{"id":7920,"date":"2010-09-07T21:42:25","date_gmt":"2010-09-08T04:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=7920"},"modified":"2010-09-08T13:42:53","modified_gmt":"2010-09-08T20:42:53","slug":"steve_phillips_v_omar_minaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/07\/steve_phillips_v_omar_minaya\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Phillips vs Omar Minaya"},"content":{"rendered":"

At one point two Fridays ago, I was hit with a douse of inspiration to explore something that I knew would require a bit of exploring baseball-reference.com<\/a>.<\/span> (<\/span>No hard feelings if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read this.<\/span> <\/span>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot.)<\/span><\/p>\n

As everyone here probably knows, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a struggling Cubs fan.\u00c2\u00a0 It has been a love affair lasting over 25 years, since the days when Ron Cey, Keith Moreland, Lee Smith, Leon Durham, and others were breaking hearts across various National League ballparks.<\/span><\/div>\n

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I find it sad that it has been over 27 years since Steve Goodman first sang ‘A Dying Cub Fans Last Request<\/em>‘ on the Ides of March, 1983.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sad when considering of our own mortality and the extent of Cub fan disappointment.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, how about this weekend’s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mad Men<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d episode this week, huh?\u00c2\u00a0 The one where Peggy stays late at work on her birthday?\u00c2\u00a0 That was a pretty fantastic episode.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sorry, let’s get back on track by letting Baseball Almanac describe the events of the first time Steve Goodman sang ‘A Dying Cub Fans Last Request’ on the air:<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The song debuted on Roy Leonard’s WGN radio show the day. Here is Leonard’s recollection of that day, “The most memorable of all the visits, however, occurred on March 16, 1983, when Steve (Goodman) and Jethro Burns walked into our WGN studios around 11:00 a.m. They had just finished a weekend at Park West and Steve said he had introduced a song the night before that he would like to sing on the radio for the first time. With Jethro on mandolin and Steve’s guitar for accompaniment, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcA Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request was heard on the radio the first time. Little did we know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The <\/span>link to the post<\/a><\/span> on Baseball Almanac is worth the read and also contains the folkloric song lyrics.<\/span><\/div>\n
The song has unfortunately rung true to too many dying Cub fans the past three decades, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget the sad game recaps when Harry Caray hosted ‘The 10th<\/sup> Inning Post Game Show’ after losses in 1997.\u00c2\u00a0 He would lament the fact that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect the team to win a World Series in his lifetime.<\/span><\/div>\n
The 102 year championship drought is tough to describe.\u00c2\u00a0 There is sadness and humor in the drought, hope and despair.<\/span><\/div>\n

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<\/span>Alas, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not here to talk about the Cubs. \u00c2\u00a0I was thinking that it’s about time someone compared the careers of current and recent GM of the Mets, Omar Minaya and Steve Philips.\u00c2\u00a0 New York is a Yankee town, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still drawn to the Mets because I prefer National League ball and some of my dear friends of Mets fans.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The Mets have had some trying times the last few years, with late season heartbreak in losing Game 7 of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212206 NLCS, missing the 2007 and 2008 playoffs, followed by lost seasons in 2009 and this year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Let us cry not for Met fans, however.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Let’s keep things in perspective: nothing in the brief 49-year old history of the New York Metropolitans really compares with the 135-year old history of the organization which has played as the Chicago White Stockings (1876<\/a>*-1889), Colts (1890-1897), Orphans (1898-1902), and Cubs (1903-today).<\/span><\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/a>*In the first year of professional Major League Baseball, the championship was naturally won by the Chicago National League Ballclub, known back then as the White Stockings and the Cubs for the past 108 years. \u00c2\u00a0It’s also interesting, at least to me, that before this current 102-year drought, the Cubs were a powerhouse, having won back-to-back World Series in 1907 and 1908. \u00c2\u00a0How the mighty have fallen, indeed.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
It was during my bout of inspiration two Fridays ago that it dawned on me to take a peek at the Mets from the desk of their three most recent General Managers.\u00c2\u00a0 We often poke fun at Steve Phillips and Omar Minaya for their moves which have backfired.* So, I thought it would be novel to take an up close look at their transactions during their terms in office.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim Duquette was interim manager for a little over a year, in between Phillips and Minaya.\u00c2\u00a0 His moves will also be mentioned.<\/span><\/div>\n

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*To be fair, we also poke fun at the stupid things Steve Phillips occasionally says as an analyst<\/em>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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As my instincts suggested, we can peruse all team transactions during each General Manager\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tenure with Baseball Reference. <\/span>In fact, here are all the links, in case someone would like to audit our study: 1997<\/a>, 1998<\/a>, 1999<\/a>, 2000<\/a>, 2001<\/a>, 2002<\/a>, 2003<\/a>, 2004<\/a>, 2005<\/a>, 2006<\/a>, 2007<\/a>, 2008<\/a>, 2009<\/a>, and 2010<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n

