We Did What You Said, Now What?
Posted by trs86 on 1:00pm, Monday June 29th 2009
Omar and Jerry have been telling everyone that their goal was to stay above .500. Omar and Jerry both have also said that if we got to .500 or below then changes have to be made. Well…. We did what you said, now what?
Manuel said prior to yesterday’s game:
“If we get below that mark, and we continue to struggle offensively as we are, I think that it’s a no-brainer. I think we have to visit that. I think that has to be visited or talked about at some point. It would be dishonest if I said no… You’re going to write the headlines tomorrow: ‘Jerry said we need a bat! We need it now!’ (laughing) That’s all good, though.”
Cerrone at Metsblog had the following to say:
Last night, Jerry Manuel was asked by a reporter about the team’s offense, which Manuel responded to by saying he must find offense some place on the roster.
He was then asked, ‘Where,’ to which he laughed, looked under the table, joked around, and laughed more.
What… are you… laughing at?
I understand where Cerrone is coming from here. It makes me angry to hear Omar or Jerry laugh right now because we are not laughing. But I also understand Jerry’s situation. He has been given scrubs to try and stay .500 and every day someone else goes down. At this point besides doing an Ozzie Gullien tirade on the GM what can he do? I think he knows his job is on the line and he is trying every way he knows how to put pressure on Omar to bring in more talent.
The one person right now, however, I would not want to be is Omar. Omar has a lot of pressure right now. He knows the fan base desperately wants the team to make the playoffs. He also knows that the farm system that he took over was beyond terrible and has been pillaged already by him in the Santana and Putz trades. We have a few top prospects that will be sought after, the problem is that is basically ALL we have. We are thin to say the least. Then you factor in that every team knows the Mets will need to make a trade if they fall below .500. If Omar makes a trade he better have the trade lube handy because it’s going to cost us. So Omar’s decision?
A) Trade top prospect(s) for a potential difference maker with a large contract or ending contract.
B) Trade Parnell+ for a guy like Teahen or Johnson (similar price to DeRosa).
C) Trade nobody and say the hell with it, we have too many holes to be trading any prospects.
I know Omar gets a lot of heat and is compensated well but I do not envy this decision.
j27isfmgwu
Sphere: Related Content
I would go with option C. It pains me to give up on the season, but there are just too many holes for any one acquisition to help this team. I really do not like giving up our top prospects like Holt/Flores/Martinez, because like you said they are all we got in the system and are the future. We really dont have depth in the farm system to pillage it every year.
What really sucks is that the FA market is weak next year, but we have money to spend (a good amount in fact) and that IMO is a better option than giving up the farm.
100% agree, and IMO option C is really the ONLY option.
1. The Mets have (currently) a bunch of holes to fill
2. Our farm system isnt the deepest at the higher levels
3. Next years FA class is pretty weak, but like you mentioned we do have 40-50 mil to spend.
As everyone else has said, one big trade, or 2 smaller trades will not be enough and will only be a short sighted move as the pieces that get dealt will be needed next year in case of injury. Omar needs to stick to his guns and ride this season out, and Jerry needs to be playing guys with more consistency. I’m not giving up on this season, but trading away any of the guys you mentioned would just put us right back in this same situation next year. Or will further hurt the farm because we’ll need to sign FA to replace what we traded away and the cycle will continue.
To really build the farm we, as a fan base, might need to man up and accept this season for exactly what it is and move forward knowing that the mets have not mortaged their future and will be in contention next year and the year after and so on. Our core is young, we have good arms in the rotation and the pen. Wait until the offseason to make a move Omar!
i also agree dentalicious although i think teahen would only cost us a kunz and a evans
i don’t really see why people get so pissed at the laughing..what is he supposed to do? good point on the fact he has nothign to work with…he can get pissed and be lou pinella or guillen all he wants, but whe n they get pissed its at good players, if this was happening with delgado, reyes, beltran, putz..then fine..get mad…its not
I’ll take embarrassed laughing over something like “playoffs, playoffs you want to talk about playoffs” type of rant.
I agree. I saw that post game interview and heard Jerry’s comments. I think it’s just his style. I don’t think he’s disrespecting anyone when he attempts some levity in what is really almost an unbearable situation right now. Maybe it’s his attempt at not trying to put any more pressure under a line up that we all know is already feeling much pressure - at least not conveying the message in the press. Don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.
yeah but if this happened against any other team other than the yanks or the phils wouldnt mind so much - but… they should know the fan base was licking it’s wounds after cora grounded out and jerry came across as rubbing salt in it
I hear ya, Rusty. But I think I would have been way more annoyed with Willie’s ‘I trust my guys’ and ‘they’ll get it done’ speeches than in Jerry’s attempt at a little levity…..
