Omar, What's the Story?
I have to just come out and say it…What the F is Mets GM Omar Minaya doing? Why did he send Kris Benson packing? Seriously. I’m angry about this and I’m not even a Met fan. As a fan, I hate just hate it when a team’s GM just gives away a player and gets nothing in return, unless of course, it is Billy Beane giving away nothing and getting back a pot of gold. But other than that, I like to see teams remain competitive.
Yes, I heard all sides of the story. And there are 3 stories. 1) Minaya says that he coveted Jorge Julio and John Maine. I find that to be B.S. 2) Anna Benson, Kris Benson’s wife, believes that it was due to her, umm, publicity, that made the Mets rid of arguably, their second pitcher. 3) Then there are others who believe that Minaya is doing all he can to latino-ize the NY Metropolitans. Me, personally, I think the latter 2 could be accurate. But let’s take this one story/scenario at a time.
Story #1: Minaya Risking to Part with a Starter for their Need of a Sucky Relief Pitcher
Who in their right mind “covets” a pitcher with a 5.90 ERA? Not only that, but he has no neck. Could this be the rebirth of Armando Benitez, but in a set-up role? Met fans are crossing their fingers that it isn’t the case. Face it, Julio is fat, out of shape and hasn’t pitched well since 2002. He has a 4.20 ERA over 5 years. And that’s for a relief pitcher. Yes, I understand he was pitching in Camden Yards and that he may post better numbers in Shea, but he still STINKS. The Orioles pitching staff was one of the worst last year. If he couldn’t shine above them, then he isn’t worth trading for. All you need are respectable numbers in order to look good in an Oriole pitching staff. Oh, I didn’t even mention the 35 HRs he’s allowed in the last 3 years. I don’t buy Minaya’s story. It just isn’t believable. You’re not George Costanza.
Story #2: Girl Does Bad, Boy Gets Punished
Anna Benson, stripper, model, aspiring actress---which will probably end up in the porn industry, was creating a buzz around Shea ever since her hubby Kris was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirate’s a year and a half ago. She’s gone onto the Howard Stern show and said if Kris ever cheated on her, she would sleep with every player on the Mets. She dresses scantily. She speaks what is on her mind. Now, it has been rumored that within the Mets organization, executives were afraid of Anna showing off, what do you call it, her cans? They didn’t want someone affiliated to the organization bringing that kind of attention. Think about it. Most executives are older, conservative men. They believe in values and morals. So since Anna doesn’t have any (c’mon, you have to admit, she doesn’t have any morals), they feel that the only way to get rid of her is to trade Kris away and get whatever they can for her, I mean, him. They first explored the idea of Benson for Julio back in November/December when Minaya tried to sell to the media and fans that they needed to upgrade their bullpen, and they could do so by giving up something to gain something. But then in a turn of events, trade talks between the Mets and Orioles fell apart....until…..Then it happened. Anna Bensons dressed as a sexy Mrs. Clause at the Mets holiday function. This just tipped the scale, so the Mets and Orioles re-explored the possibility of a trade. So what do the Mets do? They add a sucky relief pitcher, who I wouldn’t be surprised is he didn’t pitch more than 40 innings (you don’t really think Randolph is going to stick with him after giving up 10 bombs in the first 30 games, do you?). This story is a little more credible. I’m not saying it’s the truth, but it’s more credible.
Story #3: Minaya Latinizing the Mets
Anna Benson has said that she believes that Minaya is just trying to Latinize the Mets. But it’s not only her. Did you know that Carlos Delgado also feels the same way? So the race card against Anna Benson can not be used. They may have a point. Let’s take a look at Minaya’s transactions during his tenure as the Mets GM.
11/15/04
Declined the club option on LHP Al Leiter, making him a free agent.
11/2/04
Declined the club option on OF Richard Hidalgo, making him a free agent.
12/16/04
Signed RHP Pedro Martinez to a four-year contract.
12/8/04
Re-signed RHP Mike DeJean to a one-year contract.
12/3/04
Acquired LHP Felix Heredia from the New York Yankees in exchange for LHP Mike Stanton and cash considerations.
12/2/04
Signed RHP Juan Padilla to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training.
1/27/05
Acquired 1B Doug Mientkiewicz and conditional cash from the Red Sox for nonroster 1B Ian Bladergroen.
1/18/05
Signed RHP Roberto Hernandez to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. 1/11/05
Signed OF Carlos Beltran to a seven-year contract.
1/10/05
Agreed to terms with RHP Victor Zambrano on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
Signed INF Miguel Cairo to a one-year contract.
