Mets GM Omar Minaya talked to reporters today from Citi Field, and said:
“Everybody wants us to improve our club. The question is: when do we improve our club? It has to make sense when you make a move. I feel like, in past years, we have always found a way to improve our club, and I feel comfortable we will continue to work hard and, when it’s all said and done, when we get to Opening Day, our team is going to be better than they way they ended last year… We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan, we know who we’ve targeted, and we feel comfortable if we get our guys we’re gonna have a very good team on the field and we’re going to be a team that will compete for our division and compete for the pennant.”
…well, just getting Jose Reyes back is improving the team from where it ended last season… but, i hear ya, omar… and, that’s the thing, i am discouraged, but not hopeless… i believe they’ll make additions, and i know baseball is a crazy game, and a long season, and with adding reyes, and bringing back a healthy Carlos Beltran, John Maine and Oliver Perez, and getting David Wright straight, i have no doubt they’ll be better… this is not the question… instead, it’s just, i wonder if they could have been better than even that, had better moves been made this off season…
In regards to improving the team’s starting rotation next season, Minaya said:
“There are still pitchers out there. We feel we that have a solid number one. And, we feel, you know, that we have some pitchers that can… a) we’re gonna need our pitchers to stay healthy, and b) pitch to their capabilities.”
…umm, you have pitchers that can, what, what can they do again… i do not believe the answer is a stud, at this point… the answer is risk-reward or stability…
…the team must either sign a pitcher like Ben Sheets, feeling he’s worth the risk; or sign a guy like Jon Garland, to bring in a known commodity…
Sounds like success is being defined as 73 wins.
Omar The Speech Maker!
Personally, I’d like to see Omar the DEAL maker come out and play.
If Perez, Maine, and Pelfrey pitch even 50% better than they did last year, that puts the team at 80+ wins.
if Perez and Maine are healthy, there is no reason they can’t win 10 games, even if they don’t pitch well. Pelfrey won 10, and will likely improve and mature. Plus a better offense probably nets him 2-3 more wins anyway.
You forgot Santana. he doesn’t go down that’s another 6+ wins.
sign anybody half decent over Redding and suddenly…
I’d take Marquis or Garland, or Piniero at a sensible (2 or 3 year) contract.
The word “if” instills zero confidence in the fan base. I’m definitely not going to buy season tickets now.
Well, aparently your “PLAN” stinks! If your plan is to lead your team to 70wins that you have done a great job of that. Just sign Sheets for #2, Marquis for #3, sign Holliday, sign Molina and then I will appove of you. You have done NOTHING so far. The Nats have done more than you. You may have some menatal sickness because ‘m really fed up with you to come home from school and see that we’re looking into non-tenders. The only good non-tender is Capps and he won’t happen. Omar, screw your plan and go to my plan. My plan is good and we can still do more after that.
What have the Nats done that’s so extraordinarily better? Re-signed Scott Olsen? Gave a market setting contract to Pudge?
Its still more than the Mets.
So, are you saying you’d rather be a Nats’ fan?
When did I say that. I’m saying that Omar is a terrible GM of the 2009 off-season. If he gets Holliday, Molina, Sheets and Marquis, plus a bullpen arm and a few more people, then we can talk. But right now, Omar is horrible.
i hope omar’s plan includes calling down to florida and offering whatever they want for josh johnson
I wish. But I see no scenario in which the Marlins trade Josh Johnson to the Mets.
holding out the hope man at this point it’s all we got, does omar have some of that beltran/krod/santana magic left?
Cue the clown music…Omar continues to show his incompetence and the organizations disfunction.
The pitching staff is very suspect right now…he can’t actually believe that there’s going to be a bounceback that dramatic? Even when these guys pitched they led the league in walks.
What a joke.
Again, I have you pegged mextache. I was just about to post about how although Omar is saying nothing new here, at least he is addressing the current media attacks in a positive manner. You are just looking for blood, so nothing he can do will appease you, even if it’s exactly what you would do.
