Hey Omar: You Need To Get Some Work Done

Now that I've thrown out an opinion on the World Baseball Classic, it's time to remind the Mets what I said a while back after they signed Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz: Omar Minaya, there is still plenty of work to do. Go get busy.

This isn't the Knicks we're talking about here. Knick fans have to be content with waiting till the salary cap is under control. That'll be about a year and a half into Barack Obama's presidency. The Mets have been major choke artists each of the last three seasons. (YES, losing to the Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS was the beginning of bad times for Mets fans) The club has a lot of money and resources. Like it or not, they compete (and recently not well) with the Yankees for the NY baseball dollar.

The starting pitching has question marks: After Johan, Maine and Pelfrey (and are the latter two, particularly Maine, ready to handle a full year?) whaddaya got? Tim Redding, he of the career high 10 wins in 2008? Oliver Perez hasn't re-signed, but it looks like that's where the Mets are going. Has Omar even contacted Ben Sheets? I know he's injury prone, but after Santana a healthy Sheets has more talent than any hurler the Mets have right now. John Garland has a high ERA, but he's better at this point than Redding. Johnathan Niese? The jury is still out.

The biggest concerns are the offense. After Reyes, Beltran and Wright, there is NOT one position on the field that you can say with certainty, "Wow, we're all set." Not with an aging Delgado at first base. Maybe he WAS so happy Willie Randolph was let go that it jumpstarted his year. That doesn't say much about the man's character. He'll be 37 about midway thru the 2009 season. How much more can you expect from Delgado?

Can someone PLEASE tell me why Omar apparently hasn't spoken with Orlando Hudson? He is better asleep than Luis Castillo is awake on whatever is left of his best days as a ballplayer.

Who plays left? Daniel Murphy may have some promise. I've been on record as saying I DON'T want Manny Ramirez. If Manny drove the best manager in baseball, Terry Francona bananas, what would he do in Flushing? He is a diva in the realm of Oprah or Paris Hilton. Let him be someone else's problem. Adam Dunn has a lot of pop but his problem-LOTS of strikeouts. Michael Young has asked the Rangers to trade him. He's a consistent hitter and pretty good in the field. Omar, either guy is worth a call. Murphy could be the 4th outfielder for now.

That is, unless RF is still a problem. Last season, the Amazins mishandled Ryan Church's injuries almost as badly as Fred and Jeff Wilpon did by allowing Bernie Madoff to invest their money. Will Church be ready to go? If not, what happens?

As for catcher, Brian Schneider was a great disappointment. Jason Varitek is out there-but I get him ONLY if other needs are filled. Varitek isn't much with the bat, but his defense and baseball savvy would be a breath of fresh air for a club that's repeatedly proven it doesn't know how to win. Ramon Castro can hit-but could he stay healthy over a full season?

Maybe SportsNet New York (SNY) could have a daily segment "What's Omar Doing?" between now and the end of spring training. Omar, stop patting yourself on the back for K-Rod and J.J. Do some work to make your team better. To put it bluntly: If the Mets DON'T make the playoffs in 2009, Minaya should be on the unemployment line.