31
2010
The Remains Of The Day, Another Mets Fail
An article by 
Here is a round-up of all the day’s happenings as chronicled by the incredible MLB Trade Rumors. Each headline will link back to them, so click it if you want more details.
Giants Acquire Ramon Ramirez
Red Sox Acquire Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Giants Acquire Javier Lopez
Braves Acquire Ankiel, Farnsworth
Dodgers Acquire Octavio Dotel
Braves Acquire Wilkin Ramirez
Astros Close To Multiyear Deal With Brett Myers
Marlins Acquire Will Ohman
Yankees Acquire Kerry Wood
Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt
Cardinals, Padres, Indians Complete Deal Involving Westbrook, Ludwick
Pirates Acquire Chris Snyder In Five-Player Deal
Rays Acquire Chad Qualls
The Mets as you know did nothing, but somehow they were apparently interested in 23 different players by my count. So I guess that makes the front office 0-23 with a .000 average.
MetsBlog believes that in the end, the Mets did the right thing. Umm, with all due respect, I disagree.
They procrastinated, were never willing to seriously move any player except for undesirables like Oliver Perez or Luis Castillo, were unwilling to increase payroll, and essentially failed to deliver on promises made in the offseason for the third straight year.
Mets fans deserved better. In the next 24-48 hours, expect a press conference at which Omar Minaya will try to justify their inactivity and failure to improve their team. Bank on it. The presser will bring all the Mets apologists out of the woodwork. Bank on that too.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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Omar says they were close to a deal in the last half hour of it. But got hangups when suggesting prospects.
Also expect a few ownership-friendly sportswriters to tell us how brilliant Omar was by standing pat. Just don’t drink the Koolaid.
Bullshit. Time to dump the GM entirely
If the Mets did trade for one of these players would it really make a difference? None of those players on that list are impact players. The only players that were traded that were impact players were Lee, Oswalt, and Haren and they would have cost us Davis or Niese which would be crazy.
Everyone on here has to stop thinking that Ted Lilly or Octavio Dotel would carry us to the postseason. If the Mets make or miss the playoffs this year it will be because Wright, Reyes, Beltran, and Bay. Not becuase of some average picther we didn’t trade for.
I feel cheated. However I am happy that Manuel has taken my advice and is starting Chris Carter over Jeff Francouer tonight!
Obviously Jerry reads this blog! Good job Jerry! Could someone notify the authorities that to re-check Barney Maddoff’s personal possessions for a quality starting pitcher.Please no blaming Maddoff for the Mets inability to make a move. Seeing what other teams gave up for players I find it hard to believe that Omar could not have found some way to get us a starting pitcher!
Chris Carter hits 2 home runs tonight but lets in 3 runs with his poor defense.
I am still mad that the Mets never signed Adam Dunn in winter 08.
Who the hell cares if he isnt a good defender? I’ll take his 40 home run bat any day of the week
Omar santos is hanging in AA, Barrajs is just happy to have a job, Henry Whathisname is good defensively. We’ll get by until the next guy comes along.
Omir Santos is in AA because he’s a AA catcher.
Blanco is ancient, Barajas is good in May and awful every other month and he’s old too.
You don’t give up a potential quality young starting catcher for a free agent when you’re a longshot for the playoffs.
As God as my witness I would do it in a second!
If you traded Thole now who would be your catcher? barajas is on the DL and I don’t think Blanco is able to start everyday. BTW Omir Santos is batting .160 in the minors.
Lifelong: I’m glad you would do it, but I’m more glad you’re not the GM. Sure having Lilly would be alright every 5th day… maybe the umpire would volunteer to catch for us?
ahh good point Vinny but I am still hopeful for this year.
Like I said before if the Mets make or miss the playoffs this year it will be because Wright, Reyes, Beltran, and Bay. Lilly won’t make a difference on the outcome of this season. He isn’t that good.
You did say that.
Sorry I’m gonna have to give our fan base here some tough love. Quit crying, and deal with it. I mean seriously… explain to me what move would’ve made this team a legit contender?
Answer.
None.
So why make a move? I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news but the New York Mets don’t make a move because you want them to. Unless you can tell me that dealing Thole, Pagan, Ike, Niese would’ve been acceptable to you then what do you have to stand on?
