From What I Read, The New York Mets Are Effed

Pardon my French, but as I bounce around the internet this morning, everything is doom and gloom…but not “call WFAN and panic” doom and gloom – these are real experts saying tangible things.

Let’s start with the most depressing article I’ve read in years about the state of the franchise, from the News.

One scout who recently watched the Mets’ high-A St. Lucie team told the Daily News: “I cannot, in good conscience, write up anybody here. There’s not a single major-league arm on the pitching staff.” The scout went on to say that Reese Havens, the first-round pick from the University of South Carolina last year, has too long a swing and is out of position at shortstop.

Ouch.  There’s more here in which nothing nice is said about Buffalo’s roster, or the entire system.  If Omar, Tony and Whoever have let the system go this barren it is time for a new regime.

So they can’t throw in the towel and rebuild.

What might that do to the business model?  The Times has that well covered...

“It would really impact their business model,” said Vince Gennaro, the author of “Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball” who is a consultant to theCleveland Indians and other teams. “It’s not just the perception of the lack of demand for tickets, but also the core problem of 10,000 empty seats that would cost them a fortune in lost revenue. SNY’s ratings would tank, too.”

So…that to me means a winter of signing anyone available (see the Murray/Randolph teams for how that works out.)

“Any talk of overhauling the team is grossly exaggerated at this point,” said (to the Times) Dave Howard, the Mets’ vice president for operations.


Yeah no kidding, because you have nothing to deal.


Y’all will get mad at me, but I think in lieu of making the playoffs, I think the best thing for this team would be for Jose Reyes to come back, have a very strong finish to the season, and then be dealt for multiple players.    Beltran has a no-trade, you can’t replace a Santana (whereas you could find a serviceable shortstop), and trading Wright would be June 15, 1977 all over.    


Check out the below (thanks to MLB Trade rumors)
First basemen
Rich Aurilia (38)
Russell Branyan (34)
Miguel Cairo (36)
Frank Catalanotto (36) – $5MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Tony Clark (38)
Carlos Delgado (38)
Nomar Garciaparra (36)
Ross Gload (34) – $2.6MM club option
Eric Hinske (32)
Nick Johnson (31)
Adam LaRoche (30)
Doug Mientkiewicz (36)
Kevin Millar (38)
Chad Tracy (30) – $7MM option with a $1MM buyout
Daryle Ward (35)
Dmitri Young (36)  -$6MM option vests with 500 PAs in ’09

Anyone there excite you?  Check out the rest of the list of 2010 free agents.  

Finally, Mets Blog has a scary item summarizing the strange power Tony Bernazard has over the organization.  Any time I read about Tony I don’t like what i read, but I don’t know too much about him.   I didn’t know much about Jerry Manuel until he threatened to stab Reyes three pitches into the Manuel-regime and he thus quickly won me over.  However, I’m scared of Tony.

One thing I had about complaining is that complainers should offer solutions.   All the stadium stuff I complain about I think I could fix in a month (with the exception of the obstructed views) if the Mets hired me.   I’d order me up some John Stearns banners this afternoon.   However when it comes to the roster issues – I have not better solution that the Minaya Solution which is sit on your hands and pray…..and think hard about Reyes.   The Red Sox dealt Nomar and then won a World Series.   Before the Reyes-army gets on me for always bashing him (which I admit to doing) go back and re-read this entire piece and let me know of a better solution.   You wanna head into 2010 with three of the core plus Nick Johnson in Delgado’s spot?

We’re effed.

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