I have been out of the loop, as they say. I watched with mild interest as the Mets signed "K-Rod" for considerably less than had been rumored. And now my eyes are opened a little wider at this creative three-team trade between the Mets, Seattle and Cleveland.
Just seeing that the participants are the Mets, Seattle, and Cleveland, I figured, immediately, that the Mets and Mariners had been screwed. But that wasn't exactly the case.
Still, I read the names and then the analysis at the intelligent sites (mostly
Amazin Avenue. Also
K-Law at ESPN and
Carruth at Fan Graphs.) And I was kinda shocked at how universally praised this deal has been from the Mets' side.
Doesn't it strike anyone as a little uncreative? A little too Ed Wade-like, throwing prospects (however mediocre) away for relief pitchers? Yes, Putz is good. And yea, I guess the prospects are not that good.
A dynamite relief corps does not a championship team make.
Tim Marchman is with me a little bit.
Aaron Heilman is Aaron Heilman; this year aside he's a perfectly good setup man, but he had to go and I don't think anyone will miss him even if he turns into a passable fourth starter. Joe Smith, though, is actually pretty damn good, and a pitcher whom right-handers simply can't hit is a valuable thing to have around. Sean Green, whom the Mets picked up in the deal, is to Smith as Reed is to Chavez: He'll fill the role, but not nearly as well.
As for the prospects, Mike Carp is probably going to be a homeless man's John Olerud, a passable second-division starter, while Makiel Cleto is your generic live arm. They're hardly irreplacable, but you can hear overtones of late 2006, when the Mets pissed away a ton of talent including Heath Bell and Jesus Flores.
Right, well that's what bothers me. That's why I didn't really have the energy to write up my Ranking the GMs for Omar and talk about his two-year extension and do a Building the 2009 Mets and all that. Because the
modus operandi of this team is just a tired cliché to me.
The minor leagues are fodder for the major leagues. In the major leagues, we throw a bunch of money and prospects around for players who have established themselves as stars already (and may be fading) and surround them with the dredges of mediocrity, "established veterans" who have outlived their usefulness and block better minor leaguers.
I know, I'm a broken record too.
All in all, I am far too harsh. Omar paid a lot for Carlos Beltran, but he has been more than worth it (though I wasn't around to criticize that deal and probably wouldn't have). He paid a lot for Johan Santana, but he has been great as well (though the jury is still out on that one). However, what did it get us? The exact same record as the year before, because while Santana was a significant improvement over the alternatives, the Mets failed to make the same upgrades at the margins, where they gave away what they had gained.
That's why Valentino Pascucci was a rallying cry.
That's why I have a hard time getting excited over the big deals, which Omar, to his credit, often gets right. Because the organizational philosophy is complete shit. The team may luck into a pennant but it will not have long-term success as long as it continues to rely on big-name-talent and lets the rest rot as if it were unimportant.
Eh. I bore myself.
