Get your morning dose of Mets in the Papers.
Kristie Ackert, “Former Brave Jeff Francoeur Comes To Grips, Settles In With Mets”
“It was a lot more difficult than I realized it would be,” Francoeur said of returning to play the Braves less than a week after the trade. “I thought it was not going to be a big deal. It was difficult, but it was good to get out of the way. Now you go back in September and it’s just baseball. I said the moment we hopped on that plane out of Atlanta things were going to be a lot different for me.”
Peter Botte, “Former Tottenville High School Star Jason Marquis Roughed Up By Mets”
Still, it wasn’t a happy homecoming Tuesday night for the former Tottenville High School star out of Staten Island. Marquis, who arrived tied for the major-league lead with 12 victories, couldn’t add to that total in a 4-0 loss to the Mets at Citi Field.
Brian Costello, “Sizzling Mets Mow Down Rockies”
“I think everybody left here [Monday] thinking, ‘Hey, we’re going to make a run at this thing. We’re going to give it a shot,’ ” Pelfrey said. “I think everybody’s pretty confident that when Oct. 4 comes, we’re going to keep on playing.”
Jay Greenberg, “As Mistakes Pile Up, Omar Has To Go”
Minaya’s meltdown at Monday’s press conference to announce his firing of vice president of player personnel Tony Bernazardshould not be a survivable offense, not when it followed consecutive bad Septembers, bad contracts, a bad guy as a most trusted adviser, medical mishandlings and consistent failures to deliver a coherent message to an increasingly distrustful fan base.
Mike Lupica, “Judge Omar on Body of Work with Mets, Not Bernazard Mess”
You don’t judge Minaya on this season alone. Or on Bernazard. Or on one press conference. You are allowed to look at where you’ve been and where you’re going. Do that without apology. You’re either moving toward a championship or away from one.
Dan Martin, “Wilpon Not Happy, But Backs Minaya”
“Omar’s our general manager,” the Mets’ chief operating officer said. “Omar’s going to be our general manager.”
Anthony McCarron, “Mets’ Jose Reyes ‘Progressing’ But Still Not Running”
“Once he gets to that point, a day or so after that, he’ll probably play a game,” Manuel said. “He’s still progressing somewhat.” It’s unclear when Reyes might run the bases.
Michael Obernauer, “No Fight in Tony Bernazard This Time as Daily News Drops By For Visit”
Approached by a Daily News reporter at his Princetonhome Tuesday, Bernazard declined to comment on the firestorm of irascible behavior and Daily News reports that led to his firing from the Mets on Monday, but he did manage to force himself into a politeness that either has been recently discovered or else eluded Omar Minaya‘s vaunted human resources investigative team.
Tim Smith, “Another Meltdown Could Spell End for Omar Minaya as Mets’ General Manager”
You have to admire Wilpon’s loyalty. But Minaya can’t recover from this. If the Mets were winning, they could tolerate bullies in the organization. It would hardly matter if that were the face of the organization. But they haven’t won anything since 1986, which makes having a bully at the helm even less tolerable.
Mike Vaccaro, “Wilpon Must Lead Troubled Mets”
Finally, at long last, it means Wilpon must prove that his reign will be as much about achievement as DNA, that he is an operator worthy of his lofty status on the corporate flow chart. No more can he seek glory in the shadows while deflecting blame like a goalkeeper. His team — his birthright — cries out for leadership, begs for direction, the kind that no third baseman can offer, the kind no manager can provide, the kind no general manager can give.
Update (10:45 a.m.): charlie_s brings us Wallace Matthews’ “Mets Haven’t Fired Minaya? Blame It On Madoff”
“He’s this close to being out of baseball,” Jeff Wilpon told me, holding his thumb and forefinger a half-inch apart.
Along with all the other damage the Madoff fiasco did to the Mets, add one more example: Omar Minaya. The Mets can’t win with him, can’t afford to let him go.
