As you can imagine, there's a lot of piling on when it comes to the Mets and, pretty much whatever they do. I should know, I'm probably the top guy on the pile (which is to say I get there really, really late), and the Mets have lost so much of the benefit of the doubt that if there's a pile, I'm on it.That said, I'd like to believe that if the Mets had signed Ben Sheets, I would have been smart enough to realize that it was the best available move given what the Mets have done or not done this winter, and that it would have been, dare I say, the wise move. But alas, the Mets didn't sign Sheets. The Athletics did. And all that's really left to say is that this winter had been labeled as the most important in Mets history ... probably important enough to not go to their old standby of signing one very good player and throwing a whole bunch of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.
Instead, the Mets reverted to their same ol' same ol' and did exactly that. Imagine if Jason Bay had doubled back and taken
Now you can tell me that at least the Mets were in it for Sheets, and they were. Just not at the end when it counted. But it's funny how when it was apparent that the Mets weren't getting Sheets, Snoop Manuel went into jilted lover mode:
"I don't think the inventory out there is great."The feeling is apparently mutual. And as the inventory gets worse and worse every day, it tells me that there really wasn't anything Omar Minaya could have done to bring him here outside of giving him the key to the vault and a signed Jeff McKnight jersey. Because if Sheets' perception is that Oakland gives him a better chance to win than the Mets, it's a perception that has been cultivated at a level higher than Minaya ... cultivated in part by the decision to bring Minaya back even though his strengths and weaknesses are in direct conflict with what the Mets needed this winter.
It's a quote I'll remember when Minaya signs John Smoltz.
8 comments:
okay so we signed bay and acquired gary matthews jr and we're still counting on castillo at 2nd, omir santos at catcher, and some sort of murphy/delgado/garko platoon at 1st (presumably). which of these moves/non-moves fits within omar's masterful pitching-speed-and-defense plan?
we're at least getting younger, right? hmm.
what about getting NO legitimate pitching? does getting NO legitimate pitching qualify as pitching, speed, and/or defense?
does signing smoltz qualify as getting younger?
i'm not worried though. the phillies are WAY overrated, anyway.
John Smoltz is now the number one target for the Mets. They want him to be a pitching coach. Oh wait, they want him to pitch? What?!
You sum it up perfectly, Metstra. My question is what in God's name is this team doing? I still don't understand how Minaya and Manuel get another season. Quite honestly, if I was the owner, the entire house is cleaned after 2008. I don't think that is too trigger-happy and i think most fans would agree. And if i somehow decided to keep them on for 09, they'd have been gone by midseason with what happened last year. Unfortunately, the onslaught of injuries covered up the major flaws of this team last season (and there were many that we as fans saw before a game was played). I also don't understand why they have to keep going back to Delgado. i really can't take another year of him. they need to pick a direction and stick to it, and i'd rather that direction be towards youth. use this season to figure out what Murphy is. if you aren't going to upgrade the entire team, don't add one flawed piece that will only hold younger guys back. lets see Niese or Nieve for the whole season instead of a washed up Smoltz.
i don't know...it is just frustrating that they have no direction at all. i don't know if it is Omar or Jeff running the show, but i just pray that this is all Omar's work because that is fixable. Omar can be fired. If Jeff Wilpon is truly running the day to day ops of this team behind the scenes, then god help us. We are out of luck until he either wisens up or sells the team.
Look on the bright side... the same old team should mean quicker changes at the top.
They just can't bring back Omar & Jerry if they aren't competitive at all, can they?
just one more thing--
i'm afraid that they will win 85 games and fall short of the playoffs, but the Wilpons will be roped into thinking that the team has "improved", give Jerry and Omar a pat on the back and say "job well done-get 'em next year boys." that is the worst case scenario in my mind and sadly, that could happen if the guys we have stay healthy. i think they're about an 80-84 win team right now, but that's not good enough to beat out the Phils as constructed.
i really hope the Wilpons consider 2010 to be playoffs or bust. otherwise, i will probably rip my hair out when the above happens.
Everyday it becomes more obvious. The owners WON'T spend the money. I'm no Yankees fan, but the Mets are a poor third-world country and the Yankees are the United States.
If you look at what all of the guys that they are coming up short on are getting paid, your first question is: Why couldn't they spend the money? Pinero, Molina, Sheets didn't have huge paydays. The Mets were just too cheap to make the deal. It is sickening.
And now there's no one left.
The Mets had 4 big holes to fill (now 5 with Beltran's injury) this off-season and they have filled ONLY ONE legitimately.
And the Phillies have improved again.
This season sucks and it isn't even here yet.
Even if tghe Mets contend for a while, crowds will be thin. No one will believe given the ineptitude of the past few years.
I agree with Rotoworld who says if the Mets signed Sheets for 10 million, everyone would say it was a sign of the Mets desparation. But if Billy Beane does it, everyone says it proves he's still a genius. Not that it matters. The Mets have earned every bit of their fans frustration and skepticism, and the ridicule of others.
I wanted Sheets. I still want Harang or Arroyo via trade, or to sign Bedard and see what happens with him in the 2nd half. But I'm going to stop making myself crazy with every questionable move the Mets make or don't make. Maybe they will win this year in spite of themselves.
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