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I’ve been silent for almost two weeks because what I have been watching has left me speechless.
I could definitely say I told you so when, before the season started, I predicting this team was not much better than a 4th place team. I also continue to believe that the GM, Omar Minaya, is the root cause of this teams problems.The Mets inspired play of May and June left me hoping that things were finally going to change. Wrong on that count. Omar’s high priced players are back and with it came the downfall of a lovable team that played above it’s talent level for at least 6 weeks.
Why is Omar the root cause of this teams problem?
Any business student could tell you the reason why and they wouldn’t even need to now anything about baseball. Anyone in the military could tell you the same thing. Anytime you have a breakdown in the chain of command your team will know it and respond accordingly. It always gets ugly!The only explanation for a team-wide collapse is that someone just above the manager (cough, cough, ahem… the GM) is cutting the managers feet out from under him by making some decisions that only the manager should be making. A GM should not be making out the lineup card and deciding who plays.
When this happens the whole team team chemistry gets screwed up. Players who earned playing time are no longer playing. Players who were leaders are now asked to sit the bench. Playing your butt off no longer earns you playing time, the size of your contract now determines your playing time. There is no incentive to perform.
This bad chemistry keeps breeding and growing turning player against player until even the good players, who play their hearts out, start to screw up.
And that is my explanation for this team’s poor performance.
It’s the one intangible that no one can seem to put their finger on because the breaking of the chain of command happens behind closed doors. No one actually see’s it. We analyze this teams play every year. Every year we get the same results. Different players, same results. I just can’t see how the blame can be laid on the players when the players change every year.Omar has been doing the same thing over and over, insisting that the higher paid players play the field to justify their contracts. If Omar can justify those contracts he justifies his job. The manager, on the other hand, wants to win so he plays the hot hand. The GM wants to justify the huge contracts so he let’s the manager know who he wants to play.
There is a conflict of interest here.
Carlos Beltran should be playing right field part time, Luis Castillo should not be the full time 2nd baseman, Oliver Perez should be released. You don’t play people to justify their contracts and to justify your signings, you play the hot hand to win.
Omar is the problem Willie Randolph had and Omar is the problem Jerry now has. This Mets team will never go anywhere with Omar Minaya in charge. A new manager will only bring the same results.
This team has proven it can play at a higher level than what they are currently playing at. They have proven they are a playoff caliber team without the multi-millionaire players and they have proven they are not much of a team with the millionaires playing.
One of two things has to happen, either Omar is let go or the Wilpons step in and remind Omar of the chain of command and tell him to butt out of the decisions Jerry should be making.
Until then, we, the fans, will just have to make the best of another bad season. You can join me on twitter @DVDaniels as I attempt to make the best of yet another bad season.
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Interesting article. I'm just curious how you know this is the situation, with Omar calling the lineup.
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What a STUPID article. Try playing some baseball in your next life. Maybe you will have a clue. The key to ANY baseball team is the middle of the order. If your middle of the order doesn't hit, and hit when the games are close with men on base, you're NOT going to be too successful. That's basic baseball. If you examine the TRUE FALL of this Met offense, it goes back to the day Carlos Delgado was lost for the season in 2009. Ever since, the Mets have struggled offensively. This year, they're completely pathetic. Jason Bay has been a complete flop and you can't blame Omar for that one. He knew he needed to sign a big bat, because Delgado wasn't a guarantee. Carlos Beltran missing most of the season was also a killer blow to the offense. David Wright's awful start hurt. Jose Reyes was the icing on the cake. When he hurt himself in Puerto Rico, it sunk the offense.
Blaming Beltran is laughable. If he were hitting, there wouldn't be a peep mentioned. What chemistry does Beltran interfere with? Are you suggesting Jeff Francouer is the "heart" of this team? You need a lobotomy if you believe that. Francouer is a breath of fresh air ONLY to the media. Now the media has someone who will talk to them in their native language. That's the only "chemistry" that's going on and it has NOTHING to do with what goes on between the lines. Blaming Castillo for anything is sheer stupidity as well. Ruben Tejada is NOT ready to assume 2b duties. He was a nice fill-in, but he wasn't the reason we were playing well. As if we have someone ready to take over for Castillo. You want Alex Cora playing everyday?? I fail to comprehend what Oliver Perez' failures have to do with the team not succeeding. He's the 12th man in the rotation. He doesn't affect many games, because he's used when there's no one else to pitch for the most part. The players don't care whether he's here or not. He's not holding back some uber-prospect in the minors from getting a well deserved promotion either.
The problem with this team is they can't hit. Omar isn't to blame for that. The PLAYERS share the blame as well, along with simple bad luck when it came to Beltran not recovering from his surgery quicker.
Check your emotions in @ the door if you really want to be taken seriously.
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I don't have definitive proof that Minaya is calling the lineup but the lack of chemistry surrounding this team suggests he is. This morning I listened to Steve Phillips, former GM of the Mets, on WFAN. He essentially said he would do the same thing. You play the bad contracts until someone comes around and starts playing well. Then you can get some value back in a trade but now you've lost the chemistry of a winning team. Was it worth it?
I've never managed a sports team but I have managed teams of people. If I'm left alone to do whatever it takes to get the job done then the best performers get to play. The under-performers are let loose. When you know you can't be let go there is no incentive to play. Even the good players start to lose their edge when their is no incentive to play. I believe we're watching a team who's chemistry has been broken and players really have no incentive to play. The money just isn't enough of a motivator (although you think it would be). Winning and being successful is the biggest motivator of them all.
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DAVE- Baseball isn't a sales job. You're thinking like a fan. A fan tries to tie sports into things they're familiar with. This is exactly why fans cannot talk about what works and doesn't work in sports from a front office position. Omar Minaya doesn't ruin chemistry. Chemistry is a media invented term for sports/athletes. You don't have to love your teammate or manager to be a successful player/team. The comparison is ridiculous. As a ballplayer, you have a job to do. You do it. As a ballplayer, you know when you're NOT better than the guy replacing you. Francouer DOESN'T deserve to play over Pagan or Beltran. Cora DOESN'T deserve to play over Castillo. Why? They're INFERIOR players. That's all there is to it.
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The Mets stink right now. Their offense AND the bullpen are sad. It doesn't take a fan, someone who works in the front office of a major sports team, or someone that is a former professional athlete to acknowledge that fact.
BTW – Delgado is working out for the Sox right now as a potential temp replacement for Youklis.
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