69 comments
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:01am at 10:01 am (UTC -4)
Im glad Pelf is so confident that we will be playing in October but please, I know we havent won much this year, we only won a few games in a row. Its going to take much more and pretty much flawless baseball to make it to October. Unless we sweep this series and cut it to 3.5 winning 3 of 4 only gets us to 5.5. Im not complaining I will take it but Beltran is gone for the year, Reyes is still 2 weeks away at best and Delgado hopefully mid-August. Im just saying this can easily go right back to the way it was in Washington last week. In fact i think its more likely to take that path than the solid baseball we are playing now. Why? The players are not good we are putting on the field.
So in my mind, nothing will change, and I am not optimistic until what we have all been saying actually happens!!
And that is our core RETURNING!!
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:08am at 10:08 am (UTC -4)
yeah, but we just went through the rough part of the schedule. It’s easy sailing ahead as the Mets have the 2nd easiest schedule. All we need is to play w/o making mental mistakes and have quality pitching. The current team can do both, I think.
dirtysanchez
7/29/2009-10:18am at 10:18 am (UTC -4)
we hope they can…
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:29am at 10:29 am (UTC -4)
I agree with everything you said but just by doing what you said you believe this team as constructed can make the playofffs??
metsfan4decades
7/29/2009-10:31am at 10:31 am (UTC -4)
As currently constructed? No. With the injured players back – or most of them? Maybe….
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:38am at 10:38 am (UTC -4)
Not a shoo-in, but I doubt the Phils can stay hot or that anyone will run away w/ the WC.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:05am at 10:05 am (UTC -4)
So, in the Daily News by Tim Smith:
Where was Minaya yesterday?
Apparently too broken up to face the media and offer his own apologies.
“He’s not in a great state right now. It’s taken a toll on him,” Wilpon said. “If you guys can give him a day or so I think he’ll be back to (being) Omar. If we can all give him a chance I think he’ll come back and make this organization proud.”
I guess we can all but write off this trade deadline because Omar’s sulking in his office instead of working the phones.
I can’t help but find reasons not to like him and not to want him at the helm.
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:12am at 10:12 am (UTC -4)
Nah, I saw the interview and Jeff is clear that Omar was on the phones doing his GM thing, but just wanted to stay clear from the Media for the day (Still trying to take his foot out of his mouth)
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:18am at 10:18 am (UTC -4)
We’ll see. It was still a bizarre thing to say about a million dollar guy who runs a major league baseball team in NYC.
oleosmirf
7/29/2009-10:23am at 10:23 am (UTC -4)
the problem with Omar is that even though he makes ridiculous decsions (Ollie, Castillo, going with Murphy/Tatis, terrible AA and AAA teams, mismanaging injuries) he makes brilliant moves too (Santana, K-Rod, Francoeur, Sheffield). I just hope he doesnt roll the dice with Pagan and Santos next season and expect them to produce over the course of the whole season…
this team needs an identity and it should really be aggressive baseball with great speed and defense. That is why I want Crawford here. He brings something unique to the table and he and Reyes would be a fantastic 1-2 punch at the top of the order. I’d like Pena too for the defense and HRs (even with his low average) but i’ll take Nick Johnson and his defense as a plan B too…
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:30am at 10:30 am (UTC -4)
Reyes
Crawford
Beltran
Wright
Johnson
Francoeur
C (maybe Molina for 1 yr then Mauer, plz)
Castillo
trs, doesn’t think that’s enough HR power, I disagree.
oleosmirf
7/29/2009-10:42am at 10:42 am (UTC -4)
we would definitely lack power but it wont be as bad as this season. I think an aggressive, speedy, scrappy team with very good defense can make up for a lack of power.
although we would need much better pitchers than we have now if we have any hope of winning a WS in the future…
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:17am at 10:17 am (UTC -4)
Of all the newspaper clippings to list, this one was missed and is perhaps the most telling!
