Omar, do this

Peter Gammons appeared on that wonderful and compelling Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show on ESPN 1050 AM Friday morning and said this of Omar Minaya, and I paraphrase: he's trying all kinds of creative ways to bring Twins LHP Johan Santana to the Mets.

I know Omar thinks he can get Santana somehow, because he didn't make an effort to bring LHP Dontrelle Willis to the team when he had a well documented chance to do so. Omar likes to pull the trigger: the fact that he didn't on Willis, a pitcher he adores, speaks volumes about his focus on a Santana or an Erik Bedard.

Omar: here's how you get Santana. Trade CF Carlos Beltran to the Red Sox for LHP Jon Lester, RHP Craig Hansen and CF Coco Crisp. Then take Lester and package him with OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Phil Humber and boom! there's your Johan Santana.

With Hansen in the house, you can spin off RHP Aaron Heilman and OF Ryan Church for a power bat in the outfield, stick Coco in center and you're all set. The 2008 Mets will be a team that wins with its legs and its defense, not with power - which is fine by me.

Here's why Theo Epstein will do the deal: he gets back one of the only players out there with the offensive production to replace Manny when he leaves after next season, who happens to have a very reasonable contract in 2008 dollars and he keeps Santana away from the Yankees, which some say was Epstein's primary motivation for getting involved in the Santana mess in the first place. And, he gets rid of Crisp and Hansen, two players he isn't particularly fond of.

Yes, it hurts to give up a player like Carlos Beltran, but if you watched the playoffs last season, you probably noticed just how important a dominant number one starter is. Putting Mike Lowell aside, and recognizing just what a great player Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez is and will be, who do you think would have been more important for the Sox to have last season, RHP Josh Beckett or Ramirez?

Don't think Omar didn't notice. He did.

Amen, brother

From Joel Sherman's piece on Omar Minaya today in the Post:

For example, with both Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro facing walk years, Minaya's front office lost, via the Rule 5 Draft, young catcher Jesus Flores, who had a fine first season for Washington. Minaya shielded a lot of Steve Schmolls and Alay Solers, but most criminally protected 48-year-old Julio Franco over a 22-year-old catcher with promise.

San Diego's Heath Bell and Florida's Matt Lindstrom blossomed into top set-up men and Kansas City's Brian Bannister into a Rookie of the Year candidate. The Mets' haul for that trio - Jon Adkins, Ben Johnson, Jason Vargas, Adam Bostick and Ambiorix Burgos - was a modern version of Joe Foy and Jim Fregosi.

What message did Minaya send by re-signing steroid offender Guillermo Mota or firing a hard-working hitting coach (Rick Down) in midseason and hiring a renowned loafer in Rickey Henderson, whose time as a Met player was underscored by indifference?

The magic of last year (Endy Chavez, Darren Oliver, etc) faded into the tragic of this year (Brian Lawrence, Aaron Sele, etc). Last year all the moves made Minaya a wonder boy.

This year's decision and collapse make us just wonder about a GM who claims talent evaluation as his best skill.

The Blueprint

First, fire Omar and staff.

Then, fire Willie and staff.

Hire Paul DePodesta.

Tell DePodesta to hire a manager ASAP. Let the MANAGER choose his coaches.

Then, send Delgado, Castillo, Green, Alou, Lo Duca, Duque, Glavine and most of the bullpen packing.

Trade any of Heilman, Milledge, Gomez, Humber or Gotay, as necessary.

Go get an ace, and some smart, youngish (i.e. under the age of forty) players with attitude.

Clean slate, baby.

An Open Letter to Fred Wilpon

Dear Mr. Wilpon:

I have been a fan of your team for a long, long time, and 2007, from beginning to end, was easily the most frustrating, aggravating, annoying and dissatisfying summer I have spent as a baseball fan.

Omar Minaya put together an old, lazy and stupid team in the offseason, and Willie Randolph used it to its worst advantage, failing to inspire respect for the game, determination or, indeed, any will to win whatsoever. I will not run through the litany of bad decisions these men have made - I'm quite sure you, yourself, are very much aware of each and every one of them.

Both of these men, in light of the way, not just that this season ended, but the way it began in the offseason, and progressed through the summer, should be fired. This decision should be made immediately, so that the franchise can quickly hire new people for these positions, and put a new plan for the future into place.

I understand that your inclination may be to view this season as an aberration, in light of how well things went in 2006. It is my opinion that things went sufficiently awry this season to warrant an entirely fresh start. Tinkering didn't work last offseason, and it won't work now.

When I come to the ballpark, I want to see a team that cares about winning, that plays the game hard, I want to see dedication, I want to see players who run right out of the box, even on pop ups, I want to see players who are fighting for every hit and every run like they might not eat tomorrow if they don't succeed.

In short, I want to see a team that is as passionate about the Mets as I am.

I never saw that this season, not once.

I implore you, sir, take swift action to address this situation, and bring in new talent, in the front office, in the manager's office, and on the roster, bring in people to work for you who care about winning as much as we, the fans of this great franchise, do.

Thank you for listening.

Regards -
A Fan

The List

Welcome Back!*

Pedro Martinez
Oliver Perez
John Maine
Duaner Sanchez
Pedro Feliciano
Joe Smith
Billy Wagner

Jose Reyes
David Wright
Endy Chavez
Marlon Anderson
Carlos Beltran

*Everyone else on the active roster is gone by April 1, 2008.

Congratulations to the 2007 Boston Red Sox

Hats off boys, nicely done.

You are a solid team, well constructed. A nice blend of serious and goofy, vets and kids. You have several number one starters in your rotation, a reliable bullpen with a mean, ice-in-the-veins closer. Your front office did a fine job this season of bringing up youngsters and placing them in the best position to succeed. Your farm system has yielded some impressive ballplayers - my personal favorite is Dustin Pedroia, there's a smart, tough guy who won't back down under any circumstance.

Best of all, you played with grit and determination down the stretch, even with one of your sluggers on the bench for a month, and you held off an improbably hot team pursuing you doggedly from behind. Even when your nemesis crept to within a handful of games, you stood tall and played fearless baseball.

Congratulations on the AL East divisional title, good luck in the postseason.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Last one out...

turn off the lights.

Because they suck...

that's why.

And, sucking doesn't respond to applause, or heckling. Sucking is immune to hats turned inside out, and chanting, and Carolines.

Sucking is deaf to the exhortations of Matt Dillons, and Matthew Brodericks.

There is no limit to its endurance.

Sucking cares not whether it is at home, or on the road, sucking is happy anywhere.

Sucking has no interest in historical collapses, it has no sympathy for its victims: it exists only to keep sucking.

Sucking is patient, and cunning.

You get what you get...

and you don't get upset.

Yeah, that's one of the good bits that the kids have brought home from school. To me, its primary context is one of consequences: if you lace up the skates and get on the ice, there's no complaining if you happen to fall and hurt your coccyx or something. The ice is hard, and you chose to skate on it - or, if you decide not to study much during the semester, don't be whining when you get a "D" on your report card. Sometimes it's the smartest kids who have to learn that particular lesson the hard way.

Consequences. Life isn't always so orderly, and consequences aren't always doled out right when you think they should be, but time is the equalizer: over time, consequences always catch up.

And, as long as we're talking about turns of phrase, here's another of my favorites: a day late, a dollar short. I guess it's along the same continuum as the first: when you're a day late and a dollar short, you're usually punished for it.

Even the wealthiest among us can come up a day late and a dollar short eventually, if they squander their resistance for a pocketful of mumbles. Or, whatever.

Gibberish: it's what's for dinner.