The Marlins should extend manager Fredi Gonzalez to keep him around as long as Hanley Ramirez is under contract, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. There's no indication that the Marlins are going to extend their skipper in the near future, but Heyman has the latest on some moves that could happen sooner:
- The Mets will "almost assuredly" hire Bob Melvin if they fire Jerry Manuel, but there's no evidence that GM Omar Minaya is under the same scrutiny as Manuel.
- The Brewers would presumably ask bench coach Willie Randolph to manage if they fire manager Ken Macha.
- Executives estimate that Jayson Werth will sign a deal worth more than Jason Bay's $66MM deal, but less than Matt Holliday's $120MM deal. One executive doesn't think Werth will be able to secure a deal like Holliday's because he doesn't have the same track record. Werth hadn't played more than 102 games before 2008, but he has hit .278/.375/.521 since then.
“Executives estimate that Jayson Werth will sign a deal worth more than Jason Bay’s $66MM deal, but less than Matt Holliday’s $120MM deal. ”
Wow, what great insight Heyman.
Ha, got to love the 40m range prediction.
Why should Minaya be under the same scrutiny as Manuel? Clearly it’s the manager’s fault that they gave Perez a huge deal, continue to count on Maine to be a reliably good starter, always punt one outfield corner, plan poorly for injuries that happen too often, gave Castillo two more years than anyone else would have, rush prospects to the majors, frequently waste high draft picks on relievers, and acted as if last year’s team was Jason Bay away from winning anything. Clearly the heat should all be on Manuel. None on Minaya or the Wilpons.
clearly its Minaya’s fault that he didnt sign Ben Sheets ( 10 mil bust ) …and Joel Piniero ( so far looking awful w/o Duncan ) …and John Lackey…( looks like Bos got a steal right there huh ? )…
..on the other hand, Davis looks like the future at 1B…Flores is looking great in the minors…Mejia is another feather in Omar’s cap…
I guess Omar is responsible for the lineup and the way Jerry handles the bullpen too..
Two years ago, when the Mets collapsed down the stretch and every one of their last games was vital, Ramon Martinez batted sixth in the last game of the season. It is Minaya’s fault that he inherited Wright and Reyes, yet refused to put more than a couple of pieces around them. He builds baseball teams like basketball teams, thinking you can win with five players. What is Manuel supposed to do with the lineup to paper over having Francoeur as the best right field option? Or little to fall back on when Beltran isn’t available? I’m not saying the headline free agent pitchers from this offseason are any great shakes, but Maine and Perez should not be considered sure things in an offseason plan. And on what planet is Pineiro looking awful?I’d fire both of them if I were running the team, but Minaya’s the real problem and has been for a while.
“It is Minaya’s fault that he inherited Wright and Reyes, yet refused to put more than a couple of pieces around them. ”
this has to be the funniest statement i have heard in EONS…and that says alot..
what was the mets record in the 3 previous seasons before Minaya came on?
212-272 (thats 60 games under .500)
what was the mets record in the 5 years after Minaya came on?
427-383 (thats 44 games OVER .500..including all the injuries and disaster that last year had )
that was just total luck…it had nothing to do with the acquisitions Omar made during that time…
yeah…that big brown guy that played 1B from 2006-2008 was really Minaya’s cousin.
and that other big guy that wears 57…he was pitching in San Quintin when we picked him up…i cant believe Omar traded Phil Humber and Carlos Gomez for him…
yeah id fire that guy ASAP too
lol
OK, he picked up Delgado from a team undergoing a firesale, and almost got production from him that matched his salary. The Beltran signing was good but is tailing off in value (the cost of signing long deals; still worth it). They signed Pedro and got a third of what they paid for him. Of course the Johan deal was a good deal, but you still haven’t countered my point that Omar has been unable to build beyond a handful of strong pieces. Or how about this? They have two young homegrown stars, an ace they got for nothing, and a huge payroll, yet they’ve missed the playoffs three years in a row in the National League. It’s about to be four. And saying that the general managers before Minaya sucked doesn’t mean Minaya doesn’t suck. Skunks and pigs both stink.
i love how u downplay or completely neglect to mention:
improving the closer position – we went from braden looper to billy wagner
improving 1st base – we went from todd zeile to carlos delgado
improving 2nd base – we went from kmatsui to getting a career year out of valentin
improving the catcher position – we went from a fading piazza to loduca hitting .320
lets not give him credit for drafting a budding ace in pelfrey….ike davis…another cf in kirk….finding mejia…flores…
as a matter fact, lets blame omar for the mets being able to get on base but not being able to drive a run in to save their lives…
it doesnt matter what i say…i can mention how they are 40 games over .500…i can mention all the acquisitions he has gotten…in your head, u want him gone and aside from the mets winning the ws this year…nothing will change your mind.