Oh and a big hell no to trading anyone from our bullpen, especially Parnell. Not after what happened last year. We need our quality arms.
So what you’re saying is, trading Parnell woul dleave a heaping cavity in our bullpen?
you dont agree?
oh, i forgot to answer you, hehe.
yes i do, especially with Putz out
This decision is also compounded with teh way the last two seasons ended. I also get annoyed when he starts laughing the way he does. I mean i understand you dont have much to work with but it is not completly hopeless. There are things you can do to make us competitive every game. If we get beat, we get beat but at least we make the other team EARN it. Right now, we are giving games away by either poor managerial decisions or horrible defense. Both of these issues do not require a trade to be improved. Now i dont think omar should trade teh farm to try and help this club because there are way to many holes for one trade to fix. They have got to start from within to fix the fundimentals of their game. I agree, i dont envy being omar right now but we should be in a better spot than we are today.
I don’t really know what’s out there for Omar to do at this point. This early in the “trading season” prices tend to be high. St. Loo traded a very good young power arm for DeRosa.
What I do know is that Manuel could help the team by acting like a sane and rational field manager once in a while. Perhaps he could pay attention to the game.
hey wanny u got the sat plan?
si.
hmmm maybe ill come and see ya on the 11th
I’m leaning towards option C. Would be O.K. with option B. I don’t think now is the time for Option A at all. Smacks of panic and we would grossly overpay. Omar making that kind of deal under the gun kind of scares me….
If we’re not going to make the post season this year with what we have or an additional impact player we could maybe get, then hold off until the off season to make those big deals.
good point. Omar making any deals which could impact the chances of success for years to come scares me.
off season, he seems to be pretty deliberate 9sometimes too much so), but I really worry about him under pressure in season.
Option C, unless we are selling Church, Livan, Sheff, and maybe Feliciano. If this is the case, look to get some bullpen arms with an eye on next year.
trust me livan and sheff aint goin anywhere - shef is already hurt and livan has little use to other clubs
sheff might get a nibble from a team that needs a DH, and Livan could probably get more than you think. Some teams are desperate for pitching right now, and his contract is pretty reasonable.
Livan could be on his way to an All Star appearance if Putz wasn’t pitching hurt for the first two months.
My “solution” is in the next post.
I have no problem with the laughing. The offense is a laughingstock right now. Jerry might just as well find some hits under the table as he will in the lineup.
RIght now, it has to be C, at least until close to the trade deadline when you have a better handle on what players are coming back and when (if they aren’t soon, don’t bother) and more players are actually available.
I still say Jerry is disrespecting the guys he is running out there every night (usually the wrong ones, but hey, that’s Jerry). Plus, he doesn’t seem to still expect them to play quality BB. Just because they might not have the bat of Delgado or Beltran, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t bust their humps and play smart ball.
Also, wasn’t Carp the only prospect given up for Putza/ And wasn’t the knock on him bad D? WOuld he have been the savior this year, or enough of a trade chip to get someone valuable?
Smith and Vargas were chips as well, small or broken but chips.
Ezequiel Carrera was also in that deal.
Well, I’d go w/ B (though I’d hope by the trade deadline it won’t cost Parnell). I’d add Nick “The Bat” Johnson and Jermaine “Never Say” Dye. I’d give up anyone not named F-Mart.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a win now type of guy. But I do think that by getting our DL team back and making a couple of small moves, the team will be playoff ready.
Imagine this lineup:
Cora
Castillo
Johnson
Wright
Dye
Church
F-Mart/Shef/Evans/Reed
Schneider/Santos
and in Aug/Sept
Reyes
Castillo
Beltran
Delgado
Wright
Dye
Church
Schneider
Bench: Johnson, Cora, Shef/Tatis, Reed, Santos
I guess it is better but it’s awfully unathletic and then puts a lot of money on the bench later on.
I agree, but the need for real MLers at these positions far outweighs money or any other concerns.
its plausable
but do u read the reports tha omar has like 5 million to play with?
I’d take Johnson only if I’m giving up nothing of consequence. In the month of June Johnson is .232/.357/.366 with 6 doubles, 1 HR and 7 RBI. 6 doubles is nice, but does it make enough of a difference for this Met roster?