» Minaya

If there was one thing the Mets really, really needed it was the solidification of their weak bullpen of 2008. As a Mets fan, I was disgusted with the number of late inning leads blown throughout the 2008 season. Looking back on it, I remember myself dreading innings 6-9 each and every day I watched them play. This has changed though, and in my opinion, it changed a great deal. (Keywords…Great Deal ) 

The Mets signed K-Rod to a three-year, $37 million deal this offseason to become their closer, then completed a 12-player trade with the Mariners and Indians as well. That deal netted them Putz, reliever Sean Green and outfielder Jeremy Reed in exchange for Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Joe Smith and four Minor Leaguers.

Minaya Said: 

To get one closer like Frankie would have been a good winter. I think to get two guys like this is a great winter. And that being said, we’re not done yet.

I couldn’t agree more. We all know K-Rod is quite capable of finishing out games. Granted, those games were with the Angles, but I feel the same or similar opportunities will present themselves here with the Mets in 2009. The same goes for Putz, although he is used to closing as well, I feel he will adjust well to the new role as setup man or a top 3 closer in baseball, K-Rod.

So, way to go Minaya! This falls into the number 2 slot in his top 5 moves by Minaya. Coming soon…the number one pickup for Minaya…I am sure you can all guess whats coming.

Until next time, Happy Blogging!

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January 21, 2006: New York Mets traded Kris Benson to the Baltimore Orioles for John Maine and Jorge Julio.Ok let’s forget the Jorge Julio part. Looking back on this, I rate this as the # 3 best move Minaya made as the Mets GM. At the time, it didn’t look all that groundbreaking, but in retrospect, the Mets clearly got the better half of this one.

John Maine is now an integral part of the Mets starting rotation. He has the ability to step up his game and show some Ace like stuff many times throughout a given season. Granted, last year was unfortunately cut short for Mr. Maine, but I feel 2009 will be another amazing year for this incredible young starter.

in 2007 Maine went 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA and in 2008 Maine went 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA. Like perez, these numbers aren’t staggering. They are however something I feel will improve this year and next. For the Win column, I know that more of his games (and Johans) will end in W’s and not a big ND!

Finally, I feel Maine will win betwen 18 and 21 games this year. Not to menton the projected 18 – 21 for Mr. Santana as well. I have the highest of hopes for our starters this year. Anyways, Minaya made a solid move here, giving up next to nothing for a blooming young pitcher by the name of John Maine.

Stay tuned for # 2 on the list…I’ll give you a hint, his name wasn’t mentioned in this post…

Ok, so moving on from # 5 – The Lack of Zito – we move to something Minaya did act on. The acquisition of Oliver Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Another huge steal came as Minaya traded Nady for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez.  The Pirates had given up on Perez, but he’s already back to form with the Mets. Three-fifths of the current rotation came via shrewd trading by Minaya.

Ok, Ok…I know Nady is pretty solid, but we all know a (sometimes) tough lefty is a seriously valuable asset as a starter. Oliver Perez fits this bill perfectly. Although he is somewhat unpredictable, when he is on, he is simply a nightmare for opposing teams all over the NL (and AL ☺ )

In 2007 Oliver Perez went 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA and in 2008 Perez went 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA. Although these numbers are not overwhelming, they are still winning numbers, and I feel they will continue to get better. I feel that the Mets new pitching coach has already started to reach Perez, and that he will surpass the 15 win mark this season.

Anyways, that’s it for now, stay tuned for number 3!

I felt like following in the foot steps of our Giants writer Travis, and making a bit of a countdown over the next 5 days. I will however take the opposite approach, and bring to light some of the better things Mr. Omar Minaya has done for the New York Mets Organization.

I know there are also the negatives to focus on, but I chose to shift gears to the positive for good reason…Us Mets fans need to hear positive things right now! Plain and simple…the last two years stung really bad, so let’s just stay positive for the time being.

Coming in at number 5 on the list of good moves by Minaya came in 2006 when he opten against the signing of Barry zito.

Back in 2006, Barry Zito was the most coveted starting pitcher on the free agent market. Zito was only 28 at the time and many teams believed that Zito’s best days were still ahead of him. The Mets made a good run at Zito, but intelligently and thankfully, GM Omar Minaya refused to go beyond 5 years on Zito.

Let’s take a look at what good ole’ Zito has done since:

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  W   L   G   GS  CG SHO  GF SV   IP     H    R   ER  HR   ERA *lgERA *ERA+ WHIP

 2007 29 SFG NL  11  13  34  33   0   0   0  0  196.7  182  105   99  24   4.53  4.44   98 1.347
 2008 30 SFG NL  10  17  32  32   0   0   0  0  180.0  186  115  103  16   5.15  4.38   85 1.600

Granted, besides the whole sub-par numbers in San Fransisco, I saw
little to no benefit coming out of bringing on this head case.
I mean we already have "Olly" to deal with. 

In the end, I respect Minaya for standing his ground and not going
beyond the 5 years offered. Of course Peterson felt like  he could
fix anyone, but Zito's glory days in Oakland are long  gone, and in
retrospect it worked out for the Mets.