This isn’t fantasy baseball…this organization is and SHOULD be thinking about 2011. Giving it their best in 2010 but not selling the future short for a longshot at the playoffs.
Jerry will be gone next year, Omar might be… if he is I hope the Wilpon’s are smart and bring in Josh Byrnes.
You can’t just make a move in Major League Baseball just to make one or just to make a fan base happy.
I’ll submit that trading “Captain Kirk” for Downs should’ve been done. But really, is this team any better with Downs? 3-4 games maybe?
Everybody and I mean everybody gets all over this organization for how they draft.
Those same people wanted the Mets to acquire guys like Lilly, Downs, Lee etc… and were willing to let them walk to get draft picks back. Incredible irony.
Jessup, the problem is not that they didn’t make moves at the trading deadline – it’s that they didn’t fix obvious problems that they had when last season ended.
The had a problem at 2nd base. They had a problem with their bullpen. They had a problem with power in the offense. They needed starters not named Perez and Maine (Thanks god for Dickey, Pagan and Ike).
They did get Bay – I was shouted down over the winter when I suggested Bay was not necessarily a good fit for Citi Field – that he was streaky and struck out too much and that the ballpark could eat him up like it did Wright last year. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the move because at least they did something – but it made no sense when they stopped there.
The Mets management is very frustrating and I think that is what you are hearing from fans today.
tlagee, my responses..
“The had a problem at 2nd base.”
–Their 2B hit over .300 last year, and was signed to a contract this year. They have a future 2B in Ruben Tejada… what did you want them to do? Sign another veteran so the Mets would have 3 2Bs and a glass ceiling for Tejada?
“They had a problem with their bullpen.”
-Agree. Tell me what was out there that you would’ve gone to get though.
“They had a problem with power in the offense.”
-$20 says you loved the idea of Bay in the winter. He was the best option available for a reasonable price, and they got him.
“They needed starters not named Perez and Maine (Thanks god for Dickey, Pagan and Ike).”
– Best part about your paranthesis there is that Omar signed Dickey, drafted Ike and traded for Pagan. Also don’t forget about Takahashi. Now they aren’t flashy, but again… what was avail. that the Mets could or should have gone to get? Tell me.
“They did get Bay – I was shouted down over the winter when I suggested Bay was not necessarily a good fit for Citi Field – that he was streaky and struck out too much and that the ballpark could eat him up like it did Wright last year.”
— So just so I’m clear. Jason Bay has 189 at bats on the road in which he’s hitting .243, OPS of .680… and 159 AB at Citi Field where he is .273 avg with a .830 OPS… and Citi Field is eating him up? Oh and what happened to David Wright the year after his poor season at the plate?
All good responses Jessup – though I don’t agree.
They needed power and they had a guy at second base who is a singles hitter with a bad set of wheels. 2nd, first and catcher were the only positions open. Davis is a god send at first. There aren’t a lot of power hitting catchers but for the first two months we were ok there. 2nd was the one area where we should have upgraded. And yes, it would have meant moving Castillo and eating much of his contract. The Mets couldn’t move him because they wanted other teams to pay him.
Funny how other teams found help for their bullpens and we didn’t – eh?
We needed starters – even if we got to the playoffs our top three would be Santana. Pelfrey and who? And, if you watched yesterday’s game, Pelfrey’s got a pretty big problem right now. He’s probably telegraphing his pitches. Niese and Dickey are good, not great, starters. We need another stud and have since the end of last year.
About Bay’s road avererage – how many dingers did Wright hit on the road last year? What happens at Citi obviously effects Bay on the road.
We could go back and forth but the main point I wanted tomake is that Mets fans are frustrated over a missed chanpionshp – two chokes and one really bad season. And at the end of the really bad season the Mets did little besides get Bay.
TL, I understand your disappointment, but just because the Mets needed something or had a problem, doesn’t mean it would have been a good organizational decision to “fix” it. I speak specifically of the starting pitching. They undoubtedly needed a pitcher, but Lackey and Pineiro both have ERAs on the wrong side of four. Pineiro’s career has been overwhelmingly atrocious and Lackey would have cost the Mets either six years, 90 million dollars or possibly both. How could either one of those two signings be justified?
The Mets were only one year removed from signing the “best available pitcher” just because they needed one. How has that worked out? As the Mets themselves have proved, it’s irresponsible to go out and get someone for the sake of getting someone.
