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For anyone that wants to read it, here's a really good article about the Mets' situation for this year and a little into next year as well.....
Meet the Mess: Breaking down what's crippled theMets
Meet the Mess: Breaking down what's crippled theMets
[h1]Bad contracts, injuries, questionable medical advice and failing farm system have crippled Mets[/h1]
By Adam Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Saturday, July 11th 2009, 3:39 PM
Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya (r.) can't be happy with the product the Mets have put out on the field.
Carlos Delgado has been cleared to hit baseballs placed on a pedestal. Jose Reyes can take grounders, just not run full throttle without discomfort. So the Mets would be in great shape if they were playing in a T-ball league - at least one that allowed for designated runners.
The Mets dropped to five games under .500 with Friday's series-opening loss to the Reds. It marked their first time at that depth since they opened Omar Minaya's tenure as GM at 0-5 in 2005, before Pedro Martinez outdueled John Smoltz and Carlos Beltran slugged a late two-run homer for a 2-1 victory in Atlanta that finally got "The New Mets" in the win column.
At least then there was hope, with Pedro and Beltran's offseason signings having revitalized the franchise after the demoralizing Scott Kazmir-Victor Zambrano swap and fourth-place finish under Art Howe the previous year.
Now?
There's barely enough proximity to first place to keep the Mets remotely relevant. And there's no hint of better days ahead.
Because of squandered opportunities - the Game 7 loss to the Cardinals in the NLCS in '06, then the coughing up of a seven-game lead with 17 to play the following season - there's little equity built with the fan base to temper the disappointment. The reality is the organization has been crumbling beneath the surface, with the sizzle of big-ticket additions masking fundamental flaws. A report filed to the entire front office of a National League team by a scout assigned to the Mets, and obtained by the Daily News, offered this scathing rebuke:
"I understand that NY teams play under different rules and FA signings are the M.O., but without the influx of talent from the amateur draft, international scouting and shrewd trades it is difficult to have balance and cohesiveness. More importantly, the vulnerability to injuries is exacerbated by their impotent system. If you evaluate the Minaya regime, it is difficult to identify a plan or philosophy beyond acquiring high priced FA talent."
The reality is that any team would be hard-pressed to withstand losses to the caliber of the players currently occupying the DL with the Mets, including Beltran (knee), Reyes (hamstring), Delgado (hip), John Maine (shoulder) and J.J. Putz (elbow). The subtext with the Mets is that the dropoff to the replacement players is precipitous because of a lack of credible options in the upper levels of the farm system. Couple that with questionable medical decisions that sources say have prompted the Players Association to explore the issue - and even Beltran to privately become upset - and not enough money coming off the books to address the team's needs next winter and it's hard to construct a scenario in which the Mets can quickly correct their predicament.
Trainer Ray Ramirez may be the highest-ranking person in the organization to lose his job this winter, although that's not yet certain. Still, the scrutiny has turned to Minaya, who acknowledged Friday's trade of Ryan Church for fellow outfielder Jeff Francoeur was partly designed to "change it up a little bit." Essentially, it offered the appearance of doing something without materially changing the Mets' situation.
There's no indication yet that Minaya will be given the heave-ho at season's end. But there are rumblings that a three-year extension he received after last year's September swoon, despite already being under contract for 2009, would not be an impediment to making a change. That extension, a source indicated, merely kept the attention focused on brand-new Citi Field entering the season and defused, or at least deferred, any chatter about whether Minaya's job might be in jeopardy.
***
Minaya inherited a reeling team with an $81 million payroll in September 2004, and he quickly spent the organization back into relevance. That first offseason he reengaged agent Scott Boras, ending a Steve Phillips-era cold war, and landed Beltran for seven years, $119 million with a full no-trade clause, after the Yankees balked at signing the center fielder for a discount. Minaya also lured Pedro Martinez into the fold that winter for four years, $53 million, the logic being that Martinez's production during the back end of the contract was secondary because Latin American teenagers would flood the organization's minor leagues, thrilled to be associated with a Dominican legend.
What happened?
There have been few contracts awarded by Minaya that have not been excessive in years (then 40-year-old Orlando Hernandez, two years, for example) or dollars (Oliver Perez, $36 million) or both (Luis Castillo, four years, $25 million). Francisco Rodriguez's three-year, $37 million contract is a notable exception.
In 2009, the Mets' payroll has ballooned beyond $140 million, to the point where Minaya was unable to add a significant bat last winter because the available dollars had to be devoted to pitching. By next offseason, there's a serious question about whether the Mets may be able to adequately plug all of their holes, since the payroll undoubtedly will not increase off a failed season.
Minaya could have less than $30 million to spend this winter if the Wilpons hold the line on the payroll, which already is the highest in the National League.
Assuming options for J.J. Putz and Billy Wagner are declined, the Mets have $41.35 million coming off the books from Delgado, Brian Schneider, Tim Redding, Alex Cora, Fernando Tatis, Putz, Wagner and Ramon Castro, whose salary the Mets are paying despite his trade to the White Sox.
