I hope he buries the Mets in their games in DC next year and high fives every single fan in their new stadium, and I hope SNY constantly cuts to the "Willie staring blankly into space" shot.

You’ve got to make decisions. Sometimes you make good trades, sometimes you make bad trades…

And right here is the problem... apparently making decisions in Flushing doesn't include the possibility of not making a trade.

"Sometimes you make good trades, sometimes you make bad trades… I’m not worried at all. You just try not to think about those trades.”

wow .. just wow.
the trade isn't even 12 hours old.

... You just try not to think about those trades ...

Flushing

the new stadium is still in Flushing right?

the new stadium is still in Flushing right?

yup, probably just close enough to shea to be mostly under the omnipresent black cloud.

yup, probably just close enough to shea

it's in the shea parking lot

just as long as they still play in flushing.

it should be a law or something

What a terrible quote. He is already trying to spin it as a "I had to do something" move. Yikes.

Omar has often been quoted that he's the type of GM who just makes a gut call and goes for it, and it seems he frequently gets frustrated by long protracted negotiations and just overpays for the quick kill. I remember a couple of years ago he was trying to acquire Estrada, I believe, and he got frustrated with the Braves, so he just went out and gave the Marlins whatever they wanted for Paul LoDuca. Also wonder if Billy Beane ever placed a call when he got heard about this trade and said: "Denise, who's the best looking GM in baseball?"

Omar Minaya is dead to me.

Omar has often been quoted that he's the type of GM who just makes a gut call and goes for it, and it seems he frequently gets frustrated by long protracted negotiations and just overpays for the quick kill.

Yea, he even admits this:

"There might have been a higher value up ahead," Minaya said.

Omar and Willie must go.

Has anyone worked out yet what it is that the Mets have the best combination of in baseball?

Has anyone worked out yet what it is that the Mets have the best combination of in baseball?

Best left side of infield? Best senior citizen LF (if Bonds doesn't play)? Best starting pitchers (less than 100 ip)? Best after-dinner speaker among closers? Best Canadian first baseman? Best playoff run-in reverse?

Best Canadian first baseman?

They traded for Morneau?

A night and considerable amount of alcohol later it still doesn't make sense.

"Sometimes you make good trades, sometimes you make bad trades"

Yep, if not one of the worst trades, certainly one of the most inexplicable in baseball history. Omar's not even making excuses anymore.

Disgust.

When asked by MLB.com’s Marty Noble why any team would trade the Mets anything for Estrada, now that it was clear they had no place to put him on the roster, Minaya replied, “I don’t know how to answer that question.”

*smacks head*

Great article as always, Howard. Thanks for putting our frustrations into the printed word.

and I hope SNY constantly cuts to the "Willie staring blankly into space" shot.

I assume by now that this shot is on tape, and instead of pointing a camera into the dugout, they can just roll the tape and put it on TV as if it were live.

Just when you think this team is getting a clue...

I'm starting to think '06 might've been the worst thing that ever happened to us, since it convinced everyone of Omar and Willie competence when really it was the sun shining on a dog's ass. LoDuca's season was totally off the charts for him, Valentin was absurd but had been inches away from being cut and then performed at a level beyond what he'd done in the years leading up to '06, and Endy finally played up to potential. These men do not deserve jobs.

I will mercilessly boo Schnieder at every game, not because Milledge was traded for him, but because he's terrible at playing baseball.

Anyone have Church's number against the Mets during the September collapse? Schnieder was responsible for shutting down the Mets running game during that streak. Omar made the classic "get guys who played well against us regardless of their talent" move. Good teams don't trade value for Ryan Church. The Nats didn't want anything to do with him heading into '07- he could've been had for nothing.

I just don't get it. I want to send Jack Bauer to waterboard Omar until he tells us what he real reason for this deal was. Then I want Jack to f up the waterboarding and actually drown this jackass....

This trade isn't going to hurt the Mets as must as Megdal believes. Why? Because since 2006, teams in the NL East only face each other 18 times a year.

I don't understand this trade. I'm trying, but my brain rebels.

When asked by MLB.com’s Marty Noble why any team would trade the Mets anything for Estrada, now that it was clear they had no place to put him on the roster, Minaya replied, “I don’t know how to answer that question.”

*smacks head*

This is what I did! The conference call was on speaker! My cat jumped.

I will mercilessly boo Schnieder at every game, not because Milledge was traded for him, but because he's terrible at playing baseball.

