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According to multiple reports, Mets GM Omar Minaya was unaware that 
the Marlins were willing to trade LHP Dontrelle Willis, who was sent to the Tigers yesterday along with 3B Miguel Cabrera.
…from what i can gather, it’s not that minaya had been unaware of dontrelle’s availability, it’s that he was not available to the Mets, either a) because the Marlins never intended on trading him to the Mets, knowing they did not have the prospects to get him, or b) in standard Miami fashion, the Marlins had their scope set squarely on Detroit, and very specific players from the Tigers, so no other team really ever had a chance to begin with, let alone the Mets…
…Update…10:22 am…
This morning, on WFAN, the shows host said he was told by the Mets that Minaya had made an offer for Willis earlier in the off-season, and was told, ‘he is not available,’ because he is not being traded within the NL East.
…thanks to c hill for the tip…
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As the world turns … Is Omar aware of anything at this point?
The Marlins were dealing Willis, and to a lesser extent Cabrera, out of the NL if they could, and out of the East no matter what. That’s the signals they gave out weeks ago and it’s why the Mets, Phils and Braves never bothered.
Yeah its pretty obvious that Florida was not interested in trading in the division and Willis will never survive over there….
I find it a little disturbing that Omar, the GM is unaware of the availability of Dontrelle Willis.
If the Mets keep this inaction up, the empty seats at Shea next season will send a powerful message not to stand pat.
see the update — we were right about Omar asking and being told weeks ago he had no shot.
Getting pretty sick of the NYM bashing ~ Hold it Down….
Feel like we’re the Knicks of MLB….
Nobody wants our kids then we keep them….
Sign Livan Sign Garcia Trade Heilman for Real Relief
and lets go to WAR…..
“Trade Heilman for real relief”…ignorant statement
I guess you’re not aware that he’s is one of the top relief men in the game.
What about signing Dotel to set-up, and moving Heilman to that #4 spot in the rotation? His attitude would change, and he might just be as good as Blanton or that level of pitcher anyway. Duque goes to the pen too. Heilman was as big a prospect as any of these guys and knows how to pitch now — it kills two birds with one signing. And I know it is not ideal for his arm, but if he sucks he can go back to the bullpen and Duque can start until Garcia(?) is ready or trade deadline, or Humber from AAA, etc etc.
Right on.
I am starting to sense some bias toward the Mets and Omar in the reports coming out of Nashville. The way the make it sound in these reports you would have though Omar couldn’t even find the hotel, let alone put together a team that had the division the entire season until the last week. At this point, if I was Omar I would say, enough is enough, we’ll see you on the field of play, and make in season moves if we have too.
you’re right: everything makes it sound like the Mets are bumbling about and tripping over their own feet.
agreed…and Benigno and Mike & the Mad-Dog doesn’t help.
Benigno was just talking to Ed Coleman about trading Reyes and signing Eckstein.
Beningo is a moron.
Benigno’s the man, but he’s a true fan at heart and as such will always make rash statements.
However, if Reyes continues to not hustle or even run out balls hit in fair territory, he’s completely useless. His biggest asset is not hitting/fielding/stealing bases, it’s excitement.
He alone can get the crowd roaring on a dime!
Benigno is a total idi@t. He fawns over everything Yankee. He’s a closet Yankee fan. It’s disgusting.
However, if Reyes continues to not hustle or even run out balls hit in fair territory, he’s completely useless. His biggest asset is not hitting/fielding/stealing bases, it’s excitement.
This leaves me nearly speechless for a number of reasons…he doesn’t run out 2 or 3 balls out of however many hundred he put into play last year, and his image is completely turned on its ear. “Continue to not hustle”? You’ve gotta be kidding.
And the last sentence does leave me speechless. Again: you must be joking.
Do you watch the games? Do you see how deflated the Mets are when Reyes pulls one of his stunts? When he jacks 30hrs then he can trot to first.
Think about the collapse last year. It was attitude not skills. I’m not saying Reyes precipitated it, but he personified it.
Benigno is a total idi@t.
Maybe, but he’s entertaining.
He fawns over everything Yankee.
Simply false. He hates the Skanks.
He’s a closet Yankee fan. It’s disgusting.
Ok, now you’re going for humor. I get it.
Jose Reyes contributed 43.3 more runs than a replacement level shortstop in ‘07. If you think a bad September warrants the removal of that kind of production from the team, then you’re a fool.
