- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
The roller coaster season continues, but the noose has seemingly disappeared from Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel’s necks (for now). This weekend The Mets did what winning teams are supposed to do: beat bad teams. Philly fans can poo-poo the weekend as we’d expect, but the truth is that is how you stay in contention.
It is crucial for teams to beat up and pad stats on their lessers. This team must put some distance between themselves and the .500 mark in preparation for tougher series’ ahead. Now that we seem to do be doing so, Minaya is getting a much needed pat on the back from one of baseball’s senior voices. In an article for MLB.com, Peter Gammons praises Minaya for his ability to whether the storm in New York.
People up and down the Mets’ organization are fiercely loyal to Minaya, because he accepts the heat and deflects it from those who work for him.
Gammons also continues pointing the finger at the Mets’ leadership around Minaya for perpetrating a “blame game”. Gammons’ isn’t really shedding light on anything Mets fans don’t already know. We are impossible to deal with at times, and ownership needs to block out the sports talk radio hosts as well as the papers. Nowadays, everyone thinks they have the right to play GM, maybe because of the endless access to information/opinion from blogs (ahem).
The truth is that Minaya has made some great moves and some miserable ones as well. For the most part, this is how most GM’s fair. The main difference is that in Queens this team has let us down in years past.
Aaron Heilman could have thrown one past Yadier Molina in 2006 and we could have swept the Tigers. Minaya would have been in line for the Mets Hall of Fame next to Frank Cashen if that were the case.
In ’86, Cashen (then GM) mixed homegrown studs with All-Star veterans to take the series. Minaya similarly mixed and matched homegrowns and high-priced mercenaries. I am not trying to seem above it all. Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo make me want revolution as much as the next Mets fan. I am, however, trying to get back to being an optimistic Mets fan.
The Mets Report 
It was definitely nice to get the sweep of the O's. In years past it seems like the Mets habitually play down to the level of their weaker opponents. Its going to be interesting to see how Minaya dives into the trading pool the next month and a half. If we can land a middle tier arm (Brett Myers and Jeremey Guthrie are two guys I have in mind) without giving up too much, and they end up helping us make a run down the stretch, much kudos to Omar. I really hope he doesn't budge on Jon Niese, even if he is what the M's demand for Lee. That would be like Kazmir Part Deux to me if that happened and Lee was to not sign with us in the offseason. Besides the obvious nightmare signings and unbearable verbal presentations to the press, Minaya isn't leaving all that much to be desired. I for one am off his back for the time being…
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