From Wally Matthews from Newsday:
“He’s this close to being out of baseball,” Jeff Wilpon told me, holding his thumb and forefinger a half-inch apart.
http://www.newsday.com/columnists/wallace-matthews/mets-haven-t-fired-minaya-blame-it-on-madoff-1.1333702
dirtysanchez
7/29/2009-10:23am at 10:23 am (UTC -4)
i used to find myself at odds several times with wally matthews…but i really cannot argue with him over his coverage of this….
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
Me, too! I can’t complain with his coverage here.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:04am at 11:04 am (UTC -4)
I will never know whether I can complain about his coverage here or not, because his past coverage has been so unnecessarily vitriolic that I stopped reading his work years ago.
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:55am at 10:55 am (UTC -4)
thanks Charlie, I’ve added the article to the post
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:25pm at 12:25 pm (UTC -4)
I just say that! Thanks for the nod.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:26pm at 12:26 pm (UTC -4)
*saw that
Kingman 26
7/29/2009-10:18am at 10:18 am (UTC -4)
I really hate it when idiots write that we “haven’t won anything since 1986.”
The 2000 pennant was nothing? 2006 was nothing?
Damn, I hate the media.
Omar is an unfunny clown at this point, and a mediocre, vindictive, bitter, short-sighted one at that, but Rubin is a dishonest parasite, and the entire mainstream media—on BOTH sides Fong—are pretty much nothing but a ratings-chasing, self-centered, profit-oriented circus which cares not a whit for truth or honesty.
CaseStreet
7/29/2009-10:26am at 10:26 am (UTC -4)
lol. Kingman laying down the smack-down.
I think the Mets need a new policy where Omar doesn’t speak to the Media. Maybe Ricco or Jay Horowitz should be the voice and face.
Omar is just a bad public speaker. Add high emotions, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. For some, public speaking is nerve wracking.
Whether we like Omar or not, he’s the GM and we need him to do his thing to make sure the Mets are playing in October.
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:37am at 10:37 am (UTC -4)
Amen! Not taking Omars side here because he is in a position to have to speak publicly, but I AM AN AWFUL PUBLIC SPEAKER. I get extremely nervous and cant think, I turn red and cant formulate thoughts or sentences!
Your point with adding “high emotions” is on point and what I believe happened to Omar. Although what he was trying to say was true and probably not that bad, he couldnt explain it. All he was trying to say was when he saw Rubin wrote it he wanted to make sure. Anyway the point is this is NY, and public speaking is part of his job, so either like you said someone else speaks obviously unlikely or he simply says no comment lol when pushed!
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:48am at 10:48 am (UTC -4)
I see the spin has worked on you.
Omar should never have said it. And here’s why:
1) Before the report hit the papers, he already knew about the issues because his very own HR department was already investigating Bernazard because at least one person (if not more) inside his organization had made a complaint.
2) It would have been irrelevant that Rubin wrote the story (as opposed to another writer that hadn’t inquired about how to get into baseball) and Omar knows that. Again, he knows this because he was already aware of the allegations because his HR department was already investigating them!
3) Since it’s irrelevant who wrote the story, Omar’s saying he wanted to make sure of the story because it came from Rubin (who had at some time in the past inquired about how to get into the business) could only have been a vindictive motive. We know this because he already knew from different sources within his own organization that Bernazard was accused of this behavior. To mention the writer that forced his hand was solely done to hurt the writer. Period.
metsfan4decades
7/29/2009-11:00am at 11:00 am (UTC -4)
Omar had come straight from having to tell a good friend of his that morning he was fired, to this press conference. He was angry, he was upset and he took it out on the messenger. Just shows that Omar is human but doesn’t excuse the huge mistake he made there.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
Agree.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:11am at 11:11 am (UTC -4)
While I think Omar made a huge mistake both in 1). believing Adam was grinding an ax in his articles about Bernazard; and 2). bringing it up at the firing press conference,
I disagree that “it’s irrelevant who wrote the story.”