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My hypothesis of this investigation is that Omar Minaya has had his rough moments, but he was a better GM than Steve Phillips.<\/span><\/div>\n

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In the end, we’re not going to be very scientific. \u00c2\u00a0Hopefully, we’ll learn something, remember other things we’ve forgotten, and have some fun along the way. \u00c2\u00a0There are thousands of things happening behind the scenes that we’ll likely never know about, and we’re just looking at transactions. \u00c2\u00a0We aren’t looking at lots of scouting reports, building a farm system, developing players, negotiating salaries, etc, etc. \u00c2\u00a0Transactions are enough.<\/span>
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\nThere were too many transactions to copy and paste the loooooong lists each season, which is why we included the yearly links above.\u00c2\u00a0 We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to look at inconsequential trades, releases, and pickups of fringe players and prospects who never panned out.\u00c2\u00a0 Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s try to just pick out the big moves*:<\/span><\/div>\n

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*As you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll quickly see, there is A LOT of information, even when we try to weed out lesser impactful moves.\u00c2\u00a0 Towards the end of the Phillips portion and most of Minaya’s, we group a bunch of moves together, if appropriate.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
Steve Phillips<\/strong> (July 17, 1997- June 12, 2003)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
August 8, 1997<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Lance Johnson and PTBNL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mark Clark and Manny Alexander to the Chicago Cubs for Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Slight Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Turk Wendell was better for the Mets than Mark Clark was for the Cubs, and everyone else was less than good for their new teams.<\/span><\/div>\n

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November 24, 1997<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed John Olerud as a Free Agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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Olerud\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last three seasons in Toronto produced avWAR* of 3.2, 1.8, and 2.4.\u00c2\u00a0 Phillips saw something and signed him to a 3-year\/$14.5 Million deal, and Olerud rewarded the Mets with three consecutive avWAR seasons of 5.0, 8.3, and 5.8.\u00c2\u00a0 He then signed a free agent deal with the Mariners and continued to play well into his mid 30\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

*reminder of <\/em>this post<\/em><\/a> announcing how we will average Fangraphs WAR and Baseball-Reference WAR.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
December 18, 1997<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Fletcher Bates and Scott Comer to the Florida Marlins for Dennis Cook<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I hope Dennis Cook wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t on steroids, but the best season of his career was his first with the Mets, when he was 35 years old in 1998.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0That’s fishy. \u00c2\u00a0In his four years with the team, until his age 38 season, he pitched out of the bullpen and appeared in 255 games, finishing 56 of them with 25 wins, 13 losses, 6 saves, and a 113 ERA+.\u00c2\u00a0 The guys Phillips gave up never made it to the big leagues.<\/span><\/div>\n
Phillips is looking good so far!<\/span><\/div>\n
December 22, 1997<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Carl Everett to the Houston Astros for John Hudek<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Everett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s peak seasons immediately followed his escape from New York, while Hudek did nothing before getting flipped for Lenny Harris, who played at below replacement level in 484 plate appearances for the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
February 6, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded A.J. Burnett, Jesus Sanchez, and Robert Stratton to the Florida Marlins for Al Leiter and Ralph Millard<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Trading the pre-arbitration years of A.J. Burnett to the Marlins was a steep price to pay, but Al Leiter had a fantastic career with the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 He was a big part of the team that won the pennant in 2000 before losing the Subway Series to the Yankees.<\/span><\/div>\n

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February 17, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Nelson Cruz as an amateur Free Agent
\nVerdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/strong><\/span>The signing was a win, as Nelson Cruz became a late bloomer that has really helped the Texas Rangers the last few years.\u00c2\u00a0 Phillips undid his team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good scouting work on August 30, 2000 by trading Cruz to the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for utility infielder Jorge Velandia.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2000, a 25-year old Valendia played in 15 games and had 9 plate appearances, but failed to get a hit.\u00c2\u00a0 He also hit .000 in 2001, with 11 plate appearances in 9 games.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets never called him up in 2002, but in 2003, the 28-year old finally got his first hit as a Met, getting 11 hits in 58 at bats.\u00c2\u00a0 His career triple slash line for the Mets?\u00c2\u00a0 .149\/.281\/.216.\u00c2\u00a0 Velandia showed patience and had a very healthy 14:18 strikeout to walk ratio.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather have Nelson Cruz.<\/span><\/div>\n

