The Mets are stupid

I often wonder if any knowledgeable baseball fan could be a successful general manager. The best current example of this is Omar Minaya and the New York Mets, a team that was expected to compete for the World Series but, with the exception of about once every five games when the best pitcher in baseball is on the mound, have looked flat out awful thus far. Minaya has always been considered one of the more respected GMs since his days in Montreal, but has been garnering increasing criticism lately for his tenure with New York's second team.
Since Omar has been with the Mets he has simply addressed obvious needs, needs that anyone could have recognized. First he spent money to get Pedro Martinez, a move that ultimately failed but immediately returned the Mets to a level of respectability. Last year the obvious need was an ace starting pitcher so he traded for Santana and threw a ton of money at him. It's a move he should be commended for, but still an obvious one to make. He failed to address the team's lack of bullpen depth and lack of clutch hitting, which ultimately burned them down the stretch once again.
This year Minaya once again addressed the obvious, patching up last years awful relief squad by throwing cash at K-Rod and getting J.J. Putz. The necessary move to make, but he stopped there. If they didn't have the money to sign Manny Ramirez fine, but adding him would have made the lineup exponentially better. It would immediately go from a tight, soft, anti-clutch group of talented hitters to the most fearsome lineup in the game. Fine, maybe Bernie Madoff and the economy really hurt the Mets to the point where they couldn't spend for Manny, that better be the reason they ignored him. Instead they are running a kid in Daniel Murphy out into left field who can't catch fly balls, literally. He looks like I did as a 10 year old Little Leaguer in the outfield. He makes Manny look like a young Barry Bonds, and he may be able to handle a bat but he sure doesn't hit like those two aforementioned sluggers. Bobby Abreu was out there for cheap and would have been a nice fit instead, like so many other discount free agents that were out there, Minaya didn't even talk to him.
Another major blunder was ignoring Orlando Hudson, who the Dodgers signed for literally nothing (one year, under $5 million). Hudson is the gritty kind of number-two hitter that the Mets could really use, but to the disgust of Mets fans everywhere, they didn't want to let go of Luis Castillo and the money they owe him (sure he's played well so far, but lets see how long that lasts).
The offense isn't the Mets only defect. After Johan Santana their rotation has three question marks and one certainty in Livan Hernandez who must be approaching 50 years old and is guaranteed to be nothing more than an average fifth starter. It would have been easy for Minaya to bring in other options to start games. They let Pedro walk, who hasn't done much since 2005, but he's still Pedro and has much more potential than Livan. I don't understand why teams are terrified to take a chance and give Pedro $5 million for one year when at the same time the Royals gave Kyle Farnsworth $9 million for two. What the Mets did do is bring back Oliver Perez for $36 million and they acted like they were making a major move for the team in doing so. All they did was overpay a bad pitcher who occasionally gets hot because he has good stuff. Have fun with that for the next three years Mets fans. I understand not giving Derek Lowe $60 million dollars, I wouldn't do that either. However, to sign Perez for that deal instead is typical Mets. Lowe would have cost them only a little more than Oli, and he would have made the team, at least for this season, a lot better than what they are.
The Mets remind me of the Dan Duquette Red Sox of the late 90s and early 2000s that felt that because they showcased Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez they could run out guys like Brian Daughbach and Mike Lansing and boast a rotation with Jeff Fassero, Frank Castillo, and Rolando Arrojo. It doesn't work. Because the Phillies' rotation is awful and the National League is weak, they could squeak into the playoffs and with Santana, anything could happen once there, but don't count on these choke artists winning a ring, it would take a minor miracle.
If this Mets team was the Yankees and not the Mets, after blowing their season two years in a row in hideously embarrassing fashion I can assure you the squad would have now have Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe or A.J. Burnett, and Orlando Huson. Castillo would be gone and they would easily be the favorite in the National League. But they are the Mets and they are second rate. If they miss the playoffs this year, Omar Minaya will look like a moron and will deserve to be fired.

Here are some highlights from Sunday nights Yankee-Red Sox which I happened to be watching as I wrote this post.

-Jacoby Ellsbury stole home, Fenway went wild. Pettitte nor Posada ever saw it coming, most exciting play of the season.
-Steve Phillips said that a young pitcher coming up wants to throw strikes early in the count and get ahead because the hitter will try to figure them out as the at bat goes on. Steve, tell me the pitcher that doesn't want to get ahead early in the count
-Steve Phillips chuckled at a sign that says "Jacoby, marry my daughter." Steve then commented, "he's got good speed, he's going to be tough to catch." Thanks Steve.
-Joe Morgan already gave up on the Yankees in the 8th inning, "they are going to need to get some more players, they don't have enough", eh maybe he's right, maybe its April. But that's ok, Joe probably doesn't know what month it is.
-John Miller talked without even stopping to catch his breath for the entire broadcast, I didn't pay attention to anything he said so I can't comment on it.

