First off, I feel like going Capone on all 25 Mets right about now. Maybe a bat to the skull will finally wake them up, or at the very least give them a nice Bugs Bunny-esque lump on their heads. All I know is something has to change. This is a franchise that hasn’t recovered from their 2007 collapse, let alone being stunned by the Cards in the 2006 NLCS. Sleepwalking, lazy, uninspired, apathetic… I’ve always said losing is part of the game but losing with THAT kind of attitude is unacceptable. Mets fans have been served this shit sandwich far too long and I for one am tired of picking the corn out of my teeth… or something.
This is not a team, this is a collection of uptight, overpaid, underachieving bums. Whatever happened to playing as a team? When they hit, they don’t pitch and vice-versa. If it’s not the starting pitching, it’s the bullpen. I’m about to pull out my three remaining hairs for fuck’s sake.
Moose asked me today what I would do if I was the GM so without further ado:
- Fire Willie Randolph. I’ve written ad nauseum about this. Fact is Bobby Valentine did more in 1999 and 2000 with a starting OF of Agbayani, Timo Perez and Jay Payton and a rotation that included Rick Reed, Bobby Jones and Glendon Rusch. Randolph has been given much better tools to work with and isn’t getting it done. Taxing a bullpen the way he’s done since 2005 doesn’t help his case either. I’m not saying all starters have to throw over 120 pitches but you don’t have to yank them when they reach 100 either. The teamhas given up trying to fight to save his job, just make this official already.
- Trade/Cut Carlos Delgado. When your defense makes Ryan Howard look like Keith Hernandez, it’s time to go. Yes, he had a solid 2006 season but the fact is he’s only playing now because his salary justifies it. If I’m Omar, I’m taking whatever I can for him. Maybe the Rockies would be interested in moving Helton’s salary for a few months of Delgado. More on that later.
- Demote/Trade Aaron Heilman. I’ve had it with this douche. He’s given up too many big HRs to warrant staying in the bullpen or even the team for that matter. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
- Change the lineup. Carlos Beltran simply is not a cleanup hitter, as shown by his paltry 6 HR and 37 RBI, among the game’s lowest for that spot in the lineup. His greatest success came with him hitting 2nd for KC and Houston so why not at least move him to 3rd? Either way, you can’t hit cleanup with a SLG % of .438… flip-flop him with Wright for all I care. These are all minor moves compared to my last resort…
- Trade Jose Reyes. I can’t believe I just typed that but if you really wanted to shake this team up and send a message, here you go. Package him with Perez and a prospect to LAA for Kotchmann, Lackey and Mathis… or to Seattle for Ichiro and Bedard… or to Colorado for Holliday and Helton. It’s a drastic measure to be sure but if you’re not winning WITH him, how much worse could it be without him?
Knowing the Mets, none of that will happen as the front office keeps walking around with their thumbs up their asses. I just know they need to do something fast because if the lost $25M in revenue from the 2007 playoffs didn’t teach them a lesson, empty seats in Citi Field might do the trick.
Being that Mike is a Braves fan, we were talking via AIM last night during the Cubs/Braves game. I was telling him that I absolutely love this Cubs team right now. (I am the “anti-Solly” at the moment.) I have not been this excited about Cubs baseball in a long time.