“do you watch the games” is tied with “go root for the yankees” as the most annoying and overused phrases in posting. Yes, kevin, I watch the games.
The collapse last year was about bad pitching and not hitting at the worst possible moments. David Eckstein would not have prevented the collapse with his “grit”.
And if you think Reyes’ only value is “excitement”…well, maybe you should learn a little more about baseball.
Benigno is the worst radio show host, of any type, that I have ever heard in my life.
hahaha
seriosuly? I think he’s entertaining as heck. maybe he’s too pessimistic for you guys?
Exactly.
Like it or not, the stink of the Mets’ collapse has followed Omar to the winter meetings. He is seen as being desperate to make a move, and because we don’t have the A-list prospects, the kids we do have are undervalued among the trading GMs.
Under these conditions, Omar is better off packing it in than making the kind of deal we’re seeing pushed in the media (and by some of the readers here).
agree 100% that he would be better pulling back than doing something stupid.
Too late for that.
yep
I know this is just my impression, but when hear about all these trades, and talks, and rumors, and the Mets are in on NONE of them, I get this picture in my head of Omar hiding in his room because he knows he doesnt have the chips to make the move for the starter we all want (and he said he was going to get), and it doesnt help things when no one can find him all day yesterday, and he doesnt even know about the availibility of players who could help his team
Omar did mention that some players who were available were not necessarily available to him. If I were FLA I certainly wouldn’t trade Willis in-division.
It seems more and more likely that if Omar is desperate for elite pitching he is going to have to part with Reyes or Wright in a deal. You can’t have your cake and eat it to.
I’d be worried about the AJ Burnetts of the world and their health. Also, Livan has really dropped off since he was with the Nats. Seems more like an early season stopgap until the injury bug pops up.
Good luck!
I sometimes get the impression with Omar that he is in way over his head, and thinks that his smile, and pleasant persona will make up for his lack of savy… I get the same impression watching our president talk sometimes (yesterday in particular)
What happened to the Omar who was soooo brilliant with the Expo’s? He was the wunderkind of the gm world. How does he fall so far?
By giving away Jesus Flores, Brian Bannister, Henry Owens, Matt Lindstrom, Heath Bell, and Lastings Milledge and getting very little of value in return.
Because every little move or non-move didn’t appear on Exposblog.com! Is there such a thing as too much information and speculation? At this point, a big resounding YES! I’m sure the Mets will be competitive in April when they need to be. Have faith, they missed by 1 game each of the past 2 years!
You want my theory. Which I have heard sports reporters allude to in the past. No one wants to deal with Omar because they don’t wanna be showed up. In the past he has bragged about taking other teams cast-offs and making them effective starters (see maine and perez). Essentially rubbing it in their face. The SI covers don’t help either.
There was no way the Marlins were going to trade within the division two of their biggest homegrown stars in franchise history IF other viable trade partners existed. It’s really moot whether or not Omar was aware of this. He probably wasn’t because Beinfest wasn’t interested in sending him anywhere close to the Mets.
Give Omar time. It will be a reclamation project that we are all confused by that will work out. Like Cabrerra from the O’s or my favorite Otsuka and Millwood for Gomez or Pelfrey and a pospect.
Yes we are the only ones who send a potential star within the same division.
To be fair, it’s a long road from “potential” to bonafide. Cabrera and Willis are bonafide stars.
Willis is a bonafide star? Don’t you have to have more than one excellent season in five years to eba “bonafide” star? A guy coming off as awful a season as Dontrelle is not a star in any book.
There is no way the fish were going to deal one, let alone two major impact players within the division. What a shame, because from the looks of it, Detroit appears to be the clear winner with this trade. The silver lining for the Mets is at least these two are not only out of the division, but also the league!!
Here’s an interesting 3 way trade for you. Texas needs OF’s and the Angels want a 3B. How about Gomez to the Rangers, Blalock to the Angels and E. Santana to the Mets?
