Undoubtedly, two of the best acquisitions Omar Minaya has made were for Oliver Perez and John Maine.  For players that turned out to be quality starting pitchers, he acquired them at below market rates with the only valuable piece leaving in either of those deals being Xavier Nady. 

The biggest similarity between Perez and Maine is that they are fly ball pitchers, who undoubtedly benefited from the transition to a pitcher friendly ballpark in Shea Stadium.  While it’s difficult to predict how a ball park will seem prior to actually playing games in it, Citi Field will probably favor pitchers according to its dimensions and design.  A spacious ball park specifically favors fly ball pitchers, because while Ryan Howard my hit some home runs that are easily out in Citizens Bank Park, they are caught on the warning track of many other stadiums. 

Of the elite SPs available, Ben Sheets serves up the most fly balls.  According to Fan Graphs, Sheets has a fairly equal ground ball-fly ball ratio, unlike some pitchers like A.J. Burnett or Derek Lowe who both live off ground balls.  While ground ball pitchers are great, they benefit less from a spacious stadium.  Sheets is also moving from pitching half his games in Miller Park, which is usually considered to be either fair or hitter friendly.

Most people would agree that Sheets is extremely talented, and arguably an ace - when healthy.  However, I think it is important to review the specific injuries before being overly cautious.  More often than not, his ailments have not involved his arm - generally a good sign when trying to evaluate if his injuries will hamper him in the future.  These injuries include a bulging disc in the back, and an ear infection that resulted in dizziness and balance issues.  So, if you’re worried about his arm for the future he is generally in good shape (even though he has had some shoulder tendonitis and a current forearm strain).  Because of this injury concern, currently from the lingering forearm strain, the Mets can probably sign him at a discounted price.

Minaya should learn from his prior successful moves in Maine and Perez and look to sign Sheets as his main off season free-agent acquisition.  Sheets can join Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana in anchoring a potentially stellar Mets rotation for the future.    

WFAN’s Mike Francesa says he spoke with Mets GM Omar Minaya this morning. When Mike asked about Manny Ramirez Omar responded pitching, pitching, pitching:

• The Mets will make Oliver Perez an offer but the Mets fear Carlos Silva’s contract may hurt negotiations.

• The Mets will make an offer to Pedro Martinez.

• The Mets do have interest in Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett.

• The Mets do have interest in relievers K-Rod, Fuentes, Wood, Putz, Jenks and Street.

• No interest in Ben Sheets.

• Not sure if Easley will be back.

• Castillo will be the second baseman.

• There are no plans to replace Schneider/Castro behind the plate.

• Omar loves Murphy, sees him in the Pedroia/Youkillis mold. A hard nose leader type.

I’m probably alone here but I am happy to hear that they are going to try to sign Pedro. Watching him consistently reach the low 90’s on the gun makes me believe he has something left and more importantly, something to prove.

This may seem arbitrary - and it sort of is - but among the many goals that Omar Minaya and the Mets brain trust ought to have this offseason should be to sign only one Type A free agent.  If you aren’t familiar with what a Type A free agent is, it essentially means that if a team signs a Type A free agent, they surrender their top draft pick to the team from which that player left.  For further explanation, MLB Trade Rumors does a great job of describing it. 

The reasons for having compensation for free agents are two-fold.  First of all, it is meant to give something back to the team that is losing their talented player to free agency.  Second of all, it is meant to discourage teams from signing too many free agents - because if they sign too many Type A free agents, their farm system will eventually become depleted. 

Yet, some teams have failed to heed this second warning and have continued to sign Type A free-agents with reckless abandon.  The best example of this is the Yankees, who have been throwing money at free agents non-stop for plenty of years now.  Because they have signed so many free-agents, and surrendered so many draft picks because of that, they have had a death of position player prospects to build their team around.  Since Alfonso Soriano won the Rookie of the Year award in 2001 (even though he first came up in 1999), the Yankees have had one decent position player come up through their system: Robinson Cano.  Cano wasn’t even selected through the draft (nor was Soriano, or Melky Cabrera for that matter), he was signed as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic.  So, the Yankees have an aging team and are without internal solutions to rectify that because their farm system has become so depleted from a lack of high draft picks. 

Now, look at the Red Sox, who have a payroll that is nearly identical to that of the Mets.  How many Type A free agents do you see them sign? Not too many - Daisuke Matsuzaka was from Japan so he doesn’t count.  J.D. Drew was a type A free agent, but other than that?  This is why the Red Sox have positioned themselves to be good for a long time.  They have focused on competing now, while keeping their farm system intact for the future.      

