Well I have had a full day to digest yesterdays trade that sent Brian Stokes to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr and honestly it is as far from a no brainer as was Willie Randolph leaving Aaron Heilman in against Yadier Molina on that fateful October night back in ’06. The question that I keep asking myself is if Matthews Jr ends up being a bust will it go down as Omars biggest debacle? The answer is no. Omars biggest debacle is two-fold. First was signing an aging Luis Castillio to a frighteningly bad four year contract worth 32 million dollars. This deal has pretty much rendered him untradeable as we have seen for the past two seasons (when Matthews is traded before Slappy does, you know that he is seen as a pariah). The second deal that will lead ultimately to Omar’s downfall is the signing of perennial headcase, Oliver Perez. Omar committed 34 million dollars to Oliver last year, after Oliver had a mediocre at best season. The Mets expected to sign Derek Lowe, by waiting out the market . They used the same tactic this off season with Bengie Molina and Joel Pinero and as we all know they signed elsewhere when the first opportunity to sign elsewhere came to fruition. These two moves have essentially have hogtied this organizations ability to sign top notch talent, while staying within budget constraints that The Wilpons have drawn up.
I can’t blame Omar for not overspending, and as I have written before that I really didn’t want either Molina or Pinero, especially at a inflated price. But Omar has problem with gauging the free agent market. So if the Mets get off to an abysmal start , I expect both Omar and Jerry to be run out of town on the next Delta Airlines flight that goes to Siberia.
And with that said - HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!
                                                                                 
                                            “Will there be a big severance package in Omar’s future?”
Today would have been Bob Moorhead 72nd Birthday.(1938) Moorehead was reliever for the Mets from ’62 – 65 with his biggest distinction as being the second pitcher to ever appear in a game for the Mets.
Reserve catcher for the ’96 team, Charlie Greene is 39 today (1971) .
New York Mets released pitcher Rich Sauveur on January 23, 1992.
The Philadelphia Phillies signed reliever Yorkis Perez of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 23, 1998.
The Houston Astros signed reliever John Franco of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 23, 2005. It was a bittersweet time for us Mets fans, Franco was one of the most reliable Mets closers ever- but it sadly was his time to close the books on his Mets playing career.
New York Mets signed free agent pitcher Ricardo Rincon on January 23, 2008. I believe he appeared in just one game for the Mets in ’08 and was never utilized again.
While you are finding ways to keep your self occupied today – just remember there are only 72 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.
6 comments
njstuckintx
1/23/2010-10:14am at 10:14 am (UTC -4)
While I agree with the 4 year 32 mil being a bad deal, Slappy at this point is not a major detriment to the team. He’s serviceable. Brandon Phillips would make me feel a whole lot better about the 2nd base position, but for what he does, I can’t see moving Castillo as a top 3 priority. I would think SP, SP, and RP, followed by C/1B would be our #1-4 priorities, and I think we can (and will be) living with Murphy and Blanco/Santos for those positions. If we have the ability to move Castillo as part of a larger trade for some Pitching, great. The perceived notion that Omar can only uni-task has entered my brain, I hate to say. So, please do pitching, pitching, pitching…
Hazmet
1/23/2010-10:48am at 10:48 am (UTC -4)
Sign Manny, Sign Manny, Sign Manny!!!!!!
Sorry I thought it was last year for a minute.
On aside, has Fred Wilpon joined the witness protection program or something? Where the hell is he? Is Jeff keeping him drugged up in some Panic Room somewhere? Is he off completing his bucket list with Sandy Koufax? Is he digging a tunnel to some Super Max somewhere to free Bernie? Will he appear for 5 minutes in Spring Training to see if he spots his shadow and declare 5 more weeks of winter? Where is Puxatony Fred?
metfreak
1/23/2010-11:12am at 11:12 am (UTC -4)
I really think no matter what happens Jerry and Omar are going to be back next year
CaseStreet
1/23/2010-5:14pm at 5:14 pm (UTC -4)
The bigger question is, do the wilpons have a jay leno to replace their conan?
stickguy
1/23/2010-10:28pm at 10:28 pm (UTC -4)
hey, it was only 24 mill over 4 years for Castillo, not 32. And 6 mill a year shouldn’t be enough to hamstring any team. This isn’t a noose like Matthews Jr. or anything (oh wait, the Angels found the 1 team to bail them on that one!)
Even taking castillo off the team (and payroll) to free up the 6 million probably woudn’t make that much difference. Would they have gotten Lackey for 5/90+if castillo had decided to retire? Probably not.
so what exactly is he keeping them from doing? Other than, of course, getting a better 2B!
trs86
1/23/2010-11:08pm at 11:08 pm (UTC -4)
If we wanted to dump Casitllo that badly we could. If we ate 11/12 million left on his contract…
As for the getting a better 2B, should it even be doing that?