1/6/05
Traded C Vance Wilson to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for SS Anderson Hernandez.
3/17/05
Released INF Joe McEwing.
6/8/05
Signed INF Jose Offerman to a Minor League contract.
6/11/05
Signed RHP Danny Graves to a one-year contract with a club option for 2006; Designated RHP Manny Aybar for assignment.
6/16/05
Signed C Benito Santiago to a Minor League contract.
11/24/05
Obtained 1B Carlos Delgado and cash from the Marlins for 1B Mike Jacobs, RHP Yusmeiro Petit and INF Grant Psomas
11/29/05
Signed free-agent LHP Billy Wagner to a four-year contract.
12/5/05
Acquired C Paul Lo Duca from the Marlins for two players to be named.
12/8/05
Signed INF Jose Valentin to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training.
12/9/05
Signed 1B Julio Franco to a two-year contract.
12/28/05
Signed RHP Chad Bradford, who had been with the Red Sox, to a one-year contract.
12/23/05
Signed OF Endy Chavez, who had been with the Phillies, to a one-year contract.
1/21/06
Acquired RHP Jorge Julio and RHP John Maine from the Orioles in exchange for RHP Kris Benson.
By my calculations, Minaya added 15 Latino players (via trade or free agency), and got rid of 2 (via trade or not resigning), for a +13 Latino players.
As for Americans, Minaya added 5 (via trade or free agency), and got rid of 6 (via trade or not resigning), for -1 American player.
I don’t know for sure if this is all in Minaya’s plan, but the numbers would suggest so. Look, if he is just trying to better a team, it doesn’t matter who he acquires and where they are from, just so that he puts a winning product on the field. But some of the last transactions he made would suggest that.
So which story is it? 1, 2 or 3? I would have to say that story #2 is the most likely scenario in this particular case. Obviously the organization felt Anna was a distraction. Yes she spoke what was on her mind. She dressed the way she wanted to dress. She wanted to be in the headlines. But the Mets didn't want that. So the only way to get rid of her was to get rid of him. So Minaya did just that, but for what? He traded away one of his top 2 or 3 pitchers. Pedro is still injured and not completely healed, so he can go down at any time. Tom Glavine reminds me of Ed Harris of Major League, just barely hanging on in there and doing whatever he can to stay afloat, and reach 300 wins. Zambrano, well, I’m not going there. And Steve Traschel is reliable, but he was injured for the majority of the year last year. Any one of these guys can go down at any time. Now they have no insurance.
Omar, what are you thinking?
Yes, I heard all sides of the story. And there are 3 stories. 1) Minaya says that he coveted Jorge Julio and John Maine. I find that to be B.S. 2) Anna Benson, Kris Benson’s wife, believes that it was due to her, umm, publicity, that made the Mets rid of arguably, their second pitcher. 3) Then there are others who believe that Minaya is doing all he can to latino-ize the NY Metropolitans. Me, personally, I think the latter 2 could be accurate. But let’s take this one story/scenario at a time.
Story #1: Minaya Risking to Part with a Starter for their Need of a Sucky Relief Pitcher
Who in their right mind “covets” a pitcher with a 5.90 ERA? Not only that, but he has no neck. Could this be the rebirth of Armando Benitez, but in a set-up role? Met fans are crossing their fingers that it isn’t the case. Face it, Julio is fat, out of shape and hasn’t pitched well since 2002. He has a 4.20 ERA over 5 years. And that’s for a relief pitcher. Yes, I understand he was pitching in Camden Yards and that he may post better numbers in Shea, but he still STINKS. The Orioles pitching staff was one of the worst last year. If he couldn’t shine above them, then he isn’t worth trading for. All you need are respectable numbers in order to look good in an Oriole pitching staff. Oh, I didn’t even mention the 35 HRs he’s allowed in the last 3 years. I don’t buy Minaya’s story. It just isn’t believable. You’re not George Costanza.