You’re wrong Old. I respect and enjoy reading what you post…but gotta challenge you on this one.
Omar is doing his job by speaking to the press…what else is Omar supposed to do at this point? The newspapers, message boards, blogs and talk radio shows are killing this franchise right now…and it’s deserved. But I’ve been pegged as being out for blood…cmon most of this fanbase wants this guy gone.
That said…I want this team to win. Omar needs to right the ship and take control for that to happen and the Mets to succeed. And I hope I’m wrong and have to post about it all summer long. just don’t think he’s the guy. He’s had five years of solid success mixed with unbelievable bad luck, heart break and embarassment…it’s time.
The way I see it:
2006: Good job Omar, good job players (not great)
2007: Good job Omar, bad job players (choke)
2008: Good job Omar, bad job players (choke)
2009: OK job Omar, good job injury bug
I feel this season will show more of who he is than 2009 did. Too many people are forgetting that he made us a contender for 3 straight years before it.
I don’t disagree.
I just think last year really showed the warts of Omar and his management team. The whole front office…Wilpons included. To have the resources the Mets have and be this disfunctional is extremely frustrating.
I hope I’m wrong and it all comes together for the Wilpons, Omar, Manuel, Warthen and company. Nothing would make me happier.
a) we’re gonna need our pitchers to stay healthy, and b) pitch to their capabilities.”
Sounds to me like a direct referral to Perez, Pelfrey and Maine. The thing is, you can’t bank on the fact that these guys are going to a) stay healthy and b) pitch to their abilities. Beacause they’ve all had one good year. That’s it.
We need pitchers that are proven. Not pitchers we hope can prove themselves…
precisely. those three bozos can go die. we need proven stuff and have to stop hoping they will pan out one day
Trade for Gil Meche, sign Erik Bedard. Examine market for Piniero.
I would actually love to see a tandem signed between the two players Matt mentioned. Sheets is the potential #2. He has the injury risk, but he’s a better option to fill that void than anybody left on the market. Target him with a deal similar to Harden’s.
Garland, Marquis could work here, too, but I think will look for more $, can sit at the back of the rotation and eat innings. Hopefully around a 2 year $10-13MM deal.
For the rotation I would go with Marquis/Piniero whichever one is willing to take a better deal as I feel they are basically interchangeable. Then sign Wang/Sheets to a one year deal with an option and incentives. Out of the gate we have Santana-Pelfrey-Marquis/Piniero-Maine-Perez with Niese in reserve, then when Sheets/Wang is ready we have another arm to move into the rotation and replace whichever one of the three carry overs has fallen apart (at least one of them will, we know that much).
For the OF I am all for Bay on the right deal, if we can’t get him for the right deal then bring back Delgado for an incentive laden deal, bring in Cust to plug in the OF and bring in Nady to come in the second half of the year. Molina/Barajas whomever at Catcher that will accept the right deal.
I am not saying those moves will make us the team to beat, but we will be very competitive with that team and it does that without putting us in a hole in 2011 and beyond.
If our plan was to keep the current pitchers and hope they improve, replacing the current pitching coach should have been a high priority, youknowwhatimsayin?
It is very unsettling to see Matt this upset and pessimistic. It shows how beaten down we are as a fan base. I think this team is a lot better than we all think. And I’m usually not an optimist.
The keeping of Warthen and Manuel is the biggest mistake of the offseason so far, yes.
Agreed. Especially Manuel. Omar I can see giving a pass for the season because of injuries if you want to, but the team quit on Manuel and they played some of the worst baseball I have ever seen. Not just “not good enough players”, but players just not paying attention to the game.
JM should be long gone.
Is anybody else afraid to come here and what you might have to read, the last time i hadn’t logged on in a few hours the phils traded for halladay
I know what you mean…it’s good therapy though. It makes me feel better that there are other fans, like me, who are sitting here 10 days before Christmas ranting and raving about the Mets. Especially when we all could be doing a million other things.
