Stupid Omar

Now, I know this has nothing to do with marine biology, but I also use this blog to vent sometimes. I cannot believe that Omar Minaya has dropped the ball here (for those of you who have no idea, he is the general manager of the New York Mets). I have problems with trading young talent for older players, although I did like the Carlos Delgado trade, because the Mets need a bat in the line-up. I also like Paul Lo Duca, although not for the talent the Mets gave up. He is a good catcher, consistant hitter, good defense. However, when I find out that the Padres signed Mike Piazza for 1 year for 2 million dollars (with an option for 2007), this pisses me off. Mike Piazza was the backbone of the Mets for what, 8 years?? He did everything for this team, he took them to the World Series for Christ's sake. He also set the record for home runs by a catcher, and despite his throwing inefficiences, is one of the better defensive backstops (when you take into account calling a game, blocking a plate, not giving up passed balls). And even though his offensive production dropped (as it does for all catchers late in their careers, which I am sure we will see with Paul Lo Duca), he still had better numbers than most. Furthermore, the platoon last season of Piazza/Castro was the most prodcutive of any catcher or catcher combo in the league. The man was a baseball god, his career numbers speak for themselves and he is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Plus he only needs 3 home runs to surpass the 400 mark. This is a big deal. The Mets should have kept him, which I had been saying all along, paid his 4 million to play 2/3 of the games. It would have saved them money (Lo Duca is over 5 mil) and young talent (one of their top pitching prospects). I mean theres gotta be a time when for respect alone you keep around the guy who made the Mets from chumps to champs (and whatever they didnt win the series, they still got there). One more year, with this line-up he could bat 6th, 7th, have no pressure to produce or get overplayed (and a healthy Piazza was at his best last season), he could have hit #400 with the Mets and all but garuanteed his entrance to the Hall as a Met. I am just really disappointed, mostly because I really liked Mike Piazza, and I think he deserved an opportunity to end his career with the Mets and I am sure he wanted to. But Omar made it clear he was not wanted, pulled some bone head moves, and now we have a Lo Duca/Castro platoon that probably won't be as productive as Piazza is himself this season in San Diego. Stupid Omar. Not to mention trading Jae Seo and Kris Benson for some second rate relief pitchers??? I thought this was going to be their year, but I am not sure now. Damn Mets...