Now, there are all the huge free agents that the Mets have signed, ranging from Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez to Moises Alou (who was a type A free agent, believe it or not).  Obviously, some of those signings made sense, but others clearly weren’t worth it.  This offseason, the Mets have to learn that buying free agents only sacrafices their farm system for the future.  Determining that the Mets should sign only one type A free agent is fairly abritrary, but it is probably the best way to curve the organazation’s tendancy to sign free agents without realizing the ramifications.   

So, two years and two September swoons, and what does the guy behind all of the moves get? A three year extension of course. It’s only standard procedure to reward your GM when the team has severely underachieved for the better part of a year and a half. As you can see, I do not support giving Omar Minaya this three year extension. I know Billy Wagner got hurt, and that hurt the chances of this team making the postseason significantly, but plenty of those 29 blown saves happened before Wagner went down. Minaya made no moves to improve the bullpen preseason, or at the deadline. Luis Ayala helped some, before teams realized that, well, he was Luis Ayala.

Depending on the arm of Duaner Sanchez was a huge mistake, as we all realized that Sanchez would not be the 2006 guy who looked so impressive before going down with that devastating shoulder injury. Depending on a bunch of specialists was a mistake, and although you can’t blame him for Aaron Heilman’s dismal year, he should have brought in a few bullpen arms. Granted Minaya has made some nice moves in his tenure as the Mets GM, he has also made some head scratchers. I know I’ll get bashed for this, but I’m starting to sour on the Milledge-Church deal as well. Trading Milledge when his value was at it’s lowest for a decent OF and a bad catcher was not a smart move. I know that Milledge was the quote un quote “Bad Boy” in the clubhouse, but all i care about is results, and Milledge sure turned it on in the 2nd half, and is looking like a real 20 homer 25 steal guy in his prime.

Since the end of 2006, Omar Minaya  has made a ton of moves, some for the better, some for the worse. Let’s take a look at Omar’s moves.

Traded RPs Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to the Marlins for SPs Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.

• This trade made no sense when it was made, and still makes no sense to the day. Why you would trade a 26 year old arm who can reach 100 mph for two lefty pitchers who have shown nothing in the majors. Granted, we all knew Owens arm would fall off sooner or later with that funky motion (he had Tommy John surgery), giving up Lindstrom alone is enough to make you pull your hair out. In case your wondering, Vargas has yet to pitch this year and Bostick is sporting a 6.04 ERA. Tsk, tsk Omar. GRADE then: D, GRADE now: D

Traded RPs Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for OF Ben Johnson and RP Jon Adkins

• Well, you really can’t fault Omar for this one. Bell was on the Norfolk Express in his time with the Mets, and although he was dominant in AAA, he could never figure it out in NY. Johnson was a promising OF prospect and Adkins was a stopgap reliever. Unfortunately, neither Johnson or Adkins are with the organization anymore. Because the trade OK at the time it was made, i’ll give Omar a decent grade. Bell was never going to make it here, anyway. To get anything for Bell was an accomplishment. GRADE then: B, Grade now: C

Traded SP Brian Bannister for RP Ambiorix Burgos

• Although Burgos suffered a torn ligament in his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery, I still loved this trade for the Mets at the time it was made. We were on the opposite spectrum this time, as we gave up the average SP for the flamethrowing reliever. Bannister has been a huge bust with the Royals, and is sporting an ERA over 5 this year. Burgos is making his way back, and should be ready for ST ‘09. GRADE then: B, GRADE now: B

Traded C Drew Butera and OF Dustin Martin to the Twins for 2B Luis Castillo

• Castillo has been a big bust for the Mets, especially this year, after Minaya rewarded him with a 4 year 25m dollar contract. Butera has done nothing in the minors this year, but Martin is a bit more intriguing. He is hitting .284 with 10 homers and 69 RBI for the Twinkies AA team. Now, Castillo has an atrocious contract that we have to eat for three more years, and thus blocks Daniel Murphy from playing 2B next year. Grade then: B, GRADE now: D

Traded OF Lastings Milledge for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider

• When I heard this trade went down, I went into a tailspin. How could you trade Milledge for a journeyman outfielder who has never proven that he can hit lefties, and a C who has no offensive bat at all. Well, Church showed us all really fast that Omar saw something in him that we didn’t. Through the first few months of the year, Church was our best hitter, but unfortunately a concussion derailed his great season and he has missed much of the last three months. Schneider has been OK, we knew what we were getting, Solid D and No bat. The dealbreaker: Until recently, Milledge had not hit a lick this year, making it look like Omar won this trade big. GRADE Then: D, GRADE Now:B

Traded SPs Deolis Guerra Phil Humber Kevin Mulvey and OF Carlos Gomez to the Twins for SP Johan Santana.

