NEW YORK, NY – Now that the season is over for New York City, we can finally focus on how bad the Giants and Jets are and how the New York Rangers might not win a game until December. But before we get into football frustrations and how the Rangers are trying to kill me, lets take a look back at the what the Mets have actually accomplished in the last year.
It all started with a blessing at the end of the 2010 season. While the end of last season might have been a blessing for many Mets fans, that’s not the blessing I’m talking about. I’m talking about how, within a week of the end of the 2010 season, the Mets rid themselves of lame duck manager Jerry Manuel and saboteur GM Omar Minaya. Is Minaya still on the Phillies payroll??? He was during his time as Mets general manager. How else would you explain some of those awful contracts? Just curious.
The Mets were already a better team without Minaya and Manuel, but The Amazins weren’t done cleaning house. Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez had been shown the door… and asked never to return. Rumor has it they are now living together. While they were stuck paying the pair about $13 trillion this season, the Mets freed up two roster spots and dropped a couple of massive sandbags. They also showed that they might actually be serious about turning the franchise around.
Once the season started, the Mets played better than expected. Through June they were a game over .500. And that was without Johan Santana – who hasn’t pitched since 1974. He’s the new Craig Swan. Jose Reyes was having a career year (funny how that happens in contract years) and the Mets looked like they might make a push for the postseason. But… The Phillies barely lost and The Amazins were just about out of reach of the wild card.
The Mets could have gone out and acquired a bunch of players to try to get back into the hunt, but they went in the opposite direction, which in my opinion was a smart move. They started to dump payroll, making K-Rod the set-up man for the Brew Jew’s Brew Crew and and they found someone dumb enough to take Carlos Beltran and the $93 billion or so he was still owed this season. The Giants went 10-18 in August with Bel-tron in the lineup, effectively driving the dagger into the chest of their playoff push. So in six months, the Mets had shipped 4 of the 5 biggest salary drains on the team. I’m sorry to report, however, that Met fans are stuck with Jason Bay for next twelve seasons. Unlucky.
After the salary dumps, the Metsies mailed in the rest of the season. Now they find themselves in fine position to throw cash at Jose Reyes, provided they can pay him and Bobby Bonilla… for the next 29 years, or so.
I think there’s as good a chance of Reyes leaving the Mets, as there is of him re-signing. But either way The Amazin’s are a much better team than they were a year ago. Be happy Mets fans – it could be much worse. You could still have Jerry Manuel, Omar Minaya, Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Frankie Rodriquez and Carlos Beltran.
The Public Professor tomorrow…
Can’t wait for the Ollie & Luis version.
