Monday, January 10, 2005

Omar Minaya And The Metropolitan Redemption

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. - Andy Dufresne

I want you to try something with me. Think back to September 29th, a 6-3 loss to the hated Braves with the Mets coming home for their (literally) final series against the Montreal Expos.

Think back to how you felt on that day. Al Leiter was still with the team, likely to return for another year. John Franco still hadn't officially mentioned retirement (in fact, he still hasn't) and there were no indications that the front office was going to bar his return. Victor Zambrano was hurt, Kris Benson wasn't signed, and Scott Kazmir had shut down the future world champions twice. Carlos Beltran was destined for the Bronx and the names being associated with the Mets offseason -- Magglio Ordonez, Richie Sexson -- were the same types of names associated with the Mets in past offseasons, i.e. injury risks the Mets could take a flier on, cheap.

Think back to how you felt going into the offseason. Depressed? Indifferent? Hopeless?

I certainly did. This team had no direction and no hope for the future. We had a lame duck GM who didn't have any power, an owner of one of the wealthiest franchises in baseball in one of the biggest markets who refused to spend money on his team, and a roster filled with a few too many powerful and influential personalities. I think it's safe to say that my morale as a Met fan was at an all-time low.

Then along comes September 30th. Then along comes Omar Minaya. Then along comes hope.

What Omar has done this offseason is nothing short of remarkable given that he came back to this organization just three short months ago. First, he hired Willie Randolph as manager and re-signed Kris Benson (and Anna, we can't forget Anna). Then he cleaned house, ridding the team of Franco, Leiter, and Mike Stanton and stunned the baseball world by luring Pedro Martinez away from the world champs.

All of a sudden, a glimmer of summer sunshine appeared. Hey, maybe the Mets weren't going to skimp and save this year after all. And the way Minaya got Pedro, not just with money but by going to the Dominican and having dinner with him, a full court press on his part, was something we haven't seen out the Mets in years. On that day, I think I started to mentally heal as a fan.

A few months ago, I wrote the following on Always Amazin' in regards to Carlos Beltran:

The Mets have to recruit him and make him feel wanted. They have to commit themselves one hundered percent to getting Beltran and make him come here. Sell him on hitting behind the young core of David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Kaz Matsui. Sell him on having protection in front of Mike Piazza. Sell him on us, the fans, who would love to see him patrolling the outfield of Shea. And finally sell him on the fact that, believe it or not, the Mets as currently composed are better set up for the future than the Yankees.

The Mets can get Carlos Beltran. All they have to do is to try and commit themselves to going all the way.


There was no reason for the Mets to act like a small market team, afraid of competing with the big, bad Yankees. They're in the same town, they're in the same market, they have one of the highest payrolls in the game, and they're much better positioned for the future with their lack of long term contracts and homegrown youngsters. But for some reason, Fred Wilpon became scared the last couple years, afraid of being one-upped by Steinbrenner, afraid to commit to any sort of plan or player.

And that fear of commitment is largely what has held the Mets back. It's what has kept them from getting A-Rod and Vlad Guerrero. And it's seriously depressed many a Mets fan, as I'm sure you all well know.

By signing Beltran, Omar has not only won the ultimate prize of this offseason but he has manage to rid Met fans (and the Met ownership) of this inferiority complex they slowly developed in the 90's. He's given them reason to believe in this team, not only that they can win on the field, but that the ownership can win off of it. He's given all of us a reason to hold our heads high in this town, able to walk with our Irish Night Met caps and David Wright jerseys without feeling defensive. He's given us hope.

I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I imagine it's the excitement only a baseball fan can feel. A fan at the start of a new season, whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope David Wright continues to improve... I hope Pedro Martinez can dazzle the crowds like he did at Fenway... I hope Carlos Beltran someday becomes a world series MVP... I hope...

And hope, my friends, is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And we owe all our hope this offseason to Omar.

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