I wouldn’t put any stock in anything that I read that is classified as ‘buzz’ or ‘rumors’ involving ’source’. Every story has 5 different reports all contradicting one another The Kuroda story below says four different outcomes are all being speculate on. The Berard rumors had the Mets close, then an hour later we are not even close to having a single prospec that is thought of as valuable. While I will continue to enjoy reading all the different possible scenarios and rumors, I will refuse to actually get upset or happy about any of this so-called ‘news’ until it is official. I suggest you all do the same.
marlins made that trade because they got the 3 and the tenth highest rated prospect according to milb. Maybin was rated higher than joba chamberlin (who was 5). Tigers would not give them up if willis was not in that trade. Marlin did a good job retooling and will make a wild card 2 years from and have a sell off 3 years from now. Mets had no shot. Get a grip people, this one wasnt omar”s fault. Even though a lot of things are lol
I’m sorry this may be off topic, but how about this scenario for a trade with the Orioles
Gomez, Humber, Heilman, Estrada, Church & Reyes
for
Bedard, Tejada, Hernandez, Huff.
As I understand it, the Orioles are looking to cut payroll. We would be taking on about 25-30 mil in payroll. But, we would have the ace starter we need, a younger yet nearly as brittle version of Paulie with more pop, a power hitting 3B, and RF capable of 20-25 HRs.
The only piece that really concerns me is losing Reyes. But, if it gets us the Ace we need so be it.
I think you are off by a little. If we trade Reyes its to the Twins for Santana. Then you can throw every prospect at the O’s for Bedard.
Santana, Bedard, Pedro, Maine, Perez :)
With that I am sure we can find some stiff to play SS for a year. Reyes is the best SS I can remember but to have that rotation I would still do it.
The Mets had 5 needs this off-season …
RF, C, #1SP, #5SP, Bullpen help.
This trade would solve 3 of those needs, with above avg – to superior talent, and Tejada is still a stud.
Another Apex grad….
BWAHAHAha…!
I do believe that some people were making similar comments about the Willis and Cabrerra to the Tigers trade.
Yea, Marlins were not trading Mig intra-division. and I’m glad Done-trelle didn’t come here.
The AL just got stronger.
I’m also a little tired of the Omar bashing… the Milledge trade was not good — I’m not a big fan of it, though I do see some benefits of it if the market is low and management thought Milledge would never grow up/improve and may prove to be a poor fielder and mediocre hitter, blah blah… But — as far as I can see, there has only been one major trade for a starting pitcher, and that was Willis who was never going to the Mets. Bedard and Haren and even Santana have not been dealt yet. GMs are forced to play the game of waiting, because right now there are too many teams involved. It’s like a poker game. You can’t go all in with four other guys still in the hand, because odds are someone has better cards than you (in Omar’s case, they do), so Omar has to hope a few teams drop out/look elsewhere/use their chips on other players, so he can then outbid the other remaining teams. If he goes to the O’s today with his very very best offer, it may blow the O’s away, but guess what: they would be smart and call the other GMs asking if they will give more, and the Dodgers may decide to give Broxton after all. Then where is Omar? Done. Unfortunately, in the position he is in, he cannot take the lead here, he has to wait it out and be patient — a tough game to play and I don’t fully trust that he won’t be holding his dork again in the end with nothing to show for it, but we have to give the process a chance and not question why he doesn’t just blow these teams away with everything he has got to give them right this second. Again, 28 other teams have yet to make a deal of this magnitude, and people wondering why omar doesnt just offer more than Heilman, Gomez and Humber for these guys have to realize that will only knock him out of the race that is not over yet.
Agreed!
All true. The problem I have isn’t with Omar this offseason – in truth, you can’t deal what you don’t have. Where I do fault him – and the organization as a whole – is with player development and their judgment in picks. It’s clear the Mets can’t compete with the top 7 or 8 teams in baseball in this regard – they may not even be in the top half. The troubles they’re having now are symptomatic of a larger organizational problem that has to be addressed…now. Are guys like Humber and Pelfrey less talented than other pitchers drafted around that time (in which case they were chosen poorly) or were they developed poorly? Have they been been given the best opportunity to succeed since they were drafted? Why is there so little quality organizational depth for position players? I realize these are complicated questions, but this is an elite team in terms of assets, value, etc. – certainly in the top 5 in baseball. They ought to have a better success rate than they’re having.
I think the Mets over the past few years have been trying to use their monetary advantage to overdraft — meaning if they have the 15th pick they take the kid that projected to ce a top 5 pick if only he wasn’t XXX (in Milledge’s case it was a checkered history). So what is already a player who likely won’t project as high as their ceiling, they also have another strike against that happening. In Milledge’s case, the thing that dropped him to 15 is exactly what Omar and Willie determined would keep him from being productive as a Met (I think). I wont get into who was available instead (Chad Cordero) because most players didn’t live up to their potential either, but I just think that over-reaching for a star could be part of the problem.