Even though Omar already knew about Bernazard’s behavior, when the only person publishing the information publicly is a guy who has expressed even marginal interest in the person who is being “outed’s” job, one should at least be a bit skeptical about the motivations of that person and “investigate further” before taking action.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
But, again, Omar already knew about the story from a completely independent and valid source, his own HR department. What is there to be skeptical about?
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-12:17pm at 12:17 pm (UTC -4)
The fact that the only person publishing articles about the situation is a guy who has expressed interest in the job.
Yes, people, Omar included, knew about it. To me the question is why did Adam Rubin alone publish it? That’s the puzzling part. The whole rest of the world felt it wasn’t a story worth publishing apparently.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
Or (and this is a great question Grave) someone in the organization fed it to Rubin only.
We can speculate on the whys, but it would seem this sort of story in the hands of any reporter would make the back pages (especially that of the Post, which is Yankee leaning).
So, why would someone feed it to Rubin?
1) He could have great in-house connections.
2) He could be a great fall-guy (in someone’s sick mind) if the story hurt the organization.
3) Someone hated Bernazard and liked Rubin.
4) Rubin is hooking up with an women in HR.
I mean, I can go on and on. But, the point is, someone fed him the exclusive.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-12:41pm at 12:41 pm (UTC -4)
I pick # 4
Kingman 26
7/29/2009-10:44am at 10:44 am (UTC -4)
LOL! I agree Case….Omar should not ever go in front of the cameras, and certainly not when he was clearly annoyed at having to fire a friend….I thought his performance in the booth a week or so back was pretty embarrassing too.
We do need him to focus on getting some better players, and not this ridiculous media circus.
I mean, hey, we have won 4 straight, and are a mere 5.5 from the WC!!!
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:50am at 10:50 am (UTC -4)
This brings up a very interesting question:
Do not the job requirements of a GM include public speaking? Is there not a better candidate that can not only perform at a high level the tasks at which Omar exceeds, but also handle the media well?
Kingman 26
7/29/2009-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
You are right….however, the Wilpons have for years now seemed to operate a network for friends and acolytes, rather than the best people for the job.
Fred has Jeff in the number two spot….Omar is clearly a Wilpon favorite….Bernazard was VERY clearly a Wilpon/Omar favorite, and I have yet to see exactly what it was that Bernazard did well for all of the years he was here.
And this goes back to the outsized roles allegedly filled by Leiter and Franco, when they were Jeff’s faves…
QnsNative718
7/29/2009-11:11am at 11:11 am (UTC -4)
It was “Kitty”. Its mentioned more than once and in the scene where Todd tries to jack him, Rahad says “Are you kiddin me, Kitty?” Ha!
(Other people who are reading this are probably saying “WTF are these dudes talkin about?”)
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:20am at 11:20 am (UTC -4)
I always say that
Kingman 26
7/29/2009-12:14pm at 12:14 pm (UTC -4)
LOL!
Grave, if you have not seen Boogie Nights, my guess, based on your excellent combination of intelligence, humor, and seeming love of the ribald, is that you would be a Boogie Nights fan….
Kingman 26
7/29/2009-12:12pm at 12:12 pm (UTC -4)
Damn! You got me man! Great one!
Now, of course, I will have to really plum the depths to get you too!
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:53am at 10:53 am (UTC -4)
I want to be optimistic but we need to sweep this series or at worst win 3 of 4 here! Such a swing if we lose the next 2 and its right back to 7.5! Ouch. Also even if we only win 1 more here it stays at 5.5 instead of 3.5. Wow what a swing. This is a huge start for Omar and I BEG the offense doesnt go to sleep for him like the past!! I mean if we split this series and are 7.5 back with like 7 teams to climb over will ANYONE be optimistic. WHen you think of it these 2 GAMES may be the season!! This is just my opinion and I dont belive its panicking but 7.5 with our guys still not back is nearly impossible. 3.5 on the otherhand WOW!! WHew 2 games guys! Win 2 games so we believe! lol
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
As a Met fan Im just happy we are winning for the obvious reasons and so this disaster takes a back seat to baseball. After all, this is our team, this is our city and I dont like our name being dragged through the mud. Whether you like Omar or not, whether you like Manuel or not, whether you like Jeff or not THIS IS NOT THE WAY YOU WANT ANYONE TO LOSE THIER JOBS!!
