Mets Stand Pat at 2009 Trade Deadline

Flickr photo courtesy of Eric Kilby
Flickr photo courtesy of Eric Kilby

I have to say that I’m surprised that the Mets didn’t even pull off a minor deal at the non-waiver trade deadline. Of course, there will still be trades for players that have made it through waivers until August 31. After the brutal week that GM Omar Minaya had, he could have used a trade to take the attention away from his lack of mass communication skills.

Victor Martinez going to Boston wasn’t shocking. But I had hoped the Mets would make a splash by landing him. The Mets will need a catcher and first baseman next season and nobody better than Martinez could fit that bill.

I thought that the Mets would have tried to land some Major League talent who is under contract for more than this season. Apparently, the Mets brain trust is married to their prospects. They better pan out. That’s all that I can say.

I haven’t seen anything from Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese, or Fernando Martinez that would prevent me from trading them for a proven Major Leaguer that’s under contract for more than half a season.

I’m not saying that the Mets should have gone all out to make the playoffs this year. But they could have tried to fill some huge holes in the lineup that they’ll have next season. Left field, first base, and catcher are all question marks for next season.

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Game Preview: D-Backs at Mets [Game 102] July 31, 2009

d-backs logoArizona D-Backs (44-58 Road: 20-25) at New York Mets (49-52 Home: 28-21) 7:10pm

Doug Davis (5-10 3.76) vs. Livan Hernandez (7-5 4.87)

TV: SNY

What to watch: The fourth place D-Backs come to town after losing two of three at home to the Phils. The suddenly hot Mets send Hernandez to the mound after two straight good starts. Davis is 1-2 in his last three starts giving up 13 runs in 12.1 innings.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

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Game Preview: Rockies at Mets [Game 100, 101] July 30, 2009

rockiesColorado Rockies (54-46 Road: 27-25) at New York Mets (48-51 Home: 27-20)

Jason Hammel (5-5 4.28) vs. Johan Santana (11-8 3.12) 12:10pm

Jorge De La Rosa (8-7 4.78) vs. Jon Niese (1-0 4.08) 7:10pm

TV: SNY(both games)

What to watch: We have another dual-admission double header after the rain out last night. The Mets have a chance to sweep the four game series today, which would be huge for this team. Hammel hasn’t pitched badly but he hasn’t won a game in five starts and he generally doesn’t pitch more than 6 innings. Santana is coming off a terrible start in Houston in which he gave up 5 runs and 12 hits in 6.2 innings. De La Rosa has won his last six decisions and hasn’t lost a game since June 16. Niese pitched a great game in Houston after his recall from the minors. It would be terrific if he could follow that up with another good one tonight.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans!

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Mets Wilpon Apologizes For Minaya’s Outburst

Minaya1Mets COO Jeff Wilpon met with the media before last night’s game against the Rockies to express the organization’s dissatisfaction with Omar Minaya’s meltdown during Monday’s press conference. Mets fans are well aware by now that Minaya implied that Daily News reporter Adam Rubin wrote damaging reports about Tony Bernazard because Rubin wanted a position in player development with the Mets.

Wilpon said that Minaya apologized to Mets ownership for making a “very, very large mistake”. He went on to say that Minaya is well aware that he put the team in a bad spot with his comments about Rubin.

Rubin has received a voice mail from Wilpon apologizing on behalf of the Mets team and he hopes that Rubin will accept a call from Minaya to apologize.

Clearly, the simple firing of Bernazard has turned into a complete disaster for this PR-challenged team. I always thought of Minaya as fairly media savvy despite his lack of command of the English language. But this episode has exposed Minaya as easily shaken and a poor communicator.

All of this has left the Mets, and us fans, as the laughing stock of the league. Definitely take a look at Ray Ratto’s column for CBS Sports. He describes the Mets dysfunction in the front office and goes on the say that fans of the Royals, Nationals, and Pirates are thinking that it could be worse. They could be Mets fans.

Listen to Jeff Wilpon’s meeting with the media here:

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