Interesting point.
I just look at a team like Anaheim, or Boston…they’ve been playoff-caliber teams for a bunch of years now and still have a thriving farm system…the lower-level guys Boston was willing to include in the Santana deal (Masterson and Lowrie) were as good as anyone in the Mets system at their respective positions (P and SS). Then there’s Lester, Papelbon, Ellsbury, Hanley, Sanchez, Pedroia…how is that happening? Same for Arizona…or the Dodgers. Last year’s Baseball America rankings had the Mets 28th out of the 30 teams in terms of organizational talent, with only SD and Cincinnati behind them. That’s inexcusable for a team with the kind of assets the Mets have.
Something is fundamentally wrong with the way this organization is drafting and developing players – this offseason has made that glaringly obvious.
I agree 100% that the drafting and development of players is fundamentally wrong. Omar should be held accountable for this by management. Basically I think that this will ultimately get Omar fired. Last year was his downfall trading Bannister, Bell etc…and left himself exposed without enough prospects and young talent for trades for this year. The lack of development with pelfrey and humber has been a failure and that should also fall on the GM for not making their development more of a priority. Instead of pelfrey and humber in games where we needed spot starters last year we got Brian Lawrence and Dave Williams rather than getting pelfrey and humber more innings…Omar should be fired….other teams have the chips to trade and the only thing omar will do if sign El Duque’s brother. Give me a break…….
…forgot Shoppach and Buchholz…
If you say something often enough it becomes gospel. So a “scout” or “GM” says the Mets prospects should still be in Little League, and then it’s picked up by another talking head and repeated until the fans start believing this noise. Just ask yourself, what possibly could be the motivation of these other teams downgrading the Mets prospects, is it out of the goodness of their hearts to keep the fans informed? I think we know the answer to this one. Keep the faith. You gotta believe.
Great post, happyrecap! Sage advice. I’m taking it…….and getting back to work!
exactly…no intelligent GM is going to say to these writers that the Mets have the great prospects that they want. Alot of this stuff, in my opinion, could be to whip up the fan base that is already angry about the collapse and put even more pressure on Omar to pull a big deal NOW and over pay with talent.
Omar needs to be patient and pragmatic with all this stuff.
they want guys like kemp and kershaw who are amazing prospects and kemp has established himself as a hitter already at huge pitchers park. The o”s dont really want to trade him, and people forget that. The only reason they will trade him is if they are blown away. And tejada is not as productive as he was before. I wouldn’t trade reyes in that deal. Only person i would consider trading reyes for is santana, which i feel they will get if the mets offer. Bedard is not in the same level as santana, health or consistency wise.
The D-train won’t be stopping in FLushing
only the 7 train does silly!
What I would really like to know?
1) What do the O’s really want from us for Bedard?
2) Would Reyes alone actually be enough to get Santana?
3) Could a package built around Reyes and Gomez get you Nathan and Santana?
4) What are Silva’s terms? It was first mentioned 4/40 but then I heard 4/32.
5) What would it take to get Burnett from the Jays?
6) Are the Rangers actually looking to dump Millwood?
These are questions that would make our debates much easier if we had a clue what the answer was.
Sounds awesome – go ahead and put it through on the site and I’ll approve it. Hopefully no one in our league vetoes it.
Oh, wait, I’m sorry. I thought I was in my fantasy league site.
I think people need to chill out – I just hope Omar is not as desperate as you people to get an ace to where everyone is dealing Reyes – the guy who makes this team go 162 games a year, for someone who will impact 35 games.
Our pitching is far less disasterous than everyone makes it out to be. We’re still the class of the NL if the season started RIGHT NOW. If our prospoects are so bad that we’re ‘not being taken seriously’ then yeah, lets go home with the the knowledge that the teams in our league are still chasing US. Or do you think anyone is of the mindset of chasing the Rockies?
No but logically would they not be chasing the Phillies as we did finish behind them?
Exactly!!!!!!
We didn’t improve much, but we’re still the best team. Ok, maybe not by much, but we’re still the best.
Phils got Lidge, but lost Rowand. We should be okay. It’s just that Omar the moron got everyones hopes up.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Starting pitching is not my main concern with the 2008 Mets.
Well, starting pitching should always be a concern, as they say you can never have enough pitching.
But, fact of the matter is, there’s nothing we can do. NOTHING.
