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It is not unusual for a new GM to immediately put his stamp
on a team after taking over. He is for all intents and purposes the new
"sheriff"Â in town.
When Omar Minaya â€" the first "Latino" to become an MLB </span>GM - took over as GM for the New York Mets,
he set about to "clean house"Â from his predecessors Steve Phillips and Jim
Duquette. So he brought in Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado,
Johan Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez as players to help resuscitate a dormant
franchise. No one can truly fault him for these acquisitions, players who had a
track record of good performances for other teams, so the hope was the Mets
would become contenders for a long time.
However, the house-cleaning started to look a little fishy
with certain trades, notably when he traded away Kris Benson for a 40-year-old
relief pitcher Roberto Hernandez, with a White pitcher (John Maine) included in
the deal. The joke was that the trade was really about ridding the Mets of </span>the very public and opinionated Anna Benson â€"
Kris' wife. Some NY fans, however, couldn't help but feel that Minaya was using
that excuse in his remaking the team into "Los Mets."Â
Now, Omar Minaya has been sent packing in favor of </span>Sandy Alderson, who is considered the
Godfather of what is called Moneyball (stats over observed skills), and he has
set about undoing his predecessor's
</span>acquisitions. Bullpen mainstay Pedro Feliciano was not offered a new
contract. One-time lightning in a bottle player Fernando Tatis was let go.
Elmer Dessens, the injured and never pitched Kelvim Escobar, and catchers Omir
Santos and Henry Blanco all declared free agency.
The most stunning moves of all were to come: the waiving of
Mets pariahs </span>pitcher Oliver Perez and 2B
Luis Castillo, which sent a cheer throughout the fan base.
The end result is that the Opening Day 25-man roster for the
Mets looks to be one of the Whitest teams in MLB.
With Johan Santana on the shelf recovering from surgery, the
starting rotation looks to be an all-White affair.
Mike Pelfrey looks to be the Opening Day Starter â€" hoping to
build upon his 15-win 2010 season. Chris Young and Chris Capuano are both
talented </span>starters trying to reestablish
their careers coming off injuries. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is looking to pick
up his re-invention where he left off in 2010 and Jonathon Niese is a young
pitcher looking to take the next step up. If any of the starters falter,
prospects Pat Misch and Dillon Gee wait in the wings.
Prospect Josh Thole has been effectively handed the starting
catcher position. He projects to be a good bat, but his catching skills have
been questioned. His development this season will indeed be worth observing.
David Wright is the mainstay at 3B and is looking to continue solving the
"riddle of Citi Field."Â In 2009 he struggled with his power numbers, in 2010
his BA dipped to a still respectable .283 but he did launch 29 HR's . Wright will
be looking to return to 30-30 .320 form. Across the diamond, Ike Davis looks to
build upon a good rookie year and establish himself as the Mets 1B-man for now
and into the future.
The waiving of the aforementioned Castillo left 2B as the
most contested everyday position. The Mets have been high on getting Daniel
Murphy's bat into the lineup. His 2010 season wiped out by injury, they have
been looking to find a place for Murphy to fit on the team. Right now the
competition is between him and Rule 5 Draft acquisition Brad Emaus for the job,
along with weak-hitting Luis Hernandez. Failing winning starting 2B outright, Murphy
is seen as no worse than back-up IF for first, second and third-base
Jason Bay
looks to rebound from a struggling and concussion shortened 2010 with a big
offensive season, which would help the Mets contend. Perennial prospect Nick
Evans might have secured himself a spot on the 25-man roster with his strong
Grapefruit League performance and serve as 4<sup>th</sup> OF, possibly starting
often if now-RF Carlos Beltran's permanently disabled knees act up frequently..
In the bullpen, former Mets "Generation K"Â prospect and
former Cardinals closer (but oft-injured) Jason Isringhausen returns to help as
potential set-up man, along with Bobby Parnell and acquisitions Taylor Buchholz
and Tim Byrdak.
In the most "cosmopolitan"Â multicultural city in the world,
up to 20 out of 25 roster spots look to be White players, with a minimum of 17
White players on the roster, a complete 180 from 2010's 18 of 25 being
foreign-born.
