Omar Knows Best

Two years ago at this time, the Mets were in disarray, literally. Fresh off the Scott Kazmir debacle, the team was losing, there was little to no excitement at Shea Stadium, and the minor leagues? Pretty barren. Fast forward two years, and Omar Minaya has transformed the Mets into a powerful juggarnaut, built to win for years. How? Through shrewd trades, bold free agent signings, and an eye for talent that is second to none. And he's slowly built up a farm system that is rising through the ranks.

Yes, he does deserve credit for the signings of Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. Why? Mr. Fred Wilpon didn't seem all too interested in taking a discount to sign A-Rod, and he didn't seem at all interested in signing Vlad. Omar got into Wilpon's head, and convinced him to make big investments for future gains. All about that time value of money which is drilled into my head every semester by my finance professors. Make an outlay now, recoup that and more later.

But more then that, Omar has transformed the farm system into, if not a raging flood of prospects, then a large lake. True, he's only been at it for two years, but look at who he's brought in. Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese, Kevin Mulvey, Joe Smith, Josh Stinson, and many many more. He completely overhauled the scouting department twice. Yes, the previous administration got us Mike Carp (the first baseman who we really like here at MPH), Phillip Humber, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Lastings Milledge, etc. It's not all Omar. But Omar is nurturing that talent in a way previous administrations didn't.

The lesson? Second guess him at your own peril. Personal? You bet. I didn't like the Carlos Delgado trade. I loved what I saw from Mike Jacobs. I routinely made a case for Jake = 80% of Delgado at a fraction of the cost. I was dead wrong. I loved Jeff Keppinger. He's gone. Did Omar screw up on that one? I think so, but we'll see (hopefully if KC gets their heads out of their asses and plays him, and Gordon, and Butler, and oh my they're loaded). I loved Victor Diaz, what he pulled this season felt like a personal betrayal by a friend. He screwed himself over, but Omar isn't without fault there.

When you look at the "present and future" banner David's put up, though, most of that is Omar's hard work. We're not saying they'll all pan out. But at least Omar's built up a farm system, something that was sorely lacking since the failed Gen K in the mid 1990s. All Hail Omar, Renaissance Man.

PS: I still love Jake ;) And Kepp, and Diaz. And I still wonder about the right side that never was.