11
2009
Dear Omar: Oldies Aren’t Necessarily Goodies
An article by 
When Julio Franco was a Met, he vowed to play until he was 50. That didn’t happen, but the way Omar Minaya has put this team together, the Mets might have a few AARP members before too long.
When the 2009 season began, more than half of the 25-man roster (13 players in all) was on the wrong side of age 30. Of those 13 players, only three of them made it out of the 2009 season alive (where alive is defined as not having been placed on the disabled list) and still on the 25-man roster. Those three players were Luis Castillo, Fernando Tatis and Pedro Feliciano.
The Mets did well to trade one of the members of the over-30 brigade for a younger player when they sent Ryan Church to Atlanta for 25-year-old Jeff Francoeur. They must continue to get younger if they don’t want to break down again next season.
Over the past few years, Omar Minaya has tried to make splashes in the offseason through trades and free agent acquisitions. The problem with the moves Omar has made in the past is that he’s gotten players who were past their prime, players who might help the Mets early on, but fall apart before their contracts end (see Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner). These players were under contract until they were past their mid-thirties.
When the Mets put together their back-to-back playoff teams in 1999 and 2000, the core players were Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza and Robin Ventura. Alfonzo was entering his prime and Piazza and Ventura were in their prime.
Those teams did well because they depended on the senior citizens to be role players and guidance counselors, not EVERYDAY PLAYERS! The Mets have depended too much on the elder statesmen over the past few years and as a result, they have broken down physically.
Generally speaking, a player is considered to be in his prime from the ages of 28 to 32. If the Mets sign someone to a long-term deal (i.e. at least four years), he cannot be older than 32. Should they sign a player who is already over the age of 32, it should only be as a role player and it should be a short-term deal. Surely, the Mets have learned from the mistakes they made in the past. Let someone else sign a player past his prime to the long-term deal and watch as they struggle to replace him when he breaks down.
If the Mets want to get back on the winning track, they should follow the program they used in 1999 and 2000, when they signed and traded for players in their prime (Piazza and Ventura) and used the veterans in smaller roles where they could be more effective (Rickey Henderson). Stay young, stay healthy, stay competitive. Is that so hard for Omar to understand?
About the Author: Ed Leyro
Ed Leyro was hatched in the Bronx, but spent most of his youth in Queens at Shea Stadium. Apparently, all that time spent at Mets games paid off as Ed met his wife (The Coop) for the first time at Citi Field during its inaugural season. Guess the 2009 season was good for something after all. In addition to his work at Mets Merized Online, Ed also owns, operates and is head janitor at Studious Metsimus, where he shares blogging duties with Joey Beartran. For those not in the know, Joey is a teddy bear dressed in a Mets hoodie. Clearly, Studious Metsimus is not your typical Mets blog.
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I completely agree with you.
This makes two in agreement
ED,PHIL,ACE, TYPICALLY THE ADDITION OF SUCH PLAYERS OCCURS BY EITHER GROWING THEM YOURSELF OR DEALING VETS FOR UP & COMERS TWO OPTIONS OMAR’S BEEN PRECLUDED FROM DOING. #1 HE INHERITED A VACANT FARM SYSTEM WITH ONLY ONE POSITIONAL PROSPECT(MILLEDGE), #2 HIS NEED TO QUICKLY RE-ESTABLISH NYM RELEVANCY PUT HIM INTO F/A ACQUISITION MODE SACRIFICING FIRST ROUND OPTIONS BEING ADDED. IF YOU TRYLY & FAIRLY LOOK AT ALL OF THE PLAYERS ATTAINED, I BELIEVE THE PREPONDERANCE FAVORS GETTING YOUNGER BY AGGREGATE IF NOT INDIVIDUALS.(+MAINE,PEREZ,FRANCOUER,CHAVEZ,PAGAN,BELTRAN -DELGADO,ALOU,PEDRO.DUQUE, FRANCO)
DELGADO & FRANCO ARE DUBIOUS ARGUEMENTS SINCE FRANCO WAS NOT A COG OR EVEN A REPLACEMENT;BUT AS A PHer ONLY FLD MGR MISTAKENLY USED IN FIELD DELGADO WAS A VIABLE EVERYDAY ADDITION WHEN OBTAINED. HIS INJURY ISSUES NOT AGE PERTINENT, EVEN HIP SUFFERED BY UTLEY & A-ROD,LOWELL,ETC. BTW EVEN ALOU WAS NEVER COUNTED ON FOR MORE THAN 100G & BEST AVAILABLE FOR THE PRICE WHEN ATTAINED.
I TRULY DO NOT BELIEVE AGE WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR IN ’09. REYES,SANTANA,PEREZ,MAINE,NIESE,NIEVE,PUTZ ARE ALL ON YOUR “RIGHT SIDE” OF THE EQUATION. F/A BY NECESSITY OF 5Y RULE TYPICALLY ARE IN LATE 20s AS YOUNGEST. TO ARGUE A PHILOSOPHY WHEN DEALING IN A REALITY IT’S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THE NEED AT TIMES TO CHOOSE BEST AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME AS WELL AS MONETARY PLANNING & RESTRICTIONS. TRY AND JUST BE REALISTIC BY LOOKING AT THE AGES OF THOSE TARGETS YOU ALL A FERVENTLY LUSTING AFTER: HOLLIDAY,HALLADAY,LACKEY,BAY.
ACCORDING TO THIS POST ACQUIRING EVERYONE OF THEM WOULD BE AN ABJECT FAILURE AS A YOUTH MOVEMENT.
THERE ARE TIMES, I BELIEVE THE ATMOSPHERE ON THIS SITE IS ONE LOOKING FOR FLAWS IN OMAR & FRONTOFFICE. HOW ‘BOUT WE GET BACK TO ROOTING FOR OUR TEAM ON THE FIELD INSTEAD OF EMMULATING NYY FANS LOOKING FOR CRITICISMS OF OUR TEAM. SPEAKING OF AGE, HAVE U LOOKED AT BOTH WS COMBATANTS LATELY?
At last..another fan who sees the situation with reality. I too have been a Met fan since the beginning and while I no longer live in NY, one of the first things I do everyday is go to this site. Some of these bloggers/and contributers are totally nuts. You cannot blame Omar for what happened last year. I even accept the signing of Ollie Perez because there was little choice to do so despite the fact that I would offer him to any team that is interested for one dollar. It is time for the organization to step forward a bit in regards to the financial situation that exists and what effects that will have on off season deals…
“You cannot blame Omar for what happened last year.” In my opinion, you’re wrong on that count. Although injuries struck, you can’t let Omar off the hook on that. There were plenty of opportunities to sign players to fill the gaps and Omar sat on his hands. By doing that, he bears the responsibility for the dismal season. All he gave us was excuses and citing of injured player return dates which never happened. Omar owns the results of that. And don’t say Madoff prevented Omar from signing players. It is now known that the Wilpons profited from Madoff. They still kept the money in the bank instead of filling player needs. Omar did nothing to push back on ownership to fill the gaps. He’s guilty, not innocent.
After Omar signs O-dog for however much however long, and the 32+ IF takes one of the usual several sabbaticals on the DL, sho will fill in? Probably Ramon Martinez 35+. That is Omar.
Enough said that couldn’t be anymore perfect
Good post. Unfortunately, with agents like Scott Borus, if you want to sign an FA in his prime you have to pay for his post-prime too – otherwise he won’t sign. That’s a sad reality of baseball right now.