Mark Fidrych is dead

Mark Fidrych burst onto the scene in 1976, going 19-9 for the Detroit Tigers. Though he only won 29 games in his entire career, the Massachusetts kid's quirky personality and mound histrionics in his dazzling rookie season made him one of the most memorable and beloved figures in Detroit sports history and earned him the nickname "The Bird."
As WFAN host Richard Neer brought up last night, "The Bird" was one of baseballs last great nicknamed players. Nicknames used to be synonymous with the game, and while there will be an occasional a good one, they seem to be a mostly thing of the past. Dice-K and A-Rod are not good nicknames, they are abbreviations.
On June 28, 1976 when the fifth place Detroit Tigers faced the New York Yankees on nationally televised Monday Night Baseball, 47,855 fans crammed into the old Tiger Stadium to watch "The Bird" pitch. Not one of those 47,855 people paid $2,500 for a seat. The average ticket price was $3.45. There were no four-star restaurants in the ballpark, swimming pools or replica Wiffleball stadiums for children to play in during the game. The 47,855 people did not come for these amenities, they came to sit and watch baseball and perhaps enjoy a hot dog and a beer, and they were rewarded.
"The Bird" defeated the Yankees 5-1. Time of game was one hour and 51 minutes. No reliever closed out the game, he finished it, as he did 23 other games that season. After getting the 27th out, he was called back onto the field because none of the 47,855 would leave without him coming out to tip his cap. When Fidrych came out beaming, he oozed a genuine and humble youthfulness that can't exist today.

Notes from opening day(s)

Finally the never ending spring training is over. No more WBC or steroids talk or gossip page A-Rod drama (for now), its time for real baseball. One game into the season and Yankees fans are panicking, Red Sox Nation is more confident than ever, and Kyle Farnsworth is giving up big home runs. Yep, things are back to normal.
Here are some highlights and observations from the first couple days of baseball.

Junior and the Mariners: In his return to the Seattle lineup, the greatest player of his generation looked like the Griffey Jr. of old, smacking a home run off Twins lefty Francisco Liriano in the final opening day at the Metrodome (thank heavens for that). It was Junior's eighth opening day home run, tying Frank Robinson for the most all-time. King Felix pitched a dominant 8 innings and the M's rolled to a 6-1 victory. The team was so excited about the win after being the laughing stock of baseball last year that they doused manager Don Wakamatsu in beer after the game. There could not be a better story in the game this season than if Ken Griffey Jr. played one last healthy, productive season and helped the Mariners to a division title. They certainly have the talent to get it done, don't count them out.

The Yankees: Yep, one game, one loss, one bad start from Sabathia and one 0-4 from Teixeira and there are already Yankee fans calling WFAN and demanding Joe Girardi's firing. Calm down New York. Sure, Cheeseburger Cheeseburger Sabathia, as the great Steve Somers calls him, pitched awful in New York's 10-5 loss. In fact it was the first start in his career in which he did not record a strikeout, but give the man a break, it was a cold day in Baltimore and its early April. Remember, he did get off to a slow start last year as well, before single-handedly pitching the Brewers to the N.L. Wild Card title. One thing I would be slightly concerned about though is that if he gets off to a similarly slow start, he will be absolutely hammered in New York, and it will be interesting to see how the big guy handles that. As for Teixeira going hitless, um, yeah it's one freaking game.

The Red Sox: Opening day could not have been sweeter for the Sox with their 5-3 victory over their division nemesis from last year. From the very first inning it was clear that Josh Beckett was back to his old form. He went on to pitch 7 innings, give up 2 hits, one run, while striking out 10. He blew 96 mph heat by Rays hitters, caught them off balance with his change-up, and froze them with his curve ball. It was his first game with double-digit Ks since May of last year. A healthy Beckett is something the Red Sox lacked last year, and they still came within one game of the World Series. MVP Dustin Pedroia smacked one over the Green Monster on the second pitch he saw of the season from James Shields. Even Varitek, who was a black hole in the Red Sox lineup last season, looked good. He had a couple hard line drives before hitting a home run in the 6th inning. Jonathan Papelbon came in looking like he hasn't lost a beat, retiring the side in the 9th in order on 15 pitches while striking out two. The Red Sox should be the favorite over the Yankees (and Rays) this year because they have the deepest pitching staff 1-12, with the additions of Takashi Saito and Ramon Ramirez and with Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard lurking in the minor leagues. When John Smoltz joins the team they will have two of the best post-season pitchers in the history of the game.

Kyle Farnsworth: The Royals signed Kyle Farnsworth in the off-season to a 2-year, $9.25 million contract. That a team would still fall for Farnsworth is shocking. That on opening day Farnsworth gave up an 8th inning go ahead three-run homer to Jim Thome is predictable. Farnsworth fell behind 2-0, threw a fat fastball up in the zone, and Thome did what he has done his entire career to such pitches. A lot of people are picking the Royals to actually win the A.L. Central. This will not happen with a manager who trusts Kyle Farnsworth in the 8th inning with a one-run lead against Jim Thome with two guys on. Kyle Farnsworth is making only $1 million less this season than Jonathan Papelbon. Amazing.

The Odds!: No player in the history of the game had homered from both sides of the plate on opening day. On April 6, not one, but two players did it. They did it in the same game and they are teammates. Felipe Lopez and "Mr. Nice Guy" Tony Clark each went deep from both sides to help the D-Backs to a victory in a 9-8 slug-fest with the Rockies in Arizona. I'm not going to take the time to add up all the opening day games in history with a switch hitter in the starting lineup, but I'll say that it's a whole lot. This is the kind of whacked out coincidence that seems to only happen in baseball.