Good Morning, Met Nation.

Never a dull moment in the Nation. Might be much maligned, underachieving, mocked by many, but never boring…..

Omar Minaya

Looks like the beleaguered GM is again the subject of speculation as to who would be a “suitable” replacement. Kevin Towers, Pat Gillick and Rangers GM Jon Daniels, John Ricco and Wayne Krivsky are all being considered by some columnists and fans alike. Billy Beane is my own personal choice and Ricco is nowhere near ready to take on all this mess that has been created lately but I like where some of these thoughts are coming from. The aforementioned three are better choices and probably will command big money but I believe it will be money well spent. Daniels has to be credited for the Rangers’ turnaround and clearly has an eye for talent via scouting and development and a great job of working on the trade market and with free agent signings. Gillick’s rep speaks for itself. Towers is a name that is always associated with the Mets when you think GM in Flushing. I still vote for Beane above them all because we need a “moneyball” kind of vibe in Flushing. Spend it but spend it well. Who do you like, Met Nation? Pick one because it certainly won’t be Omar again. He’s history as GM in my opinion and well deserved but since money is an issue, he will probably be “reassigned”. Speaking of money…..

Follow The Money

Whatever new personnel comes to Flushing, they better know how to make solid investments. Castillo. Perez. Bonilla. The list of bad investments goes on and on. A recent example was brought to light using the Marlins and the Mets in comparison. The Marlins are not considered a large market team and the Mets are supposed to be. The figures show FLA spent $396M from ’00 to ’10 and had 873 W’s and a WS title. Mets: $1.212B in the same span of time but have 5 more W’s and 0 titles.

The Marlins had an All Star team from starters to bench. They had a rote with a record of 63-46, 3.67 comb ERA (Pavano, Penny, Redman, D. Willis, and Beckett, plus A.J. Burnett). Their starting lineup had “names” six out of the eight guys there but they were consistent (.280 BA, .347 OBP, .449 SLG, and 553 RBI’s–four guys with 85 or more) and they had depth (12 guys that can play more than one position). I’m sure their RISP was in the high 200’s as well. They were built to win for the long haul. If we had more competent management, we could produce an All-Star team too. Spending is par for the course for a large market team. The problem is how it’s being invested.

Odd Man Out?

Jose Reyes’ name gets dropped again. The organization are considering the possibility of a trade involving the shortstop. In the end, they may stay close to the current $130M payroll, while shopping Beltran, Perez, and Castillo and selling a ‘youth movement’ to fans. Are you buying what they’re selling? Do the Wilpons really believe that a youth movement is going to bring a title to Flushing? It would be unprecedented then. The average age of the Mets is 29 just like most teams in the league. Next to LAD, PHI has the oldest team at 31.0 and are always in the thick of the title hunt. The answer is not having a team full of inexperienced players but a mix of guys that are not streaky, consistent offensively and defensively and play to win every night with a killer instinct. If Reyes is being moved, it should be because you can do better financially and improve the team. Good luck with both of those. I guess Cliff Lee doesn’t qualify as young enough, huh?

September Call-Ups

The outlook on this team is capricious. Out of one mouth, we’re fighting for a playoff spot and from the other, the team is rebuilding. There are a few call-ups that I believe will make the team better. I’m not advocating this makes the Mets playoff bound but this will definitely do three things for us: 1) Add depth in needed positions and free up dead weight, 2) Showcase talent for trade opportunities and future deals, and 3) Give the youth a chance to prove themselves without the real pressure of a playoff push (no matter what No-Mar says). Since Beltran and Frenchy are considered for trades, Bay is out indefinitely, and F-Mart is wounded again, I would bring up Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Lucas Duda and see what they have. Doubt if Pascucci will ever get a chance. Yhency Brazoban offers something the Mets need: Strikeouts. He’s worth a try too. What callups tickle your fancy?

Bring your takes and thoughts. Big thanks to the most intelligent fans in the baseball universe. We’re not hopeless or masochistic. We just love our team.