I know it has been some time since my last contribution, so hopefully this one is good enough to make up for lost time…
After another interesting, if not depressing week of Mets’ baseball, it is clear as day that this team needs to make some changes. While everyone is calling for Jerry Manuel’s head, I kind of feel that although it might be a start, its really not the answer. In fact, it might not even be the correct start. While Jerry can be blamed for several bad in-game decisions, mostly situational hitting and bullpen, is he the reason that our pitching staff walks opposing pitchers? Is he the reason Jason Bay got off to a slow start and is still struggling to find that power? Simply put, the answer is no. While we all need someone to blame for our own sake, lets not look past the real culprit of this debacle…Omar Minaya. Minaya has done nothing but upset me since his tenure in NY, and although he has his decent moments, they are drastically outweighed by his heart breaking decisions.
While I could go on for days about the bad moves that Minaya has made, I’m just going to use one as an example. And those who were thinking Ollie P, well you my friends are correct. While Oliver does have the capacity to throw great pitches from time to time, why on earth would you offer him 12 million dollars a season. Who else in MLB was going to throw that much money at Perez, no-one. Because if they did they would lose their jobs and be placed in a mental institution, which might not be a bad start for Perez himself. Every time he is slated to start, I find myself having a hard time watching the game. One bad pitch turns to one bat at bat which turns to one bad start. An equation that most non math majors could figure out.
Bad pitcher = High walk ratio = High era = Bad chance of winning (It’s not rocket science Omar)
So after another horrible outing, us Mets fans get that small shimmer of hope when we find out that the team brass is having a closed door meeting. Great, banish Perez to the minors and admit your mistake. Wrong, lets send him to the bullpen so we don’t hurt his feelings. Only the Mets are too money conscience to deny their mistakes and settle for a 12 million dollar mop up guy. Really Wilpons, I could do a better job with this team. All those years of roster management on those baseball video games have got to pay off, right? Probably not, but hey, you never know.
In addition to Minaya, I think it might be time to start looking for a new pitching coach and a new hitting coach. While that hurts me to say, as Hojo will always be one of my favorite Mets, the team isn’t producing at a high enough level. Maybe we give them another couple of weeks and see if the bats continue to heat up. Pitching on the other hand, time to move on. While our starters are not terrible, the walks that they produce are. I’m not sure what is wrong with John Maine, but I have a feeling that he will never be the same as he was two years ago. His velocity is way down, and 12 balls in a row…Come ON. Warthen might not be the answer either, but its a start…
Maybe all of these ideas are just built up frustrations and disappointments, but hey, I’m getting tired of watching sub .500 baseball from a team with a payroll of over $135 million. Start producing, or find a new freaking job…as always, this is just a thought.