Story #2: Girl Does Bad, Boy Gets Punished
Anna Benson, stripper, model, aspiring actress---which will probably end up in the porn industry, was creating a buzz around Shea ever since her hubby Kris was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirate’s a year and a half ago. She’s gone onto the Howard Stern show and said if Kris ever cheated on her, she would sleep with every player on the Mets. She dresses scantily. She speaks what is on her mind. Now, it has been rumored that within the Mets organization, executives were afraid of Anna showing off, what do you call it, her cans? They didn’t want someone affiliated to the organization bringing that kind of attention. Think about it. Most executives are older, conservative men. They believe in values and morals. So since Anna doesn’t have any (c’mon, you have to admit, she doesn’t have any morals), they feel that the only way to get rid of her is to trade Kris away and get whatever they can for her, I mean, him. They first explored the idea of Benson for Julio back in November/December when Minaya tried to sell to the media and fans that they needed to upgrade their bullpen, and they could do so by giving up something to gain something. But then in a turn of events, trade talks between the Mets and Orioles fell apart....until…..Then it happened. Anna Bensons dressed as a sexy Mrs. Clause at the Mets holiday function. This just tipped the scale, so the Mets and Orioles re-explored the possibility of a trade. So what do the Mets do? They add a sucky relief pitcher, who I wouldn’t be surprised is he didn’t pitch more than 40 innings (you don’t really think Randolph is going to stick with him after giving up 10 bombs in the first 30 games, do you?). This story is a little more credible. I’m not saying it’s the truth, but it’s more credible.
Story #3: Minaya Latinizing the Mets
Anna Benson has said that she believes that Minaya is just trying to Latinize the Mets. But it’s not only her. Did you know that Carlos Delgado also feels the same way? So the race card against Anna Benson can not be used. They may have a point. Let’s take a look at Minaya’s transactions during his tenure as the Mets GM.
11/15/04
Declined the club option on LHP Al Leiter, making him a free agent.
11/2/04
Declined the club option on OF Richard Hidalgo, making him a free agent.
12/16/04
Signed RHP Pedro Martinez to a four-year contract.
12/8/04
Re-signed RHP Mike DeJean to a one-year contract.
12/3/04
Acquired LHP Felix Heredia from the New York Yankees in exchange for LHP Mike Stanton and cash considerations.
12/2/04
Signed RHP Juan Padilla to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training.
1/27/05
Acquired 1B Doug Mientkiewicz and conditional cash from the Red Sox for nonroster 1B Ian Bladergroen.
1/18/05
Signed RHP Roberto Hernandez to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. 1/11/05
Signed OF Carlos Beltran to a seven-year contract.
1/10/05
Agreed to terms with RHP Victor Zambrano on a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
Signed INF Miguel Cairo to a one-year contract.
1/6/05
Traded C Vance Wilson to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for SS Anderson Hernandez.
3/17/05
Released INF Joe McEwing.
6/8/05
Signed INF Jose Offerman to a Minor League contract.
6/11/05
Signed RHP Danny Graves to a one-year contract with a club option for 2006; Designated RHP Manny Aybar for assignment.
6/16/05
Signed C Benito Santiago to a Minor League contract.
11/24/05
Obtained 1B Carlos Delgado and cash from the Marlins for 1B Mike Jacobs, RHP Yusmeiro Petit and INF Grant Psomas
11/29/05
Signed free-agent LHP Billy Wagner to a four-year contract.
12/5/05
Acquired C Paul Lo Duca from the Marlins for two players to be named.
12/8/05
Signed INF Jose Valentin to a Minor League contract and invited him to Spring Training.
12/9/05
Signed 1B Julio Franco to a two-year contract.
12/28/05
Signed RHP Chad Bradford, who had been with the Red Sox, to a one-year contract.
12/23/05
Signed OF Endy Chavez, who had been with the Phillies, to a one-year contract.
1/21/06
Acquired RHP Jorge Julio and RHP John Maine from the Orioles in exchange for RHP Kris Benson.
By my calculations, Minaya added 15 Latino players (via trade or free agency), and got rid of 2 (via trade or not resigning), for a +13 Latino players.
As for Americans, Minaya added 5 (via trade or free agency), and got rid of 6 (via trade or not resigning), for -1 American player.
I don’t know for sure if this is all in Minaya’s plan, but the numbers would suggest so. Look, if he is just trying to better a team, it doesn’t matter who he acquires and where they are from, just so that he puts a winning product on the field. But some of the last transactions he made would suggest that.
So which story is it? 1, 2 or 3? I would have to say that story #2 is the most likely scenario in this particular case. Obviously the organization felt Anna was a distraction. Yes she spoke what was on her mind. She dressed the way she wanted to dress. She wanted to be in the headlines. But the Mets didn't want that. So the only way to get rid of her was to get rid of him. So Minaya did just that, but for what? He traded away one of his top 2 or 3 pitchers. Pedro is still injured and not completely healed, so he can go down at any time. Tom Glavine reminds me of Ed Harris of Major League, just barely hanging on in there and doing whatever he can to stay afloat, and reach 300 wins. Zambrano, well, I’m not going there. And Steve Traschel is reliable, but he was injured for the majority of the year last year. Any one of these guys can go down at any time. Now they have no insurance.
Omar, what are you thinking?
posted by Mark D. Miller at 1:03 PM
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