I was out having a very nice dinner last week with my wife and was talking all things Mets Hot Stove…she thinks I’ve finally lost my mind and laughs at me everytime I say I won’t spent another dollar on this team until they win.
She knows me all too well…hang in there brother.
thanks for the support my friend, i used to be excited logging on here, now i’m afraid, i need some big moves, wheres that omar magic we all used to love?
Putting aside the fact that Omar Minaya sounds like he was top of the class in the George W. Bush school for speech-making, I can’t help but feel a LITTLE bit better after hearing this. I mean, he’s got to have SOME sort of a plan; his job is on the line! You never know, he may have a couple of big moves stuck up his sleeve…
i agree, i felt better hearing he has a plan although what else would he say? still you take it where you get it
I wish our GM could speak our nation’s primary language above a 2nd grader’s level…
How happy is Brian Cashman that his fellow NY GM is Omar Minaya? He can never look that bad.
except that 2 years ago he was almost Fired and omar was the toast of the town.
Things in NY change quickly
Omar knows is a lost season.
there are a lot questions marks on the Major League roster:
1) Santana arm surgery: how effective will he be in April and May?
2) Maine – two years of injuries. He was effective at the end of last year. But wull rest be enough for an entire season? Even if you move him to the bullpen, the question still persists.
3) Perez – will the surgery and boot camp help?
4) Niese – tore a muscle in his push off leg. Will he be ready? Has he finally figured it out? Will the injury be a setback?
5) Pelfrey = enigma #1
6) Parnell = enigma #2. Will the second half of the season become his reality?
7) Nieve – will he recover. Granted he is a BP arm, but if he isn’t recovered then they have to find someone.
8) KRod – is the second half an indication of trouble ahead?
9) The Japanese pitcher they just signed – traditional questions going from the JL to MLB.
10) Murphy – assuming he isn’t replaced then will he hit enough to be a non-issue? This is a much bigger question than most are willing to ask.
11) Castillo – was 2009 his last hurrah?
12) Reyes – will he come back at 100%? 90%? ???%? Will he hold back?
13) Wright = enigma #3
14) Francouer – apparantly his injury was worse than thought. Will he recover? Even if he does will he revert to 2009 first half?
15) Beltran – How will his knees hold up? 120 Games? How will it affect his play?
16) LF???
17) Blanco – a catcher signed for defensive purposes with an injured arm = ???
18) Starting catcher – Molina? Who knows, but all are capable of magnifying (17).
Those that may help in 2010:
19) FMart – will he be injured? Will he continue to advance?
20) Thole – will he learn how to be a catcher? And when could it happen?
I see a lot of questions. Many will work out in the Mets favor; but there is no way 100% will. Assuming each has a 99% chance of working in the Mets favor that leaves a 17%at least one doesn’t and at 96% you get an 50% chance at least one won’t.
Too many questions. Use this year to sort out the keepers. Draft overslot, sign Chapman, take on some high risk guys, look for salary dumps at the deadline that can help ion years to come. If they all work out, get help then. But it is too risky to bank on all coming back at 100%.
Your math is a bit off, and even if it was right having 1 of these 18 things not come out in the Mets favor is not that bad.
However, I still agree with your point, we have too many questions to answer all of them this off season for 2010. Which is why I think Omar’s goal should be to answer the questions he knows he can in such a way that it will either be a great fit for 2010 and beyond. Or two, will be maybe a costly fix that only fixes “plugs” it this year and leaves 2011 alone. I just dont want to see 4 years for Piniero at ridiculous money because he was the best that was left. I would rather see patchwork than making a bigger problem for the future.
This makes me wonder…. how is Ollie doing at that sports training facility? I remember Beltran persuaded Ollie to go to that special facility, and he did. Anyone have any idea what’s goin’ on with Oll’over’the’place’iver Perez?
Kudos to Omar for taking action here. This is all spin, of course, but it’s a decent move. Speak to pitching and reference the large number of pitchers on the market. Make a promise you know you can keep (that the team on opening day will be better than the one that finished up 2009). That wont take much, of course. Simple addition of Beltran and Reyes does that.