• Best news I heard all winter. Getting Santana was a gift. The Mets were the darkhorse, but when the Sox and Yanks wouldn’t trade their best young prospects, the Mets jumped in and stole Santana. Mulvey and Humber have been ineffective at AAA for the Twins, and Guerra has had trouble commanding his pitches. Gomez got off to a fast start, but has since faded. Santana has been all we could have asked for, and then some. GRADE Then: A, GRADE Now: A

Traded 2B Anderson Hernandez for RP Luis Ayala

• Ayala has shown flashes that he can be counted on in the bullpen, but has also had his meltdown moments. Hernandez wasn’t going to do anything with the Mets, so it’s really a low risk high reward type of thing. Grade: B

Traded RHP Aaron Heilman for a bag of balls

• (OK, I’m Kidding)

Also, Getting Brian Stokes for cash from Tampa Bay was a nice deal. I give that a B so far.

Overall, Omar has made some head scratchers, but has also made some great deals. It should be interesting to see whether or not he gets that extension.

Thanks to Gary Grund for gathering all the trades.

Jon Heyman of SI.com says Omar Minaya is “itching” to make a deal. The Mets want to hold onto top prospects Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese, Eddie Kunz and Robert Parnell. Heyman says that Minaya is spending more time on the relief situation.

Following today’s game, GM Omar Minaya reported that OF Moises Alou tore his right hamstring while diving for a ball last night in a rehab game. Minaya said that if Alou decides to have surgery, he will miss the rest of the year. Minaya also stated OF Angel Pagan could make his return shortly after the All Star Break.

I think this is the end of the line for Alou. Get well soon Moises.

When the news first broke that Willie Randolph was fired at 3am eastern time one of the first things that ran through my mind was the now infamous 3am Hillary Clinton political ad. Well, I guess I am not the only one because the always diligent folks over at SSNN attended a press conference where ex-Mets manager Willie Randolph told ‘reporters’ that he was disappointed in the response he received when he tried to get in touch with Barack Obama.

“After Omar [Mets GM Minaya] fired me at three in the morning, I needed to talk to someone,” Randolph said. “I called Barack, but it went straight to his voice mail. It got me thinking – maybe Hillary was right. I can certainly attest that Mrs. Clinton is more reliable when it comes to 3 AM phone conversations.”

Randolph went on to say that he would be willing to help Obama out with his campaign if he apologized:

“Hell, I could even manage his campaign – I’ve got experience with that. Just know that I’m not the best at holding commanding leads.”

For more on the Randolph press conference go to SSNN. Also, even though the pic has nothing to do with this story doesn’t that dude who attended yesterday’s game look like Andy Samberg of SNL?

With Mets VP Tony Bernazard taking a beating in the local media of late he seems to have plenty of allies in the Mets organization. Adam Rubin of the Daily News is reporting that ‘insiders’ are telling him that Bernazard could actually replace Omar Minaya if things don’t turn around.

VP Tony Bernazard is in prime position to assume the GM responsibilities if Minaya is ousted, insiders tell the Daily News.

Rubin goes on to write that Bernazard has the trust and respect of Jeff Wilpon. Jeff especially likes Bernazard emphasis on homegrown players.

The reports that Bernazard is a bad guy are abundant but the ones that I’ve read aren’t very specific. Eddie Coleman of WFAN the other day told a story of Bernazard sitting in the dugout with Jerry Manuel while Willie Randolph was throwing batting practice. Chris Russo and Mike Francesa agreed with Eddie that there was something wrong with that. Now, I don’t claim to know or understand the correct etiquette but some of this stuff should be explained further. If someone is a bad guy and a backstabber then specific incidents should be easy to sight. Seems like the media may have focused on a fall guy here and it might be a bit unfair.

The always entertaining Brad Bortone of Bugs and Cranks gives us his take on Omar’s press conference yesterday. The following is a taste but make sure you head over there and read the rest, it’s well worth your time. Funny stuff.

Omar: “It was my decision. It was done based upon how I see our team for the past year or so. It was a tough decision. You have to understand, Willie was my hire. I decided to fire Willie, it was my decision. It is a tough one. I say its tough, why? Because I hired him.”

Bortone’s Translation: I didn’t want to fire the man, but the Wilpons said, “It’s either you or Willie,” and that’s when I booked the next Southwest SuperSaver to L.A.

Omar : When I talked to Willie last night, Willie had told me all along, Omar, just give me a heads up before something happens, communicate with me. Its a kid from Brooklyn communicating with a kid from Queens. I told him im going to try and make a decision on this trip. Willie said lets just get this done, the sooner the better. He gets back to the hotel, we sit down, I said Willie I made a decision, I have two choices here I can say you will be the manager for the year or you’re not the manager and I told him you’re not going to be the manager.

