Winds Of Change

By John Coppinger
Posted Friday, June 22, 2007

I don’t want to be Omar Minaya right now.

Ron Darling said during Wednesday night’s debacle that times like this are when managers earn their money, implying that it’s up to Willie Randolph to right the ship. And I couldn’t agree more. But it’s ultimately going to wind up being up to the GM, the Sports Illustrated cover darling, to bring some energy to the roster with a trade. All of that good work that Minaya has done since he has gotten here is going to wind up counting for very little if this slide continues much longer and it keeps the Mets out of the playoffs.

But it’s not like we’re asking Minaya for very much. Just a power hitting corner outfielder…or maybe an ace…or perhaps a lights-out eighth inning set-up man. Oh, and did we mention that we’re expecting Minaya to acquire one of these assets for nothing?

Sure, we’re surprised that the fall of the Mets has been so swift and so sudden. But should we really be surprised that the Mets are where they are? The lineup isn’t as good as it was in 2006. The bullpen isn’t as good as it was in 2006. And the top of the starting rotation is lacking compared to last year, when Pedro Martinez was somewhat healthy. When you take all of that into consideration, 38-32 isn’t too bad.

But 38-32 straight from a road that featured 35-19 is worrisome. And that’s why Omar is probably hard at work at this very moment to fill holes.

Ah, but what holes to fill? And here’s where Minaya is encountering problems. Does he get, say, Adam Dunn to fill the hole in left field, even with Moises Alou “coming back?" While I don’t buy that Alou is going to be healthy ever again, we live in a world where Omar Minaya does buy it. And he seems perfectly willing to make the world endure a lower third of the lineup that features a rookie with an OBP under three hundred.

And what about the pitching? The 3-13 slide has exposed, among other things, that the Mets’ rotation is chock full of guys who are numbers two, three, and four starters. Good for rotation depth. Bad for needing someone who’s going to stare down a pitcher like Johan Santana, or Cole Hamels, or Brad Penny…you get the point. But will Minaya consider Petey to be that acquisition? Is it mistake to lay all your eggs in a basket that hasn’t carried any eggs in a year?

What about a reliever? We know that Omar values a great bullpen, but with two key components (Aaron Heilman, Guillermo Mota) struggling, it could certainly use an upgrade. But where? From a reliever outside the organization? Or from a current Mets starter pushed to the pen to make room for an ace.

And who to trade? In 2006, Lastings Milledge was the winner of the “Trade Bait of the Month” award in August. Now, he’s injured and probably wouldn’t bring back Roy Orbison, let alone Roy Oswalt. So with pitching at a premium, and the Mets extra careful not to make Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber the centerpiece of the next disastrous Victor Zambrano trade, what is left to do?

In a perfect world, there would be a general manager not only willing to trade assets, but to do so for the low low price of payroll relief…much like the Bobby Abreu trade to the Yankees. But is that GM out there? Perhaps Wayne Krivsky of Cincinnati is that guy who will trade Dunn for some low level prospects. I mean, isn’t this the same guy who traded Austin Kearns for an injured reliever and a highly polished box full of rocks? Who is this guy to demand top prospects for anybody?

Unfortunately, things like that never seem to work out for our franchise. Top prospects are always asked for before teams go somewhere else to trade their stars for those boxes of rocks. With the Mets in the midst of 3-13, GMs are circling their prey like wolves smelling blood. Or was that desperation? And that’s why I don’t want to be Omar Minaya right now.
 

Don’t forget to join me at The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus for more half-baked plans to save the New York Mets from themselves (and the Braves and Phillies).