Maybe its me but I want ppl to get a fairshake and a chance. Let Jerry and Omar get fired after at least having somewhat of a chance to succeed! Injuries are the issue this year plain and simple. Yes maybe we werent as deep as we should have been and if we were somewhat healthy and missed the playoffs because of one bat or one starter or one reliever I would understand ppl calling for Omars head but this isnt the case. We were and are devasted by injuries. Lets Go Mets!! I really hope we sweep Colorado and cut it to 3.5 because there is nothing more we want than to BELIEVE!
metsfan4decades
7/29/2009-11:04am at 11:04 am (UTC -4)
To me, the only way it makes sense to fire either Jerry, Omar or both right now is if we are raising the white flag that’s it all over this year.
If we believe we have a shot, then firing either right now will only upset the ‘apple cart’. I don’t believe there is dissention in the clubhouse b/c they hate management – at the moment. Competence is another matter all together but genuine dislike for Jerry by players is not something I’ve heard any rumors about….
Joe R
7/29/2009-11:15am at 11:15 am (UTC -4)
I disagree. NO MORE stories or back pages or circus like behavior. At the end of the season we can fire people if they so choose. Its been a tough year for everyone. Lets play the year out and as Met fans pray for no more bad press, hope for a push for the WC and get ready for next year.
stickguy
7/29/2009-10:48am at 10:48 am (UTC -4)
Man, peple agreeing with Wallace? What’s next, dogs and cats, living together?
I think, however, he is missing some points. 1 is that right now is the worst possible time to fire a GM. If they really want to do it, it needs to be in the off season.
You can’t possibly bring in someone from outside now to handle the trade deadline. So, like it or not, the current FO has to handle the immediate future.
If you don’t want Omar making the decisions (or say he is “incapacitated”) then you let Ricco do it, or someone else from the minions. Or at least have someone babysit Omar (and dont let him make any moves on his own).
SO, unless you are going to give an internal guy Omars job, what’s the point of doing a knee jerk firing? Just another sacrifice to the all mighty NY media?
also, Omar’s deal (like with a terrible player, say Marlon ANderson) is a sunk cost. they are paying him either way. If they do decide to stay in house, it doesn’t really change the budget any.
Hopefully too when they can Omar, they shake up the whole front office (clean out all the dead wood), and again, that has to be done in the off season.
Joe R
7/29/2009-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
Agreed. Please lets stop with the firing Omar or Jerry. I dont know maybe its me, I dont want anyone fired!!!!! I want some guys to come back from the DL and maybe give us a chance! End of story!! Its been a tough year and Im through with these back page stories! I want everyone to succeed! For me its this simple, I hope come September we have some meaningful games to watch and we make a push. Next year we will have plenty of time to start, or hopefully not, the fire Omar and Jerry countdown. I wont have a problem with it either if we are healthy and under achieve. But thats next year for me.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
Well, it could very well be that Jeff told Omar to take a backseat to Ricco during the run up to the deadline. After all, Jeff did say that Omar’s “compromised.”
Another thing is moving Ricco up and Omar out is not exactly budget neutral if you assume Ricco’s position needs filling at some point. But, your point is a good one because Ricco or his replacement doesn’t make the doe that Omar (or his replacement from outside the organization would cost).
