a GM change.

If it takes two years, there will be an intermediate step before the management overhaul, and that'll be the re-signing of Tom Glavine.

[Guest AG/DC]

[Elster88]

That's a scary picture you paint. It's not as bad as it was:
Santana
Wright
Reyes
Beltran
Maine
Pelfrey
Church


We never had anything close to those (young!) horses in 2001-2002.

It's a good start. Now cut the dead weight and fill in the rest in 2009.

[nymr83]

i think a GM necessarily needs a certain amount of time to have "his plan" implemented. i think when you look at this year's roster you can fairly say that it is both: A. Omar's team, and B. a "win now" club that doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt that the same guys will be better next year.

If the Mets don't make the playoffs or at least come strong down the stretch and give Shea a penant-race sendoff I'd fire omar at season's end. i see no reason to do it now though.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

Well, the reason you would do it now is if you don't want Omar to make any trade deadline decisions. Like Elster said, this team has a very good core and only lacks the complimentary parts (and a first baseman) to be a championship-caliber team. I worry that Minaya might trade away part of that core in an attempt at short-term success. I don't stay awake at night, but part of me doesn't trust him at this point.

[smg58]

It's a tough call. I do think that Minaya is more to blame for the Mets current predicament than Randolph was. And I think last night's game proved that the team needs a lot more than a new manager. If you're concerned about the deadline, you need to act quickly. It's possible that either a) the Mets would be better off selling rather than buying, or Minaya would be so desperate to do anything to win now that he's willing to do a Kazmir/Zambrano equivalent deal. If either is true, or at least likely, the Mets should have a new GM in place by the end of the All-Star break.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Me, I think a clever GM can figure out a way to trade Oliver Perez without giving up on 2008.

I'd trade him for youth and replace him in the rotation with Vargas (still don't understand why he was DFA'ed) or Orlando Hernandez (if he ever comes back) or with whoever comes back in the Perez deal.

[Guest AG/DC]

He can probably trade him and either a major or minor league reliever and see if he can get a batsmith.

That's what Nady cost.

[Mex17]

I'm more concerned over Jeff Wilpon ordering short-sighted "future be damned" moves as opposed to Minaya doing them on his own just to save his skin.

[Guest attgig]

I think the players are to blame. they're all sucking.

[seawolf17]

I would love an Omar watch! I'd always know what time it was on his planet.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

attgig wrote: I think the players are to blame. they're all sucking.

Who? Brian Schneider? Marlon Anderson? Damion Easley? Fernando Tatis? Trot Nixon? This is no surprise that these guys aren't very good. Carlos Delgado? Pedro Martinez? Luis Castillo? Not a huge surprise their production has sharply declined. Moises Alou? El Duque? Known injury risks. I think the only players you can point a finger at are Oliver Perez and Aaron Heilman, who have both been surprisingly bad this year. The rest of this mess is all Omar.

[Centerfield]

Are they to blame? What if you're asking them to be something they are not?

The most frustrating part of this year is how predictable it was that this lineup would be lousy.

Consider,

1. Reyes: Having a bounce-back year.

2. Castillo: I guess he could be labeled as a disappointment, but only a mild one. His BA is lower than in the past, but his OBP is about what you would expect.

3. Wright: Not having the year he had last year, but by no means is he having a bad year. He's within the realm of what you could expect.

4. Beltran: Again, not having a great year, but with an .862 OPS, he's within what you could reasonably expect from him.

5. Alou: Predictably hurt. Performing as you would expect him to perform.

6. Delgado: Predictably old and bad. Performing as you would expect him to perform.

7. Church: A pleasant surprise, better than we would have thought. Unfortunately, he's hurt.

8. Schneider: Performing exactly as you would expect him to perform.

So, considering no one is really underperforming when gauged against reasonable expectations, who is to blame?

[Guest AG/DC]

seawolf17 wrote: I would love an Omar watch! I'd always know what time it was on his planet.

What are you waiting for?

[nymr83]

]I worry that Minaya might trade away part of that core in an attempt at short-term success

you think he'll trade Wright? Santana? Beltran? Maine? i don't think so. who do you think he'll trade away thats part of the "core" of a potentially successful mets team?

[Mex17]

Nymr83 wrote: ]I worry that Minaya might trade away part of that core in an attempt at short-term success you think he'll trade Wright? Santana? Beltran? Maine? i don't think so. who do you think he'll trade away thats part of the "core" of a potentially successful mets team?

IMO, the "core" consists of Wright, Reyes, and Santana. That's it. Everyone else should be available in the right deal.

[smg58]

Centerfield wrote: So, considering no one is really underperforming when gauged against reasonable expectations, who is to blame?

The person whose unreasonable expectations got Luis Castillo a four-year contract. And who let the need for another OF/1B who belongs in the major leagues, can actually hit, and is not a converted infielder go completely unfilled.

[Guest AG/DC]

And you think Minaya is going to trade one of them?

[nymr83]

Mex17 wrote: ="Nymr83"] ]I worry that Minaya might trade away part of that core in an attempt at short-term success you think he'll trade Wright? Santana? Beltran? Maine? i don't think so. who do you think he'll trade away thats part of the "core" of a potentially successful mets team? IMO, the "core" consists of Wright, Reyes, and Santana. That's it. Everyone else should be available in the right deal.

thats fine. i'd be more protective of Maine than Reyes at this point. but i really want to hear from vince who he thinks minaya will deal away in desperation

]And you think Minaya is going to trade one of them?

it was vince, not mex, who made that comment

[Vic Sage]

the last time Omar ran a franchise and he felt like his time might be running out (in that case, because the franchise might be contracted or sold), he traded minor leaguers Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee for Bartolo Colon.

Do we still want to give him the rest of the year to right the ship? a ship that is floundering as a direct result of the decisions he's made to date?

[Guest AG/DC]

Right. Sorry. Mex fears Wilpon.

Same question, different subject: And you think Wilpon is going to trade one of them?

[nymr83]

]he traded minor leaguers Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee for Bartolo Colon.

there are no such prospects in the mets system.

[smg58]

Nymr83 wrote: there are no such prospects in the mets system.

There aren't, but he could still deal Martinez or Niese for a two-month rental, or for somebody we'll wish we didn't have next April.

[Frayed Knot]

I tend to cut Omar some slack for that Colon deal as he was told at the time that his team was going to be contracted and there was no reason to build for tomorrow.
That doesn't mean he WON'T make a bad deal here, I just don't buy the idea that it's part of a tendancy of his.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

"Core" guys who I think Omar might trade:

Reyes
Beltran

Well, that's not a very long list, and I don't think it's very likely he would (which is why I said I'm not losing sleep), but I could definitely see these guys going to another team for 50 cents on the dollar if Omar was desperate enough.

[Frayed Knot]

Why do you think he'd dump Reyes and/or Beltran at all much less at a discount?

[Guest AG/DC]

Under what rationale would that help the team for now, a week or a day? If he's trying to save his job, he's going to sell out the future for the present, and those guys are the present. He'd have to get perennial all-stars in return.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

="Frayed Knot"]Why do you think he'd dump Reyes and/or Beltran at all much less at a discount?

I don't think he would. I fear he might. There is no reason for him to do it, but I think Omar might want to make a big-time trade, and they're probably the only commodities on this team that would get anything in return.