Fixing the Mets, Part 2: Fire Omar Minaya

Previously, I advocated for the firing of manager Jerry Manuel. Next on the block is general manager Omar Minaya as I look at how the Mets can be fixed.

First of all, Minaya deserves a lot of credit for the job he did. After the Mets won the National League pennant in 2000, then-GM Steve Phillips began running the team into the ground with acquisitions such as Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar, as well as firing manager Bobby Valentine. Despite the World Series appearance, Phillips quickly wore out his welcome, and Mets fans were thrilled to see him get fired during the 2003 season.

Except he was replaced by Jim Duquette, who couldn't keep his job beyond 2004 after trading away Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. Mets fans know all too well how that turned out.

After three straight horrible seasons in the Phillips/Duquette era from 2002-04, the Mets were in desperate need of saving. They turned to Omar Minaya, who signed Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran in his first offseason, promising a return to glory for the New York Mets. With these key acquisitions plus the emergences of David Wright and Jose Reyes, the Mets finished 2005 with an 83-79 record, after going 71-91 in 2004. The following season, Minaya added Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, and Billy Wagner, and the Mets would go on to win their first division title since 1988.

Then it all started to come crashing down. With the success of the previous two seasons came higher expectations and a continued push to get to the top. Fresh faces in 2007 included Luis Castillo, Moises Alou, and Shawn Green. The Mets were considered heavy favorites in the National League, but the regular season ended with the infamous Collapse as the Mets missed the postseason. Minaya made a huge splash in the following offseason to acquire ace pitcher Johan Santana, but again the team fell apart down the stretch and missed the playoffs despite leading the division in September.

And then 2009 happened. Details will be spared. We know them well enough already.

Sports are an interesting phenomenon in which the mighty can fall very quickly. Just a couple of years ago, a popular slogan for Mets fans was "In Omar We Trust," as if the man was some kind of genius who could do no wrong. Even if he made a move that looked sketchy, Mets fans would have faith that it would work out well. We do not have that kind of blind faith anymore. They may not all want him thrown out on the street like I do, but most certainly are worried about his ability to build a winning team.

The Yankees have taught us over the past decade that you cannot just pick up as many marqee names as possible and expect to win. You have to have the right group of players, which I believe they have found after picking up the likes of Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett this past offseason. Omar is still learning the lesson.

Minaya put too much faith in the aging (Delgado, Castillo, Alou, Orlando Hernandez, to name a few) as well as the inconsistent (looking mainly at the 2008 bullpen and the 2009 rotation). Minaya brought in the offensively-challenged Brian Schneider because he valued his defense as a catcher, but he proved to be defensively-challenged as well. And he traded several pitching prospects for worthless pieces of junk in part of his work in demolishing the Mets' farm system and the Major League depth it brings.

Not to be forgotten, he has made himself look like a complete fool in the way he dealt with the firings of Willie Randolph and Tony Bernazard.

I am trying to see what might be the missing piece or the fatal flaw for a roster that is loaded with talent. One would think that with the players the team currently has, the fix should be relatively simple. But I just can't see there being one or two additions that will turn this team around. They could use a major shakeup, but at the same time, they cannot get rid of the stars they have in Wright, Reyes, Beltran, and Santana.

Instead, the shakeup must be in upper management. They need a fresh face with a new philosophy, one that can dig this team back out of being the laughing stock of baseball. They need the right players to compliment the stars on the team. They need to admit some wrongs and give up on some players they have given contracts to. They need to rework the rotation to get more consistency out of their starters.

Omar Minaya is not the man who will do these things, and frankly, like Jerry Manuel, I'm tired of seeing his face. It represents too much misery. He should get the Steve Phillips treatment before it's too late. I just hope he doesn't then go join ESPN and shove his inadequacies in our faces, then have an affair with a 22-year-old.