Bortone’s Translation: Willie, being “a kid from Brooklyn,” also chose to donkey punch me when I wasn’t looking. But as a kid from Queens, I understood his frustration.

Omar Minaya spoke to Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on WFAN after his press conference.

To listen audio of the interview head over to WFAN.com

Omar Minaya explains his decision to fire Willie Randolph and ESPN’s Buster Olney gives his take.

It was certainly a mild surprise this morning to see the Associated Press story that Willie Randolph had been dismissed as Mets’ manager, as well as Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto. I’ve never been a huge fan of Randolph because some of his in-game decisions are a bit puzzling. He’s been stubborn, too, for much of his tenure as Mets manager, up until his job status began to come in question.

As everyone else has already said, the decision to fire Randolph after tonight’s win was particularly in bad taste. Now, Mets fans, let’s not fool ourselves. Randolph won the last three out of his last four games, but that’s not the reason why the decision was bad. When Omar Minaya basically said Randolph’s job status would take a series-by-series approach, it was silly. And it’s still silly.

If the Mets’ front office or Minaya or a combination of both wanted to fire Randolph, they should have done so last month. As Anthony De Rosa said today, it would have saved a lot of trouble for Mets’ fans and players alike. It would have also allowed the team to avoid the public relations nightmare they face now. If they weren’t sure a month ago, they should have at least fired Randolph on Sunday. I refuse to believe that enough happened within the course of the last 24 hours to make the decision in the middle of the night right after the start of a west coast trip. That decision is disgusting and cowardly.

Strangely enough, I will miss Peterson. His personality was entertaining, but for some strange reason, he also instilled a confidence in me. He seemed like a guy with an intelligent mind for baseball. And I just don’t buy that the Mets’ pitching is bad enough this season for Peterson to get fired. The Mets are exactly middle of the pack (15th) in ERA in Major League Baseball and in the top 10 (9th) in batting average against. The rotation looks to be in good shape, and there are worse bullpens in baseball than the Mets’ one, for sure. I think Peterson is simply a casualty of change for the sake of change, and that’s a shame.

As for Minaya, perhaps, we should have seen this coming. He clearly built a team to “win now,” and “now” was 2006. Trading for Carlos Delgado was not for his bat in 2008, but it was for the 38 homers he clobbered in 2006. Signing Pedro Martinez was not for his pitching prowess in 2008 but for his performances in 2005 and 2006. Minaya just guaranteed the 2008 to make sure he got those years from Martinez.

Signing Moises Alou in two consecutive years was certainly a “win now” move, hoping to catch a year when Alou is magically healthy. Unfortunately, both years he has not been. If Mets fans will remember, one of the big public relations rallying cries behind the trade and subsequent free-agent signing of Orlando Hernandez was his “big game” mentality and playoff experience. Minaya looked to tolerate his injuries and up-and-down seasons for what he would surely, in his mind, bring in the postseason. Suffice it to say, the investment has been less than successful.

Minaya should be lauded for how quickly he turned around a team down in the dumps after 2004 into a juggernaut in 2006. But that juggernaut would not remain because too many of the pieces were aging with their performances fleeting. Minaya did not do enough in the wake of the 2007 collapse to rejuvenate the team to its 2006 glory, hoping instead that the pitching arm of one man (Johan Santana) would magically fit the bill. While Santana has been predictably stellar, the team has been less than.

These “change for the sake of change” moves are hollow. Mets fans can only cling to the hope that the team will have one of those big winning streaks some teams have after foundation-shaking actions. Even if the team were to rally behind Jerry Manuel and adopt Randolph as a “gipper” to win for, that would not justify the actions the Mets’ front office has taken in the firing of Randolph. Nothing could.

Don’t be fooled folks, this was not an Omar Minaya decision. He may have been the messenger, but the message came from above.

Now, with Willie Randolph gone, the pressure shifts to the man the Mets would have you think was responsible for pushing Willie out the door. It will be interesting to see now how aggressive Omar is in trying to save his own job as we approach the trade deadline. Jerry Manuel is playing with house money, he could be here a month, he could be here a week, he could be here until the end of the season, but the real focus now will be on how Minaya proceeds because the Mets are essentially his team now.

Omar tried his hardest to protect Willie for as long as he could, but as many reporters and talk radio hosts will tell you today, Jeff Wilpon wanted Randolph out the door. Omar will now have to prove to the Wilpons that he can turn it around, or he will be the next man walking.