He also references “a plan”, which is a crazy notion (if you ask me) that for some reason many people are clamoring for. For starters, if the Mets had a plan, they would be best suited to keep it secret anyway. Second, there are only three plans: Go for broke, persist or rebuild. The Mets clearly have no intention of rebuilding. I think they have finally reached a point where they are no longer willing to mortgage the future (go for broke), so they are simply trying to persist. In this mode (which all but large market teams and small market teams are in), you try to retain your talent, and acquire talent at below market prices whenever possible. The only talent you pay market price for is top tier talent.
The plan you need is common sense, and that is about it. Specific plans are silly, because if your plan was to sign Lackey, and Lackey hates NY, now what? Plan shot down.
Omar has his work cut out for him. I’m rooting for him to catch some lightning in a bottle here. I hope he signs the right mediocre pitcher (is that Pineiro, or Marquis, or someone else?). If he goes the way of risk/reward, I hope he gambles correctly (Sheets?). Same can be said for the 15+ homeruns guys he might try to sneak onto the roster to help in the corner OF/IF spots.
Maybe he can parlay a John Maine into a decent younger position player, if he can sign a Marquis (effectively replacing him). Corey Hart doesn’t excite me, but I think we’re a better team with Corey Hart and Marquis than we are with Maine and Pagan.
“The question is: when do we improve our club? It has to make sense when you make a move.”- Make sense?! Like getting a pitcher and left fielder? DO SOMETHING!
Omar, you might be a procrastinater(if i spelt that right) you keep on putting off deals. You HAVE to make a deal to Holliday like 17mill for 6 years. That will get it done. Omar, if you want to win next season, sign Holliday, Molina, Sheets, Marquis and you can still do more after that. Omar please do this.
Legitimate question: how much do you plan to get all of these players signed for?
17 for Holliday, 6 for molina, 8 for both Sheets and MArquis, 2 for Biemel plus the 4 mill we already added that’s 45mill which is reasonable
see my comment above
I’ll compare Holliday to Bay
Holliday +’s
- higher AVG
- overall better hitter
- strike out less
- probably more rbi’s
- more doubles
- younger
-’s
- less homeruns
- cost more
Bay +’s
- more homerun’s
- cost less
-’s
- less rbi’s
- lower AVG
- more K’s
- older
Holliday is the better player and is worth 17mill for 6years.
6 yr @ $17MM per… pretty sure everyone on the site + Omar would jump for that to happen. The person you have to convince to do that isn’t even Matt Holliday, it’s Scott Boras. If that offer is made today, Boras will sit on it shooting for more, into the new year, further increasing all the comment section angst for not getting a deal done.
Actually if you look at MO vs (NY + NYC) taxes there is little difference between the Cards at $16M and hte Mets at $17M. Then layer in cost of living and difference swings back to the Cards, even at $1M less per season.
It would essentially be Delgado to the Marlins all over again. Florida has no income tax, so the “same” deal is worth more. And, to further compensate, he got a trade kicker.
Holliday is going to need 18-20 per to even blink (probably 20). Forget the 16M stuff. Wont happen.
If it’s that I’ll go with Bay.
Finally making some sense! Leave it to OB
when we payed Beltran and Santana their $$$$$, they at least were legitimately the best at their positions …. there are no players like that this year — with Holliday being the closest. IF you are going to dump some $$$$, it needs to be for Holliday. Bay isn’t going to come much cheaper (does 2 MIL p/yr really that much).
sign Sheets, Pineiro, and Chapman and consider Carriera (trade), Wang and Duchscherer
sign Kelly Johnson if his wrist is fully healed and he is ready to go …. potentially waive Castillo.
do not offer Molina more than 2/8 … no one else will pay him even that.
still looking for a plan B to Holliday for RF for 1 year …. maybe we can trade Maine or Pelfrey in a package for one.
we don’t need to focus on the pen, its all about SPs … so maybe we can get more than 6 innings from them – that alone will improve our pen.