When you are trying to fill a roster with the intent of building a win now team, you will usually bring in veteran players that are on the decline. With the hope that they give you a couple good years before they aren’t viable anymore. That is why we are dealing with the Delgados, Pedro, Alou, etc.

For the the Willie supporters, how do explain the regression in level of play with the team since the end of 2006. How is that Omar’s fault?

If BV ran the current Mets, I truly believe the results would be no different.

In the last 153 games this team is 76-77. If the Mets had superior talent then regardless of what Willie does this team would have been at least 10 games over .500 in that span.
In 2006, Willie made some questionable in-game decisions but it didn’t affect the team long term because they were just better than everyone else.

The fact is that the Braves with Tex, McCann, Francoeur, Chipper and Escobar have 5 everyday players better than the Mets. The Phillies have 3 everyday players better than their Met counterparts in Utley, Rollins and Howard.

With the regression of Reyes and the fact that Beltran has not joined the MLB elite like everyone expected, the only player that can be considered a star on the Mets is David Wright. At this point, we have 1 legit star. (the numbers say that star is Ryan Church)

The Mets traded away their young prospects to win now. But the “now” was a one year window in 2006 and that window has closed. Hindsight, signing Alou was a mistake because we should have developed one of our outfield prospects.

It is not a stretch to say that Beltran and Castillo have begun their decline. Delgado and Alou are no longer star players, they are simply serviceable MLB players.

The pythagorean record for the 2007 Mets was 86-76. All the analysts saw this team was fading and you saw that being demonstrated on the field. You don’t think the Braves know that they have 5 players better than any Met? The Phillies know they are better than us. The Marlins know they are younger and have more upside. We have the over-the-hill but don’t know it squad. The entire league knows except the Mets.

This season is not going to bare any fruit, the Mets need to regroup and fast. They need to overspend to get those players that are in their prime and are stars. They need to spend money in the draft and retool the farm system. The Wilpons and Minaya may be fooling themselves but they had better wake up and open up that Met vault and secure the future.

Reyes, Wright, Maine, Pelfrey, and Santana is the core now. Everyone else is fair game for trades.

The firestorm around Willie Randolph is overshadowing the fact that the Mets are past their prime. Minaya the last two seasons has added Alou and Santana to try and revive old bones. Minaya had better stop hiding behind the “expectations” he knows this team can’t reach.

Randolph is just the fall guy so Minaya can get his act together. But sooner or later someone is going to take a look at the numbers and see that this team is playing with expectations that the numbers don’t support. This offseason and amatuer draft will determine where this team is heading in the next few years.

76-77 in 153 games? Thats not on the Manager, thats on the talent. You can’t be “lethargic” that long but you can be beaten by better teams with better talent. You can’t underachieve for 153 games but you damn sure can come crashing back to earth.