The big thing Wally says, which could be true, is how Madoff is hamstringing the organization’s ability to eat bad contracts. It’s the difference between winning or losing.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
I would buy this line of thinking more if the organization had a history of eating bad contracts.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:36am at 11:36 am (UTC -4)
I was just trying to go back in my head and think of instances in the past when they had a really bad contract and refused to eat it. I know they ate Willie’s contract. I can’t really think of anything else at the moment.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-12:19pm at 12:19 pm (UTC -4)
They’ve definitely eaten contracts, and “bad contracts” can certainly be somewhat subjective, but I can’t think of any bad ones either since Bobby Bonilla.
oleosmirf
7/29/2009-11:00am at 11:00 am (UTC -4)
its all about the money…Omar being fired only costs them money in the long-run…
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:03am at 11:03 am (UTC -4)
And that exactly the point Matthews is making: the Mets don’t have the money to eat the contract and start over, which is by far and away the wisest course to take.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:25am at 11:25 am (UTC -4)
Certainly firing him costs them money. Unfortunately Cot’s Contracts doesn’t have financial figures on his extension. But his current contract pays him $800,000 annually. For discussion let’s say he’s getting $1 million annually in the extension. I think even with the Madoff issues they could eat $1 mil a year for the next 3 years.
They’re eating this much this year:
# 2009 payroll obligations for former players:
* $1,600,000 (Scott Schoeneweis)
* $1,150,000 (Marlon Anderson)
* $ 276,639 (Duaner Sanchez)
So another mil here or there hardly seems untenable. It seems to me that the reason they’re not firing him has much more to do with the fact that the trade deadline is imminent and that the VP was just fired. You lose a lot off the top if you jettison both guys now.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
I believe Matthews says he’s owned $4m for the rest of the contract after this season.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:33am at 11:33 am (UTC -4)
If true then we’re talking about $1.33 mil in each of 2010, 11 & 12. Madoff or no Madoff that money would not stand in the way of them letting him go.
I stand by what I stated above that it’s much more likely they’re not firing him right now because they just fired his underling and the deadline is 52 hours away.
I believe they can fire him after the season and deal with the financial ramifications. Firing him right now the ramifications are just too many.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:39am at 11:39 am (UTC -4)
I agree, but I do wonder this:
If you knew you were going to fire a guy in three days and that guy probably also knew (or at least suspected), would you want that guy to be running the war room for the trade deadline right now?
I know I wouldn’t.
You are probably right about the timing because maybe he’s been involved in the makings of deals for a few weeks and the team doesn’t want the other teams to balk because suddenly the guy they’ve been talking to is gone.
Only time will tell.
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:43am at 11:43 am (UTC -4)
I agree that he’s not the preferred person to be running the war room, but I think due to events they are left with no option right now.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:36pm at 12:36 pm (UTC -4)
I agree.
What a mess!
whataputz
7/29/2009-11:01am at 11:01 am (UTC -4)
Can everyone just stop with the whole “Fire everybody!” garbage. Omar is not a bad gm! The Mets 3 best players are injured and they are still only 5.5 out of the playoffs and close to being .500. And thats including the fact that they got a loss because of a routine pop up. At some point you have got to put it on the players. Omar put a team in ’06 that went 7 games into the nlcs against the world champs without their ace and the greatest playoff pitcher of all time who where both hurt.He put out a team in ’07 that ws 7.5 up with 17 games left..i mean put that on the f’ing players! I’m not saying he’s done a perfect job. Everybody buries him for the farm system, but it’s such a double standard! so..you don’t want to sign type A fa? no k-rod? In order to sign these big guys you must give up picks Its hard to develope in NY. sure you get some guys occasionally that work out like Reyes and Wright, but when you’re constantly expected to make moves, its very hard to keep a great farm. This team really needs stability and it would do good for this team to just stay put until the end of 2010 with manuel and omar and just see if the team can win. Let omar do his thing and make some signings and trades, and lets see where that takes us. Do you guys really think if the mets were healthy right now they would be this bad?
Joe R
7/29/2009-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
AMEN! THANK YOU! Its not that easy around town to have this opinion but like I said above i completely agree!
dirtysanchez
7/29/2009-11:18am at 11:18 am (UTC -4)
alot of the push for firing omar was due to the adam situation. We all know the reason we are not doing well is because of the DL allstar team.
