Last week, I wrote of Omar Minaya and remarked about him actually using learnings from past mistakes and exhibiting patience and being prudent in the face of enormous pressure. I commend him for not giving in to the heat of talk radio and the national media in general, and opinions calling for his dismissal on the Mets own network, SNY. He stuck to his plan and now has what appears to be an agreement with Jason Bay, our new left fielder.

He also appears to be closing in on a 2 year agreement with his and the organizations’ # 1 catching target Bengie Molina. I still disagree with him regarding Molina, and would rather have Rod Barajas for less money and 1 year less. However, I applaud the organization, and Omar in particular, for sticking to their guns and not offering Molina more than the 2 years I find acceptable, or for that matter, the 4 years guaranteed to Bay. I always thought Bay would get a vesting option on top of the 4 guaranteed years so I’m not angry or worried that the salary on his back loaded deal will hinder player procurement in subsequent years, as the option will help protect the organization.

For those that called for Omar’s dismissal or that the Wilpon ownership group had emasculated him as it pertained to spending, I can only say one sentence: You were wrong. I agree that the wait for this to occur tried Met Nation’s patience and my own, but I believe Omar acted shrewdly in the negotiations at this juncture of the off season. The Organization may have misjudged the pitching market, or perhaps another big move is coming as the Mets had many discussions at the winter meetings. Omar has said he has a plan and after the news from today, perhaps he needed to have this Bay signing to occur to enable him to deal his depth for the right pitcher. For those who desire multi-tasking, He probable couldn’t create the holes in his major league roster and the minor leagues or it would have left the team vulnerable to player and agent demands.

I’ve recently seen the Zambrano reports, (Thankfully Carlos, not Victor) and previously had read stories of Kansas City being interested in Angel Pagan earlier this winter. Gil Meche may be available due to his 2 years and 24 million left. Perhaps one young arm (Parnell) can be included with Pagan and Castillo to bring Meche and Alberto Callaspo to NY. The Castillo contract pales in comparison to Meche’s deal. Meche is a quality pitcher and legit number two starter when healthy. But, he’s been hurt almost every year since signing his big 5 year- 55 million dollar deal. Would it be smart to deal for Mr. Meche? Perhaps not. Especially after the injury riddled season that ruined our 2009 season. But to get rid of Castillo, and acquire a young 2nd baseman like Callaspo, it might be worth it…

Zambrano would be ideal. The Cubbies have so many bad contracts, they may have to dump Carlos just to get a hold of their own situation. Soriano, Silva, my goodness they may have worse contracts to deal with than anyone. How about another one in Castillo…

Perhaps a deal is in the offing with the Reds for Bronson Arroyo or Aaron Harang’s bloated contract.

Whatever the case, it has become apparent that our Metsies and Omar indeed had a plan. For now, we’ll have to take a wait and see approach to the remaining moves.

Patience and prudence. I’ve tried to preach it and live by it as a Met fan. Omar’s learnings may be taking hold after all…