Also, I wouldn’t call most of the relievers that moved legitimate help. Farnsworth has been good, but he already pitched in NY before, and that didn’t work out well. I could take or leave Dotel, been there, done that. Qualls has an ERA of a million, Wood is only slightly better. Ohman is situational, a batter or two a game. The Mets need an 8th inning guy, not another guy better than Valdez but still behind Feliciano.
Other teams may have gotten what they needed, but based on the Mets need, what was there? Who would you have gone after?
In my opinion, the only three guys on the market that ended up being traded that could have helped us make it to the playoffs were Cliff Lee, Dan Haren, and Roy Oswalt (in that order). We would’ve had to give up Davis and/or Niese in these deals to acquire the aforementioned pitchers. While I would have loved to have those guys in our rotation, I am glad we kept our 1B of the future and a solid, young, and cheap #3 type pitcher.
This team has a better chance to contend for a title in 2011 and beyond. While we gave it a good run in ’10, including a June that made us all very optimistic about our chances, realistically I don’t think we are making the playoffs.
But hey who knows, anything can happen, that’s what makes baseball great.
Josh Thole for Ted Lilly. Lilly becomes our #5 starter and Hickcirashu goes back to the bullpen.
If you want Lilly so bad you can sign him in the offseason and don’t have to give up Thole.
OPs Tac-a-ha-she I meant. call it a 4th beer typo
Lifelong: And you now have no catcher in the organization for the next 5+ years.
Sorry but I’ll take a catcher for potentially the next 5-6 yrs over a free agent 34 yr old #5 starter who becomes a free agent.
I agree. We haven’t had a decent catching prospect for a LONG time so it would be a mistake on the Mets part to waste this opportunity to have an everyday catcher for the next 7 or so years.
I love you man……………lolol
I have posed the question quite a few times, who are you, the fan base, willing to give up, and what team is willing to make a trade.
It’s just not there. One guy is not going to make the difference and you want to sell the boys from the farm, that is one of the only positive things right now, for a rent a player that is just above average, ie Lilly?
I was reading an article about the Winners/Losers of the trade deadline and somehow, the Mets were “winners”.
Funny, I don’t feel like one right now.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-tradewinnerslosers073110
In defense of Minaya, what possible move could he have made to get the Mets to the playoffs in 2010? Kerry Wood? Kyle Farnsworth? Jake Westbrook? None of those, nor any other pitcher (save for Lee, Oswalt, or Haren) could have made any significant impact. And Omar was absolutely CORRECT in NOT dealing Jonathan Niese or Ike Davis for any of them. The fact is, none of those pitchers would solve the Mets REAL problem of the past month: scoring runs. If the offense doesn’t start producing like they’re capable, even had they added Lee AND Oswalt it wouldn’t make a difference.
Furthermore, Minaya has made additions to the team already. I don’t recall any complaints when he replaced Mike Jacobs w/ Ike Davis or when R.A. Dickey took over for John Maine / Oliver Perez. And I’ve heard no bellyaching about Josh Thole filling in for Rod Barajas. Okay, maybe ownership has failed to live up to promises made to the fan base. But it’s not altogether Omars’ fault when ownership says they don’t have money to spend, or won’t spend it. And what Mets fan wouldn’t cry foul if Omar had packaged Wilmer Flores for Scott Downs? Or sent Thole and Robert Parnell to Houston for Bret Myers? In my book that would be mortgaging the future for a quick fix with absolutely no guarantee of success. Under the circumstances I think the long term success of this franchise will benefit from not making a shortsighted move now in light of the Mets location in the standings. It might be a different story if they were a game or two out of the East or Wild Card, but they’re not and a trade would not have made them any better than the teams they’re battling now anyway.
Jessup the same way Omar landed Barajas & Blanco you don’t think we could land another backstop in that range?
Spector: Ummmm, okay. Barajas had 1 good month and we all fell in love for ignored who he really is. I mean I love what he’s able to do in the clubhouse etc… but the guy can’t hit. Realistically he’s not good. You can’t be a .280 On Base guy and try and tell me you’re more valuable than a guy 11 years younger. I know a lot of Mets fans fell in love with him (my wife loved Barajas) but his May was a fluke… go look at his past…he is somewhere between his April & June #s. He isn’t in a slump, he is who he is.