This would be a shame. He seems like a good guy who does some things well. I like him a lot as a complement to Castro, with Castro expecting to play 90-100 games, and Schneider 60-70. I'm not going to boo him because the Mets think the breakdown should be 130 Schneider, 30 Castro.

And on Church, I sure didn't get offended by his comments. They don't, in my mind, make him an anti-Semite.

This would be a shame. He seems like a good guy who does some things well. I like him a lot as a complement to Castro, with Castro expecting to play 90-100 games, and Schneider 60-70. I'm not going to boo him because the Mets think the breakdown should be 130 Schneider, 30 Castro.

Howard, would you have said this before the Mets traded for him? What does he do well? It sure as hell isn't play baseball...

It's been posted before, but OPS+ the last 2 years is 72 and 77. He's going to singehandedly ruin our offense. Omar has a hard-on all of the sudden for catcher defense, but I think he's defined "defense" as the ability to gun Reyes down at 3B. You don't root for a guy because he tries hard, you root for him because he plays well. I don't want 9 SuperJoes on my team.

Combined with Castillo, we've got two lineup spots filled with players who are a lock not to slug anywhere near .400. You just can't win like that with the pitching the Mets have. This is gonna be a weak team, prone to offensive slumps. Unless Alou can play every day, they're in serious trouble writing this jackass's name in the lineup card 130 games. You want to give your guys a chance to win. I'm sure there'll be the rare occasion when we're glad Schnieder's in the game- 9th inning with a runner on first- but every time he grounds weakly to the mound with runners on first and third and the pitcher coming up, I'm going to picture Omar as a giant #### for sticking this guy on our team.

I'd rather have Estrada. The Nats pitching staff was terrible last year, so it isn't even like the Mets have brought a guy in for his ability to work with pitchers. That I could kind of see. This is moronic, and I'm embarrassed to be a Met fan today. If DC wasn't such a horrible city, I'd move there and root for the Nats.

Howard, would you have said this before the Mets traded for him? What does he do well? It sure as hell isn't play baseball...

Well, as it says in my article, defense. It isn't better than a catcher who isn't an offensive sieve, but it will be nice when he throws runners out.

The truth is, I like both these players, and have for a while. It isn't close to ideal, especially having traded Milledge to get him.

I would rather they hadn't made this deal, and I'd rather more Castro and less Schneider. But yes, there are some things he does well- and truthfully, I don't believe in booing my own team anyway.

It's been posted before, but OPS+ the last 2 years is 72 and 77.

Wasn't Lo Duca 80? Not exactly a terrible offensive team last year.

Schneider doesn't help. But he won't doom the team to failure.

Great article as always, Howard. Thanks for putting our frustrations into the printed word.

Also, thank you for this- very kind of you to say.

I gym now- a picture of Lastings will put my workout into another gear!

Regarding Marty Noble's question to Omar Minaya I think you are missing something fundamental. The reason why a team would offer something in trade for Johnny Estrada is that if they don't they might lose out on him because some other team might offer something. Even if the other teams were colluding to not offer anything for Estrada in the hopes that the Mets will release him they would still risk losing him to another team as a free agent. By trading for him they can assure themselves his services. The Mets still have the rights to him in a competitive market and his trade value should be bid up to or near his actual value due to competition. If there is only one team interested in him then its a contest of patience. The Mets could bury him on the bench or in the minors until that team offers close to fair value but it would cost them a roster spot.

The surprising thing is that Omar could not come up with this answer. Its as if Omar doesn't realize that Estrada still has value. Thats a bad sign. I think Omar lacks the cognitive sophistication to properly perform GM duties. He needs some smart guy to explain to him the possibilties and scenarios.

The reason why a team would offer something in trade for Johnny Estrada is that if they don't they might lose out on him because some other team might offer something. Even if the other teams were colluding to not offer anything for Estrada in the hopes that the Mets will release him they would still risk losing him to another team as a free agent. By trading for him they can assure themselves his services.

That works in theory but not in this particular instance. Estrada's value isn't close to what he would make in arbitration, so no team would be willing to trade for him knowing that it would be on the hook for that amount as the price for assuring itself of his services. Every team in baseball would rather just take its chances of being able to sign him as a FA. Remember, according to Rosenthal, Minaya offered to include him in the Milledge deal, and Bowden told him, "Thanks but no thanks." As long as the arb eligibility is part of the package, Estrada has negative value. Which is why the Mets will non-tender him.