However, the team is on the hook for $9.75 million in raises to David Wright, Johan Santana, K-Rod and Reyes. They also will owe raises to arbitration-eligible Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green and Francoeur.
Virtually all of the holes will have to be addressed via free agency. Prospect Jon Niese or Brad Holt can be used as the fifth starter next season, but no one else in the minor-league system is remotely ready to plug a vacancy on Opening Day 2010. That's a damning indictment. Since Fernando Martinez and Deolis Guerra, who was traded in the Santana deal, signed as 16-year-olds the summer after Pedro Martinez's addition, that pipeline of Latin American talent has failed to follow. The international signings had been intended to offset the draft picks forfeited for signing free agents. The bottom line: Money, not Pedro's reputation, results in international signings. And the Mets simply were outbid for the top talent; or they didn't have the inside track, according to sources, because of special assistant Ramon Pena's less-than-stellar reputation in the Dominican Republic, the area he oversees.
The Mets' full-season minor-league teams had a combined record of 142-191 (.426) entering this weekend. While the priority is developing talent, not winning minor-league games, there is a clear correlation between having players superior to the opposition and producing victories.
As for the upcoming offseason, the Mets don't seem to care for free-agent-to-be Brian Schneider, so that leaves one or two catching holes to fill, depending on whether Omir Santos is awarded the backup job. First base could go to Daniel Murphy, but a power bat would be welcome, or else the Mets could enter next season with an inferior lineup to '09. There likely needs to be an outfield addition, even if Fernando Martinez and Francoeur are the primary corner outfielders. And the bullpen needs to add a bona fide eighth-inning arm if Putz's $9.1 million option and Wagner's $8 million option are declined, since Bobby Parnell, Green and Feliciano could use company. That outline also presumes an identical rotation except for a rookie as the fifth starter instead of Livan Hernandez. And it leaves Castillo at second base, where he's received a free pass this season because he's stayed healthy and there have been so many other issues.
***
The scrutiny of the Mets goes far beyond free spending by a baseball operations department that failed to keep the minor-league system stocked. Questionable medical moves such as last year's decision to fly Church cross-country with a concussion have become commonplace. Still, players expressed full faith in the Hospital for Special Surgery, which provides care to the organization, and instead fault how the organization has used the information it is provided.
A source with ties to the Mets indicated that Beltran is extremely upset that he played for a month with a bone bruise after receiving a cortisone shot. The bone bruise ultimately doubled in size because of a lack of adequate rest, according to the center fielder. Scott Boras eventually had Beltran get a second opinion from doctor Richard Steadman at the Vail, Colo., clinic that performed Alex Rodriguez's hip surgery.
Putz, who ultimately underwent surgery last month to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, had been told by team doctor David Altchek weeks earlier that he needed to immediately have the spur removed, a team source said. Instead, the Mets advocated a cortisone shot. Putz went 0-2 with a blown save and 7.71 ERA in 10 subsequent appearances before needing the procedure anyway.
Similarly, Maine twice has received cortisone shots, and was sped ahead of the doctor's recommendation, only to be set back, a source said.
Sources say the Players Association is concerned enough to have started asking questions, although spokesman Greg Bouris declined to comment on the Mets' injuries.
"The Players Association is always concerned about player safety and injuries, but beyond that we have no comment as it relates to specific teams or individuals," Bouris said.
Meanwhile, a source predicted the Mets will change trainers after the season, although the person stressed that any inclination to remove Ramirez is not cemented.
The Mets have had a curious track record of pushing players too hard. Billy Wagner was furious at Mets VP Tony Bernazard for insinuating that Wagner was dogging it when he complained of discomfort after throwing a simulated game in Pittsburgh last August. Weeks later, Wagner was undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery.
Mets insiders are currently portraying Reyes as soft in private, although that's a dangerous allegation. After all, they felt the same way when Reyes had persistent leg problems early in his Mets career, and it turned out he was playing with an undetected stress fracture of the left fibula.
***
Friday's loss dropped the Mets a season-high 6½ games behind the Phillies in the National League East. And reinforcements, Francoeur aside, aren't coming soon enough. Beltran and Reyes won't be back immediately after the All-Star break, as had been once hoped. Delgado now is projected to return in August, when the division deficit may be too deep.
The Mets don't appear to have the major-league-ready prospects available to make a significant trade, which means they don't have those pieces available to call up from Triple-A Buffalo, either, to lend a hand.
The scout who visited Buffalo reported this to his superiors about the experience:
"The trip to Buffalo was depressing, although I did take in Niagara Falls a short 20 minutes from Coca Cola Field and of course Seneca Casino, but the Bisons were UGLY. It was like riding through the prairies after a gluttoness (sic) Buffalo hunt, observing all the carcasses shrewd out decaying in the aftermath.
"This Buffalo club is old and devoid of talent, there is NO help for the Mash unit known as the NY Mets here in western NY."
