Three Strikes And Your Out? Great Idea!

Michael Baron of MetsBlog had an interesting quote from Jerry Manuel in a post this morning regarding the starting rotation.

The Mets have setup their rotation for after the break and it will go as follows beginning with the four games against the Atlanta Braves.

1. Oliver Perez on Thursday (Braves)
2. Mike Pelfrey on Friday (Braves)
3. Johan Santana on Saturday (Braves)
4. Fernando Nieve on Sunday (Braves)
5. Livan Hernandez on Monday (Nationals)

Jerry Manuel then told reporters that lefthander Jonathan Niese, who is having a solid two months in Class-AAA Buffalo, would take the place of a starter who has “three bad outings in a row”.

Michael points out that the threat applies mostly to Livan Hernandez who in his last two starts is 0-2 with a 19.29 ERA, allowing 21 hits, eight walks, and 15 earned runs in his last seven innings and has lost his last four starts.

I have absolutely no problem with the three strikes and your out theme, and in fact I applaud it.

I only wish that we could the apply that same measure to the general manager Omar Minaya.

I don’t want to hear him whining about the injuries, because he was in a position to react to them with through trades and free agency and he chose not to.

I don’t want to hear him say that the minor leagues had no major league ready talent to call upon when guys like Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran went down. Omar had five years to build our minor leagues and he should be held responsible for a system that is ranked 26th out of 30 and has no prospects in Baseball America’s Top 25.

Has Omar had some shining moments? Of course he has, just like Willie Randolph did, and yes even Livan Hernandez.

But after two straight collapses and the potential for another doomed season lurking in the background, why should he not have the same three strikes rule applied to him?

Hopefully, the Mets can pick themselves up and go on to win the division. That would be my dream come true for the season. But anything short of that, would require drastic action. And even though I’m not exactly thrilled with Jerry Manuel’s managerial acumen, if anyone deserves a free pass for this season, it’s him. Omar however, already got two free strikes and in baseball it’s three strikes and you’re out.