As long as the arb eligibility is part of the package, Estrada has negative value. Which is why the Mets will non-tender him.

Exactly. The Mets took Estrada to get out from Mota's contract. They can now non-tender Estrada and will have removed Mota's contract from the team at no cost. They now have their catching tandem set and have removed an overpriced reliever from the payroll.

Thats a bad sign. I think Omar lacks the cognitive sophistication to properly perform GM duties. He needs some smart guy to explain to him the possibilties and scenarios.

I think people on this site are too full of themselves and think that the GM job is easier than it is.

I don't want 9 SuperJoes on my team.

Interestingly, McEwing was also a fan of rap and they ran him out of town too ...

So when does somebody start the FiyaMinaya.com website?

It is a lopsided trade IMO, but Milledge only had value to the Mets if they were going to play him. I think there is evidence that they weren't. Rather than have a young player shuttling back and forth from AAA or wasting away on the bench, making a deal makes sense. If the Mets didn't view Milledge as a potential everyday player, they probably weren't going into negotiations with the idea that they could get a huge haul for him (and, seriously, maybe they couldn't - who really knows what sort of offers they heard?). In other words, the deal itself isn't the mistake, as Church and Schneider are serviceable players, but the mistake was in their overall assessment of Milledge's value and potential. Maybe that is a small difference, but I think it is an important one. For one thing, I think it puts the blame for the mistake a bit more throughout the organization than just on Minaya. Randolph (and coaches, scouts, etc.) presumably have all been involved in assessing Milledge, along with Minaya. Once the organization comes to the conclusion that he's a 4th outfielder, the dye is cast and you get a deal like this one. Not that Minaya and Randolph shouldn't be criticized for their assessment (assuming, of course, that it is inaccurate).

This Marty Noble thing is silly. Minaya is not going to badmouth Guillermo Mota by saying publicly that the Estrada trade was just a way to get out of the Mota contract.

Bunyon in 33 makes sense. But if they were trading from depth and Milledge was not useful to them because he was a 4th outfielder, why did they trade him for another 4th outfielder?

I agree that trading from depth to fill a hole (catcher) was probably the right thing to do.

I agree that trading from depth to fill a hole (catcher) was probably the right thing to do.

Except that, acquiring Brian Schneider is more like digging a hole than filling one.

Minaya is not going to badmouth Guillermo Mota by saying publicly that the Estrada trade was just a way to get out of the Mota contract.

I bet Hank Steinbrenner would. Maybe Omar should give him a call.

So, rumors about Bedard and Tejada coming to NYM? Could Reyes be Balmer-bound? I figure Reyes plus the farm for Bedard and Tejada would get it done.

It would be awesome for the Mets to get Bedard. A rotation of Pedro/Bedard/Maine/Hernandez/Perez is pretty freaking sweet. If they can get Bedard by giving up some combo of Gomez/Pelfrey/Humber/Heilman, I'd be very happy.

Re: Tejada

Maybe the Mets are eating salary so the Orioles can trade Tejada?

Oh, if we can get Bedard/Tejada without giving up any of Wright/Reyes/Fernando, I will kiss the ground that Omar walks on...

I'd imagine Tejada would have plenty of trade value even if no team is eating his salary (or his B-12s).

Maybe the Mets are eating salary so the Orioles can trade Tejada?

I don't think you're the first person to suggest this, but isn't the balance of Tejada's contract (2/$26M) pretty reasonable by present day standards? I mean, unless you think he's done.

Oh, if we can get Bedard/Tejada without giving up any of Wright/Reyes/Fernando, I will kiss the ground that Omar walks on...

My guess is Schneider goes to Baltimore and the Mets get Ramon Hernandez as a throw in...

I don't think you're the first person to suggest this, but isn't the balance of Tejada's contract (2/$26M) pretty reasonable by present day standards? I mean, unless you think he's done.

I am just speculating but just because 2y/26m is pretty reasonable doesn't mean the Mets can't make it more reasonable by eating money. I am still skeptical of this rumor.

Love this Rotoworld rumor; The Nationals want to move Kearns and Lopez and are said to be interested in pelfrey. If the Mets make that trade, some BTFer is going to off Minaya.

Sounds like Bowden's found the sucker at the poker table, and for a change it's not him.

Sounds like Bowden's found the sucker at the poker table, and for a change it's not him.

How many more Minaya is stupid jokes before you get it out of your system?

That's a poker expression. Or should I have called him "fish"?