Joe R
7/29/2009-11:18am at 11:18 am (UTC -4)
And the last 2 years THE WHOLE TEAM minus the bullpen did everything to build a healthy and comfortable lead going into September. It really was just a ridiculous, unfortunate, pathetic, probably never duplicated again collapse by the bullpen!
whataputz
7/29/2009-11:27am at 11:27 am (UTC -4)
listen, not saying the guy has done a perfect job. He never filled the void cliff Floyd left, and that bat has always been missing. just saying that people like to see heads roll, but that’s not what this team needs.
Joe R
7/29/2009-11:50am at 11:50 am (UTC -4)
Yup that Floyd/Alou bat.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:26am at 11:26 am (UTC -4)
While I think you make some good points, I don’t think there’s any getting around the fact that Omar has been a decent GM. I’d give him a B-/C+.
Yes, the Mets almost made the World Series in 2006, but they have failed to make the playoffs since. And, you can blame Omar for the collapses in 2007 and 2008 because he failed to adequately address the bullpen (especially for 2008 when it was obvious the year before that it had failed the team). Then, last off season he passed on Ibanez, Dunn, and Abreu all while betting the farm on Murphy, who was so woeful in LF he has been deemed unplayable there. He counted on Maine coming off surgery without a hitch and gave Ollie the worst contract I’ve ever seen. He had no plan for first base if his 37 year old starter had any trouble. Murphy is bailing him out defensively, but his low .300 OBP and complete lack of power hurts.
I like the Francouer for Church deal, but Omar himself admitted that it was Ricco that researched and suggested the deal. Omar himself had very little to do with it.
I always agree that the players have a responsibility to perform, but it’s the GM who puts them there. There can be no arguing that Omar has been very good and very bad at doing this.
As far as the farm system goes…when you have a guy terrorizing the system, it hurts. Let’s see if things change how that the cancer has been removed. I agree with you that you must include players such as K-Rod, Santana, Wagner, Beltran, Delgado, Lo Duca, Francouer (via Church), Putz, etc. when evaluating the farm. After all, the farm bought all those guys either via trades or Type A FA signings.
In all, I’d say Omar’s a decent GM who’s performance isn’t good enough to make him immune to this type of unprofessional behavior.
whataputz
7/29/2009-11:57am at 11:57 am (UTC -4)
I just don’t think getting rid of him would do anything positive. At the very best it would be neutral, so there’s no need to fire him and cause an uproar when you’re not gonna get a better gm right now.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-12:38pm at 12:38 pm (UTC -4)
You have a point. Certainly wait until the deadline is over. What I would do if I was the Wilpons would be to work my tail off from now until the end of the season to find a great replacement.
dirtysanchez
7/29/2009-11:21am at 11:21 am (UTC -4)
Theres a rumor that cliff lee got traded to the phills..
GravediggerHebner
7/29/2009-11:26am at 11:26 am (UTC -4)
All the guys who the Phils are rumored to be sending to Toronto for Halladay are NOT IN THE LINEUP for the Phils AAA team today.
charlie_s
7/29/2009-11:30am at 11:30 am (UTC -4)
Well, there you go. Maybe now the Phils will have a poor minor league system, too! (If you didn’t notice, that was me grasping for a silver lining.)
There's Always '09
7/29/2009-11:30am at 11:30 am (UTC -4)
Breaking: Carrasco scratched, Donald, Marson out
Right-hander Carlos Carrasco was scratched from today’s 11 a.m. start in Lehigh Valley, while Jason Donald and Lou Marson are being held out of the IronPigs’ starting lineup. Michael Taylor remains in the line-up and bats fifth. No official reason has been given. More coming …
There's Always '09
7/29/2009-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
I should cite, that is from Beerleaguer. Word is, Adam Rubin leaked it to them to get JP Ricciardi fired.