So What Have We Learned So Far?

By Metstradamus
Posted Friday, October 26, 2007

One thing we’ve learned about Omar Minaya over the years is that if nothing else, he learns from his mistakes. I like to bring up the fact that Minaya, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, once traded Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee for Bartolo Colon … only to trade him away virtually 10 minutes later for Rocky Biddle.

Granted, the Montreal Expos were a different type of team with their own set of strange circumstances. But yes, Omar Minaya has learned from his mistakes. For example; has Minaya traded away the entire farm for an overrated pitcher in his time with the Mets? No. And he could have done that very easily at the past three trading deadlines in Flushing. But Omar has been prudent. Now part of that may be the different circumstances between the Expos and Mets, and part of that might be the nightmares he gets every time Grady Sizemore makes a diving catch or steals another five, ten bases. But Omar has learned.

(And before you load up Heath Bell bullets in your muskets, you couldn’t find a soul alive screaming about losing Heath Bell and his over five ERA and his WHIP of 1.62 at the end of 2006. The point is that every trade Omar has made that hasn’t worked out was generally with spare parts and not huge prospects, and certainly isn’t going to have long term ramifications like a Bartolo Colon trade had with the Expos/Nationals or say, a Scott Kazmir trade has had here.)

So we’re all kinda hoping that Omar Minaya, of the recentely placed on hiatus “In Omar We Trust” fame, at least learns a little something this winter about what he can do better.
 

Wait, Omar Minaya not giving a job to a buddy? Have we departed from the days of giving two year deals to 47-year-old first basemen that can’t pull the ball because he’s a friend?

You get the feeling (or at least, I get the feeling) that in another place at another time, Minaya would have hired Jaramillo, regardless of the perception that Willie Randolph had somebody peering over his shoulder, because Jaramillo was not only talented at what he does, but because Omar Minaya “loves him like a brother”. In 2007, for example, this move is probably made at the expense of Rick Down.

But for 2008, Omar knows better. It’s one thing if the club hadn’t been hitting, or if Howard Johnson (or whoever would have been the hitting coach at the time) was a problem. Then, it would have been the right move to bring in Jaramillo because Jaramillo helps the club. But how much better would the 2008 Mets hit under Jaramillo than the second half of 2007 Mets did under Howard Johnson? Behind all the talk of Minaya firing a “Willie Guy” in Down, and in the landscape of the Mets horrid collapse, it gets lost that the Mets found their hitting shoes under HoJo in August and September. So would there be a large advantage in sacking Johnson for Jaramillo that would outweigh the obvious distraction of having somebody waiting to take over for Randolph?

No. And thankfully, Omar has learned that while putting the overall health of the ballclub over hooking up a buddy. And hopefully, that isn’t going to be the only lesson learned this offseason.
 

What have I learned this offseason? Hopefully, I’ll learn which rock the Mets have crawled under. Wanna help me look? Then come to home base and we’ll get out our spy kits.