Edited by: Jack Acid
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It is not unusual for a new GM to immediately put his stamp
on a team after taking over. He is for all intents and purposes the new
"sheriff"Â in town.
When Omar Minaya â€" the first "Latino" to become an MLB </span>GM - took over as GM for the New York Mets,
he set about to "clean house"Â from his predecessors Steve Phillips and Jim
Duquette. So he brought in Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado,
Johan Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez as players to help resuscitate a dormant
franchise. No one can truly fault him for these acquisitions, players who had a
track record of good performances for other teams, so the hope was the Mets
would become contenders for a long time.
However, the house-cleaning started to look a little fishy
with certain trades, notably when he traded away Kris Benson for a 40-year-old
relief pitcher Roberto Hernandez, with a White pitcher (John Maine) included in
the deal. The joke was that the trade was really about ridding the Mets of </span>the very public and opinionated Anna Benson â€"
Kris' wife. Some NY fans, however, couldn't help but feel that Minaya was using
that excuse in his remaking the team into "Los Mets."Â
Now, Omar Minaya has been sent packing in favor of </span>Sandy Alderson, who is considered the
Godfather of what is called Moneyball (stats over observed skills), and he has
set about undoing his predecessor's
</span>acquisitions. Bullpen mainstay Pedro Feliciano was not offered a new
contract. One-time lightning in a bottle player Fernando Tatis was let go.
Elmer Dessens, the injured and never pitched Kelvim Escobar, and catchers Omir
Santos and Henry Blanco all declared free agency.
The most stunning moves of all were to come: the waiving of
Mets pariahs </span>pitcher Oliver Perez and 2B
Luis Castillo, which sent a cheer throughout the fan base.
The end result is that the Opening Day 25-man roster for the
Mets looks to be one of the Whitest teams in MLB.
With Johan Santana on the shelf recovering from surgery, the
starting rotation looks to be an all-White affair.
Mike Pelfrey looks to be the Opening Day Starter â€" hoping to
build upon his 15-win 2010 season. Chris Young and Chris Capuano are both
talented </span>starters trying to reestablish
their careers coming off injuries. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is looking to pick
up his re-invention where he left off in 2010 and Jonathon Niese is a young
pitcher looking to take the next step up. If any of the starters falter,
prospects Pat Misch and Dillon Gee wait in the wings.
Prospect Josh Thole has been effectively handed the starting
catcher position. He projects to be a good bat, but his catching skills have
been questioned. His development this season will indeed be worth observing.
David Wright is the mainstay at 3B and is looking to continue solving the
"riddle of Citi Field."Â In 2009 he struggled with his power numbers, in 2010
his BA dipped to a still respectable .283 but he did launch 29 HR's . Wright will
be looking to return to 30-30 .320 form. Across the diamond, Ike Davis looks to
build upon a good rookie year and establish himself as the Mets 1B-man for now
and into the future.
The waiving of the aforementioned Castillo left 2B as the
most contested everyday position. The Mets have been high on getting Daniel
Murphy's bat into the lineup. His 2010 season wiped out by injury, they have
been looking to find a place for Murphy to fit on the team. Right now the
competition is between him and Rule 5 Draft acquisition Brad Emaus for the job,
along with weak-hitting Luis Hernandez. Failing winning starting 2B outright, Murphy
is seen as no worse than back-up IF for first, second and third-base
Jason Bay
looks to rebound from a struggling and concussion shortened 2010 with a big
offensive season, which would help the Mets contend. Perennial prospect Nick
Evans might have secured himself a spot on the 25-man roster with his strong
Grapefruit League performance and serve as 4<sup>th</sup> OF, possibly starting
often if now-RF Carlos Beltran's permanently disabled knees act up frequently..
In the bullpen, former Mets "Generation K"Â prospect and
former Cardinals closer (but oft-injured) Jason Isringhausen returns to help as
potential set-up man, along with Bobby Parnell and acquisitions Taylor Buchholz
and Tim Byrdak.
In the most "cosmopolitan"Â multicultural city in the world,
up to 20 out of 25 roster spots look to be White players, with a minimum of 17
White players on the roster, a complete 180 from 2010's 18 of 25 being
foreign-born.
Edited by: Jack Acid