I haven’t failed to address that! You’re reflecting my main point, which is that Minaya has made a handful of good individual moves, but has failed to put together teams that have cut it, despite having two homegrown superstars and the budget to sign top, top free agents. And which one of those moves is as good as the Perez contract is bad? And how can you not recognize that the Mets currently have two good starting pitchers and pray for rain, a lineup with four good hitters in it (assuming a bounceback from Reyes), and a thin, mediocre bullpen. He has a huge budget and that’s the best he could build?
u havent failed to address that ?
well lets see…
“They signed Pedro and got a third of what they paid for him. ”
ok..u mention nothing of pedro having a typical cy-young stud year in 2005…changing the culture and making the league think the mets were serious players….( dont mention that pedro helped recruit some of the mets prospects ( f-mart/mejia )
every single good thing omar does u downplay
beltran’s contract value tailing off
fleecing the marlins for delgado
then u never mention omar fleecing the dodgers for sanchez…the orioles for maine…picking up valentin, chavez, and a handful of guys that gave great contributions for low salaries.
and if u dont think jeff wilpon doesnt get in the way of on-field decisions and front office management, then please explain why a major market team is DEAD LAST in draft money spent.
well if u look at each year individually..u’ll notice something…in 2007…wagner was almost perfect in the first half…then in the 2nd half..He had a 6.23 ERA in August and was plagued with back spasms during September….he blew 4 saves in the 2nd half…the mets lost the division by 1 game.
do u blame the GM ?
in 2008, Wagner again goes down in August, has surgery in September…the bullpen was in COMPLETE shambles…Omar curiously doesnt make any significant move to replace his 12 million dollar closer. The Mets blew more save opportunities than any team in baseball that year ( around 28 ). Again they lose the division by 1 game.Any other GM would have been fired Immediately. is it not obvious to you that Omar was not allowed to bring in another closer ?
i mean if u cant see how the wilpons get in the way and dont allow the team to make moves that are best for them from a baseball perspective and not just a financial or marketing perspective ( i mean why is HoJo still a hitting instructor ?..hint hint…look at the marketable 3rd baseman who would be upset if his mentor HoJo isnt treated well )
How can you act like injuries to all the OLD players Minaya acquires are just bad luck? You have to build these things into your plan. Minaya does that worse than maybe anyone in baseball. Minaya has made tons of good moves with the Mets, sure. Heck, the Putz trade worked out poorly, but I’ll give it to him for how he pulled it off at the time. Castillo was a good acquisition at the time. So was Perez. So was Valentin. So was Sanchez. But he then extends those guys or depends on them. It’s like going on a good run at a craps table and then sticking around to make sure you lose all your gains. Beltran was a great signing. There. I won’t even qualify it. It was a great signing. But Omar never has a plan for his whole 25 man roster, only for small portions of it. And too much of the rest is always built on a wing and a prayer (Perez and Maine rebounding/Reyes and Beltran coming back strong/Francoeur playing like he did at the end of last year).
The bottom line is the Mets, year after year, have huge, plainly visible holes that Minaya has proven himself either unable to see or unable to fill.
well having that type of planning essentially involves investing in REDUNDANCY…
I have been a fan of the mets for almost 30 years. they have NEVER done that. If u think that is a Minaya problem, u havent been following too closely.
This falls square on the Wilpons, who not only do not believe in investing in something u might not use, but who rather react to every crisis.
then to make it worse, many moves they make are made from a pr perspective.
trust me they’d rather have shawn green than Barry Bonds….they like to go for the nice quiet types that never make noise. they could never handle anyone with cojones. they like the type of guys that will not “embarrass” them.
the wilpons lied to the public last year about reyes, putting his health at risk, putz said so himself that the mets made him lie to reporters about his injury…schneider said the same thing….this is all to bring fannies in the seat…not about the health of the players or even the franchise…if last year did not teach u all u needed to know about the wilpons, then i guess u’ll wait til they go through yet another GM and u get the same results…the mets are the baseball version of the knicks…an ownership where the lucky kid runs the franchise into the ground…
If you’re arguing that the best thing for the Mets would be for the Wilpons to sell the team, then I couldn’t agree more.
that is my greatest wish…nothing would be more beneficial to the team than ownership that views winning a WS as the path to financial wealth, not “meaningful games in September” which essentially means putting fannies in the seat from april – september as the priority. after that meaningful games in september quote, i actually started appreciating The Boss’s ambition of winning a chip every year ( despite the negatives that can come along with that )
i would love to see this guy in SF but it will never happen. i think he”ll end up in philly somehow.
I thought the Phillies were going to trade him last year to the Giants for Matt Cain before his new deal…but it didn’t happen. I think if he doesn’t sign with the Phillies, he should def. sign with the Giants. They could really use him…and I’m a Phillies fan, so I’d hate to lose him. But it does make sense.
Werth for Cain would have been terrible for the Giants. Cain has been one of the better starters in the league since he came up, while Werth has likely hit his plateau. Sabean is dumb, but he’s not that dumb
don’t underestimate sabean!!