Friday, July 30, 2010

Inactivity Makes No Sense


The more I have looked at the flurry of trades that happened the last week or so, the more I have to wonder… what in God’s name are the Mets waiting for?

I’m going to guess the Mets have a plan in place. I’m not going to say it’s a GOOD p[lan or a smart one, but they must have one, and it must be a plan involving keeping their farm system intact and looking to promote from within and build a team of young players with some veterans to anchor them, because there is no other excuse or explanation for the total lack of activity the Mets have shown.

The fact that The Philadelphia Phillies got Roy Oswalt for J.A. Happ and two minor leaguers is insane. J.A. Happ wouldn’t be able to crack the Mets starting rotation, yet he was the big piece of a trade that has given the Phils a solid 1/2/3 starting rotation head.

The Texas Rangers, who are not even fully owned and are in BANKRUPTCY have STILL been able to trade for Cliff Lee and Jorge Cantu.

The small market Twins acquired Matt Capps.

The Angels were able to get Dan Haren from the Diamondbacks.

The Mets? Nothing. No moves at all.

Now I know the Mets really cannot add a bat here. They are pretty much set at every position except for second base and except for Dan Uggla, who hits homeruns, but strikes out a ton and has a terrible glove there are no second basemen out there to trade for.

The team needs another starting pitcher so they can put Hisanori Takahashi back in the bullpen. If they had added a Dan Haren or a Roy Oswalt the team’s starting pitching would have looked rather solid. They also could use another bullpen arm and getting a Matt Capps or a Scott Downs would solidify the bullpen.

At this point we’ve heard all about how teams are asking for Ike Davis and Jon Niese. I understand and agree with not trading Davis at all and holding onto Niese if at all possible. But Roy Oswalt would have been a heck of a guy to get and in the end the prospects and players sent in both the Haren AND Oswalt trades weren’t that great, so you;re going to tell me the Mets couldn’t have beaten those offers withut having to give up Davis or Niese?

If the Mets could have told the Astros a week ago that they would pick up Oswalt’s 2012 option you think for a second they wouldn;t have jumped at it and traded him back then when it looked like no one would be able to get him? They became desperate and gave Oswalt away for a song AND paid 11 Million of his 2011 salary. If the Mets had offered a package of say Bobby Parnell and two decent but unspectacular prospects and said the Astros only had to give them 5 or 6 Million of Oswalt’s 2011 salary, you think they would have said no? The would have saved themselves millions to help with signing someone else next year and the Mets could have had a rotation of Johan Santana, Oswalt, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and R. A. Dickey.

I find it very hard to belive the Mets could not have countered the Phillies offer with a better one more based on money than prospects.

The Mets are willing to make moves. In recent years they have traded for Johan Santana, Luis Castillo (when he was still considered pretty good), Shaun Green, J.J. Putz and Carlos Delgado. They’ve signed Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, Paul LoDuca, Francisco Rodriguez, and Jason Bay. The problem is, the Mets don’t ever seem to take that big step and look to make the team into a powerhouse. They always seem to do just enough to be competitive but not enough to make themselves an all-out favorite.

The inactitivity during this trade dealine season makes little sense. Just two weeks ago the Mets were 1 game out of a playoff spot. They have a good mix of youg talent and veterans. They just allowed one of their biggest rivals to make themselves MUCH better… how can they stand pat?

Any doubt that the Mets front office just doesn’t get it should be erased by now. To watch a bankrupt team get one of the best pitchers on the planet and a pretty good hitter and to watch the team that has embarrassed them the last few years to go out and get a great pitcher that the Mets themselves could have gotten if they had just spent the money is ABISMAL. At this point if NOTHING else I want Omar Minaya gone. I know he’s not the whole problem, but ANY change at this point will be welcome.

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