Comments on: Omar Has Lost It

By: SP

SP — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:30:35 +0000

How about the Blue Jays? In recent years they’ve lost just about all their starters except Halladay to major injuries and they’re still somehow fielded some of the best pitching in the majors.

By: Tom B

Tom B — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:55:44 +0000

just because they are “your” best prospects doesn’t make them “good prospects” in the eyes of… any other team in baseball.

By: Havoc

Havoc — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:35:14 +0000

Also Cleveland, Oakland, Pittsburgh and San Diego do not have the money that the Mets have had to spend over the past couple of seasons

By: nrmax88

nrmax88 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:16:56 +0000

Lets not let the facts get in the way of the story here Andy. Some guys were injury risks, but a couple points. Reyes hasn’t had hamstring injuries in years. He has been totally healthy since 2004.

Re: Delgado… People thought he could hit because he put up a .300/.380/.600 line in the second half of 08.

Beltran may have had knee issues in the past, but he has been as consitent a guy in the OF as there has been the last 4 years and was having his best season to date this year.

Ollie was definitely hurt. His velocity was WAY down, he pitched sporadically in the WBC, and he was way more volatile then usual. Say what you want about him and his contract, but at worst he was a good number 4 starter in 2007 and 08 and that production was lost when he was hurt. Your assumptions that he didn’t really get hurt mean nothing.

I have no idea why you felt compelled to mention Billy Wagner.

You’re right, there were injury risks, but the odds that every single one of those guys missed serious time were very small.

By: Andy H

Andy H — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:19:16 +0000

@ Nrmax88,

You’re right, the Mets have been done in by injuries, and idk if any other team would be doing much better in such a situation. But I don’t think many people here are saying anything to the contrary. I think the main argument against Omar is that he ‘s put an old, fragile, top heavy team on the field. It’s not so much that the Mets weren’t built to survive such injuries, it’s that they were built in such a way that a decimating rash of injuries were inevitable. Here are a few red lights most of New York overlooked this past offseason:

-Your best player is a 33-year-old Latino Center Fielder. They break down more quickly than a Ford does after the warranty expires. Oh, and he has a knee surgery on his resume.
-Your starting first baseman is a 38-year-old who looked finished 16 months ago. I don’t really get why the consensus was that he had another 35+ HR season in him.
-Your shortstop has battled hamstring issues for much of his short career. You really can’t be surprised that they popped up now.
-Your #3 starter (Maine) was coming off a shoulder surgery and was never really that good to begin with. (Career FIP around 4.7; far worse than his career ERA). You couldn’t have expected him to stay healthy; any pitcher coming off surgery is a HUGE question mark. Anyway, even though you lost him, it didn’t hurt you nearly as it should have. The fact that you can’t find a suitable backup to give you a FIP of 4.7 goes to show how shallow your team is.
-Your set-up man had been declining for 2 years, and was coming off a year where he missed like 2 months, as well as shoulder surgery. Again, pitchers coming off of surgery are never a sure thing, and yet most Mets fans seemed to believe he was going to form a lights-out 1-2 with K-rod. I hate to say it, but anyone who thought as much was foolish.
-Don’t even put Ollie on the injury list. We all know the only DL he was put on was the disgraceful list. He wasn’t hurt, he was DLed because his command was awful and he was out of shape. Yet another genius signing by Omar.
-As for Billy Wagner last year, he was a 37 year old power pitcher. Come on, that has DL stint written all over it.

So no, I can’t blame Mets fans for feeling dejected about the number of injuries they’ve suffered. However, I do blame them for not seeing it coming.

By: Just a poster

Just a poster — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:41:08 +0000

If players of the Mets caliber on the DL all got hurt, any team would be in trouble. Butt he point about depth is that maybe if they had decent bench guys then the starters could take more rests to avoid injuries without sacrificing games.

By: Just a poster

Just a poster — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:38:51 +0000

Cody Ransom is worse than Alex Cora. Much worse. He’s awful.

By: nrmax88

nrmax88 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:51:20 +0000

I never understood how this lack of depth thing is taken seriously. What would happen if Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, and Jimmy Rollins all got hurt? You don’t have depth for these kind of guys. If you could have reasonable depth, these guys wouldn’t be superstars. They had depth in terms of guys like Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, Alex Cora, Gary Sheffield, etc. What would you have proposed they do? I am very disapointed. This is my favorite baseball site to read, and it is sad to see that you have piled on to the Mets, no differently then any piece of shit beat writer or newspaper. When 4 of your 5 best players are hurt, your second best bullpen arm, and 2/5 of your rotation, there is NOTHING you can do.

By: Joe R

Joe R — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:39:18 +0000

Minaya’s no worse, than, let’s say, Kenny Williams. But he does need to take the middle 1/3rd of his roster more seriously.

By: wobatus

wobatus — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:30:48 +0000

True enough. He certainly has done better than Phillips but you are starting from a very low baseline.

Omar is certainly not the worst gm out there and has made some decent moves. And no, I am not sure the Wilpons can be trsuted to do better with the next pick, but certainly I think improvement could be made, aside from the question of would it.

Hmm, reyes says he may come back at 80%. Don’t push too hard for this year, Jose.