You can’t build your franchise in a way that assumes you’ll pick up a 36 yr old catcher along the way. I mean really that is just an awful way to go about things ESPECIALLY when you have a capable catcher in his early 20′s.
There will be growing pains with Thole but it’s not even debatable in my opinion that on Opening Day Josh Thole is the catcher for the NY Mets and rightfully so.
What did you expect for $700k? Last year we had Schneider for $5 million. There’s value in Barajas contract too, and he is giving us bang for the buck.
Maniac: I agree that for $700k it was worth it. I’m not saying it wasn’t. But… I am saying when you have somebody 11 years younger who is better than Barajas and cheaper… you’re foolish to want to get rid of him for a free agent pitcher. It’s just foolish. You do not trade a 23 year old catcher who is able to play in the major leagues. You just don’t.
I agree Thole has potential but to me, offense from your catcher is a luxury. I’m not giving Barajas a pass don’t get me wrong. You really don’t think its harder to pick up a starter …a good starter…than it is to develop a decent backstop?
Personally I think Manaya overrates many of the teams prospects & other GM’s may be on to that now. Couple that with questionable finances gives you our Mets.
Spector: IF you’re talking about a starter like Carmona then maybe I’m with ya because you’ve got age… but for 2 months with a starter on a team not in the race right now. No thanks.
You couldn’t be more right. A catcher who can hit is a luxury. That’s why you don’t give it away
Oh lastly, about Omar… I agree but I think every MLB team does that and rightfully so. We just notice it because it’s our team. I will say this though.
If Thole was overrated then why was he a dealbreaker for Lee, Oswalt, Lilly? If he’s overrated then Omar sure has fooled Texas, Houston and Chicago no?
I suppose unless of course Omar’s hands were tied financially so any meaningful trade involving pretty much any player – minor or major leaguer- wouldn’t be approved if the Mets had to take on any additional money.
Both I and Joe D. posed a question to Matt Cerrone who didn’t get back to either of us. Cerrone on his Metsblog kept saying that all the trades made had nothing to do with finances but prospects. He never entertained the opposite idea that what if the Mets were able to take on ALL of lets say Lilly’s contract, would the Cubs take a lower tier prospect? He didn’t even think it was a possible question to be asked.
Just follow me on this for a moment. Let’s just say Sterling Equities is undergoing an investigation by the US Federal Govt, the trustee that’s in charge of trying to recoup money for Madoff’s victims. The class action suit that’s been filed against Sterling implies that employees of Sterling were lead to believe that their retirement funds were in good standing. The majority of thier money was invested with Madoff through Sterling, just like many other employers did. Now if we believe reports the Wilpons made money off the scandal and withdrew money from their Madoff accounts, there could be a problem.
You see where I’m going? To me it’s all about honesty and I think you wrote on that in your article as well. If there’s more going on regarding the Madoff situation then perhaps the financial purse strings have been cut until all is worked out. It doesn’t mean Sterling did wrong it could just mean nothing can be done financially for now.
Spector: I love debating with you, at least you are rational haha. I am all for honesty, you’re right I wrote about it. I honestly think if this organization came out and told the fans what is really going on that we’d understand. When you create a false hope, you raise expectations with no intent on fulfilling.
I think they made the right moves in NOT dealing youth for free agent contracts this year. I really do. I just think they aren’t telling the truth on WHY they did it. That’s the bigger problem. To me, I’d make that Captain Kirk for Downs move, but clearly they didn’t want to take on salary. And that is okay with me. I don’t think Downs makes them a playoff team so why take on the salary?
I think the financial stuff will work itself out
“Spector: I love debating with you, at least you are rational haha.”
Jessup would you mind sending that to my wife in triplicate and bold face…thanks.
my two cents on Thole, who out there that is not over 30 is available for Mets that would provide good defense, handle the staff good and not be an automatic out? There is no one, most of the vet catchers in baseball are on the way out and the rest are young like Thole.
Catching is an important position on the field and if you can develop your own cheaply and Thole improves hitting and defensively then you have a keeper. He threw out two guys today.
Mets had no one that they could get without giving up someone on the team right now or on the way up other than Carson or Cap. Kirk.