Last night, before the Mets got blasted to smithereens by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 8-0 loss, Mets GM Omar Minaya addressed the media, again, about the Mets current injury status and its affect on the club for the rest of the season and beyond.
"There is not a deal out there where I can bring in a player better than what we have," Minaya explained. "I am not going to find a shortstop better than Jose Reyes. I have to not only keep an eye on '09, but on '10, '11, and '12."
This is not exactly what Met fans want to hear from their GM, especially one who has never met a big name that he didn't like: Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez to name a few of the star-quality players Minaya has brought to the organization over the past four years.
In a year when the Toronto Blue Jays are rumored to dangle their ace Roy Halladay in front of Minaya and every other GM in baseball in a proverbial carrot-and-stick game, Minaya's words were a concession of sorts for the 2009 season.
The Mets are on the precipice of an apocalypse. At 39-43, the Mets are staring into an uncertain future, lying in wait like Dante, only there is no Virgil to guide the Metropolitans through the depths of Hell then up through Purgatory to the paradise of a championship season.
Right now, paradise is lost on the Mets.
Jose Reyes had another cortisone injection in his hamstring; nobody knows when or if Reyes will return to the field in 2009.
Carlos Beltran avoided surgery on his banged-up right knee; instead, he will have to rest that bone bruise until it heels itself. Right now, Beltran is not expected back until the end of July.
What about Carlos Delgado? Well, what's the point. He's 37 years old and is rushing back from hip surgery, so don't expect last-July-and-August form from Delgado when and if he ever does return.
In a way, anyone who throws Minaya under the bus for not making a move is being unfair. The Mets are strapped by their NL-leading $143 million salary cap. Adding more salary during one of the worst economic climates since the Great Depression is not exactly a formula for success, especially with a little more than three months left to play on the season.
The depth of this 2009 roster is where Minaya has to be faulted.
He could have brought in Orlando Hudson and didn't.
He could have traded Scott Schoeneweis to Chicago for Jason Marquis and didn't.
He could have signed Derek Lowe; instead, he signed Oliver Perez.
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, to quote Bill Murray from Meatballs, "It just doesn't matter."
Minaya received a contract extension last October that will keep him in the Mets organization through 2012, and unless Fred Wilpon turns into George Steinbrenner, Minaya is not going anywhere.
Blame the injuries for the Mets' troubles in 2009.
Blame the salary cap and the economy.
The Mets will have to wait until Halloween for the contracts of Delgado, Wagner, and even ex-manager Willie Randolph to come off the books for 2010. Once that happens, the Mets will have over $30 million of cap room and the ability to sign whomever they want before the holidays.
Some have thrown manager Jerry Manuel under the bus for his erratic managing style this year, but can you blame him?
If anyone had a roster of Dan Murphy, Nick Evans, Luis Castillo, Alex Cora, Fernando Martinez, Ramon Martinez, Ryan Church, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, Fernando Nieve, and a badly-slumping All-Star third baseman in David Wright, he would want to jump under the bus without a prompter. Not even Joe Torre, nor Bobby Valentine, nor Bobby Cox, nor Tony LaRussa could win with this roster.
The key for the Mets going forward is simply this: What to do next? Stop thinking a package of Evans, Murphy, Jon Niese, and Bobby Parnell will bring you Roy Halladay and Alex Rios from the Toronto Blue Jays. Forget about trading a similar package to the Oakland A's for Matt Holiday.
The best gift Minaya can give his fans for 2010, 2011 and 2012 is to ride the storm now and reap the benefits later. That means waiting until the offseason to make the big moves that will turn Citi Field into a party and not a funeral parlor every single night. It will start with shredding the excess salary from the cap at dawn of October 3.
This means finding a taker, i.e. the Nationals, Orioles, Rangers, for the services of "Captain Drop" Luis Castillo, who will have only two years left on his idiotic four-year contract.
That means pursuing Orlando Hudson, seriously this time around, even if the team has to give him a three-year contract to play second base.
That means taking a flier on injured Diamondbacks ace and free agent-to-be Brandon Webb, so Johan Santana can actually have a true No. 2 guy behind him.
That means signing Holiday to a huge contract by Christmas and plugging him between Beltran and Wright in the middle of the batting order.
That means forcing Fernando Martinez to learn right field A.S.A.P. for 2010.
That means going out and swinging a deal for a decent first baseman who can provide some pop and hit for a high average, i.e. Lyle Overbay, Aubrey Huff, or Mike Jacobs, until the team actually makes the effort to develop a superstar at the position.
Nobody knows what the future holds, not even the Shadow, but if the Mets want to ensure that their future will be bright after this season, they are just going to have to wait. Patience is a virtue you know.
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