Therefore, we shouldn’t rush to trade for some middle of the rotation scrub who’s going to handcuff us in the future just to partially live up to Omar the moron’s statement of having to get a front of the rotation guy.
For the time being, we’ll thrive or crash with the guys we have.
This morning, on WFAN, the shows host said he was told by the Mets that Minaya had made an offer for Willis earlier in the off-season, and was told, ‘he is not available,’ because he is not being traded within the NL East.
Don’t believe it. Willis was available for the right prospects. We just didn’t have em. IF we had a Matt Kemp, bingo!, Willis is available.
Just like in my fantasy football league where no one wants to trade with me because I always get the better end of the deal and they end up mad that they traded with me ……its the same thing with Omar..he got Maine, Elduque, and Ollie as throw ins for practically nothing…so now no GMs wanna deal with Omar because they feel he is raping them….seriously.
Really tired of posting here and not having it show up.. guess you can’t be overly critical on here now that SNY is paying the bills.
Well it certainly makes sense for the Mets to say that Willis wasnt available to the NL East, sounds a whole lot better than 1) we dont have the prospects to get that kind of player. and 2) Omar was asleep at the switch because he’s trying to trade for every other starting pitcher he cant get.
Now if the Marlins, Tigers or Angels came out and said it, I would believe it. Until then who knows…
We can always look to Julian Tavarez, who wants to pitch in the NL if that means anything.
Well, so far lots of talk, but the “big 3″ are still not traded.
Does anyone realize that there are still 4 months left before the season starts? It isn’t like tomorrow is the trade deadline.
Quite likely no more big deals get pulled off this week. Lot’s of groundwork laid.
Teams will regroup, and start hasing out viable deals (not these pie in the sky rip offs ).
So, even if Omar goes home empty handed, I’m sure that he will end op making some moves over the next few months to improve the team. And quite likely, it will be unexpected names being moved.
And if nothing worthwhile surfaces, we go into 2008 with what we have, and give the prospects a chance to shine.
The world will not some to an end if the Mets don’t dominate in 2008, as long as they are developing talent to make them better.
2009 will be a big change year anyway, with Delgado, Duque and Alou leaving, and possibly Pedro and Perez.
And that is another reason not to trade the entire farm system for 1 SP that might not make the difference between also ran and WS winner.
I think that is wat is going to happen. I looked at Livan Hernandez’s stats and they are equivalent to what Glavine gave us last season. It’s likely that Livan give us the same performace as Glavine did last season. So..I say be patient. Sign Hernandez and give Pelfrey and Gomez more time to develop and increase their trade value, and then at the trade deadline if we need that pitcher we aren’t going to have to give up 4 prospects for one pitcher.
Havn’t posted here in months…but watching the Hot Stove like a hawk. Without throwing a typing tantrum…this is how I see it:
Mets are a 3rd place team in 2008, finishing 5 games over .500 in another weak NL east, and even weaker NL.
Their GM is in over his head, they don’t want to trade the pieces to get starting pitching, and they dont have the prospects to acquire them either. When the gun smoke has cleared, I think the Mets will get no SP of any use or value to the rotation. They’ll get another middle of the line guy who will be getting boo’d at Shea by early June.
It’s very typical of this franchise to not get blockbuster deals done. They never ever want to sacrifice a guy for the big pitcher. The Mets are going nowhere with this rotation and this pen…certainly not winning a WS after seeing what the big bad AL clubs have going for them.
Hopefully the empty seats in 2008 will prompt Freddie Wilpon and Omar to open up the checkbook going into Citi Field.
I don’t think we have to worry about a heartbreaker next September. I don’t see meaningful baseball at Shea in September 2008.
This front office just doesn’t know how to get it done. They really don’t. They always get the 2nd best guy….and its never good enough.
The move was AROD for cash and Reyes for Sanrana. Those deals get done before the winter meetings which Omar then uses the farm/cash to get supplemental players who would die to come to this team because they have proven that they are a WIN RIGHT NOW team. Instead, like always, we are a second/third class organization dying to get the Joe Blantons and Livan Hernandez’s of the pitching world. Its the most unfunny joke I’ve ever heard.
Weak NL East? Huh?
Everybody has got to give Omar some slack. He’s got a tough job with way too much scrutiny. I think he’s doing a great job.
Look at it this way, the positive side to this is these guys are out of the NL East. Even though it doesn’;t make much sense for a pitcher of D trains offensive capabilities to go to an American league team at least we don’t face them any more.