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May 22, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall, and Geoff Goetz to the Florida Marlins for Mike Piazza<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big, BIG Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Piazza continued his Hall of Fame career in Queens, making seven All Star Teams in eight years while showing offensive production that hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been seen from a backstop in over a generation.<\/span><\/div>\n

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June 2, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Jason Tyner in the 1<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> round (21<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> pick) of the 1998 amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Admittedly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nitpicking to criticize baseball General Managers for the MLB draft, especially when the draft itself is a bit of a crapshoot, and someone else in the front office usually is charged with running the draft.\u00c2\u00a0 However, I have to point out that Matt Thornton was drafted and signed by the Mariners with the 22nd<\/sup> pick.\u00c2\u00a0 He would have been great for the \u00e2\u20ac\u212207 and \u00e2\u20ac\u212208 teams that missed the playoffs because of their bullpen.<\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Ty Wigginton in the 17<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> round of the 1998 amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
They found a solid major league ballplayer in the 17th<\/sup> Round.<\/span><\/div>\n

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June 16, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Heath Bell as an amateur free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
If the Mets had kept Bell, this would have been a big win.\u00c2\u00a0 Bell didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have much success with the Mets, but we all know about his success in San Diego.\u00c2\u00a0 In a little while, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll chronicle how Omar Minaya turns this into an epic fail.<\/span><\/div>\n

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July 24, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Melvin Mora as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
He also didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cost much or do much as a Met, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a push.<\/span><\/div>\n
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What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interesting, at least to me, is that Melvin Mora was a 27 year old rookie in 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 Mora was a steady contributor to the Orioles for nine and a half seasons after leaving the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 He hit 158 HR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as an Oriole, and is holding his own this season as a part-timer for the Rockies.\u00c2\u00a0 Mora has a very healthy OBP of .355, as a 38 year old, which is on par with his career mark of .353.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made over $37 million in his career, made two All Star teams, and won the American League Silver Slugger for 3rd<\/sup> Base in 2004.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no small feat, considering there was a 28-year old 3rd<\/sup> baseman on the Yankees named Alex Rodriguez who was juicing.\u00c2\u00a0 So, if you know any 26 year old minor leaguers who may be getting discouraged, tell them to look up the story of Melvin Mora.<\/span><\/p>\n


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July 31, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Leo Estrella to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tony Phillips<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Bill Pulsipher to the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike Kinkade<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Nelson Figueroa, Bernard Gilkey, and cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Willie Blair, Jorge Fabregas, and cash<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the trade deadline, so we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re grouping this day\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s activity together.\u00c2\u00a0 The first trade was a push, but Tony Phillips stunk on the Mets, so he actually hurt the team by playing and making too many outs.\u00c2\u00a0 Bill Pulsipher didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do much for the Mets or the Brewers, but Mike Kinkade was included in a trade with Melvin Mora and others for Mike Bordick.\u00c2\u00a0 Bordick was a star in Oakland and Baltimore, but he was not good on the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Even in the 2000 postseason, when the Mets went to the World Series, he batted .167 in the first round, .077 in the NLCS, and .125 in the first four games against the Yankees before his benching for the deciding Game 5 loss.\u00c2\u00a0 In the last trade, he sold Gilkey at the right time because the wheels basically flew off his career in 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 Willie Blair was solid for the Mets, but they traded him, which started some events that did not look good, in retrospect, for Steve Phillips. (See: Joe Randa)<\/span><\/div>\n
November 11, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Mel Rojas to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bobby Bonilla<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I was going to say, this was a great win for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Bonilla put up good numbers as a Met.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, that was from 1992-\u00e2\u20ac\u212295.\u00c2\u00a0 By late 1998, Bobby Bo was finished.\u00c2\u00a0 In just 141 plate appearances for the Mets after this trade, he was one and a half wins worse than a replacement player.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really bad in only 141 PA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what a 48 OPS+ will do for you.\u00c2\u00a0 The only reason this trade isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a complete loss is because Mel Rojas was horrible with a capital HORR.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 1, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Robin Ventura as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Ventura had an excellent run with the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 In three seasons, he banged 77 homeruns with a .360 OBP and 112 OPS+, and for what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth he won the gold glove in 1999.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 1, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Todd Hundley and Arnold Gooch to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Roger Cedeno and Charles Johnson*<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
*traded Charles Johnson for Armando Benitez.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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Much like how the Gooch never made it to the screen on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Diff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122rent Strokes<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Arnold Gooch never made it to the big leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 Hundley was good for the Mets and Dodgers, but his performance was about to fall on a cliff after the Cubs got their hands on him.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets got some use out of Cedeno, and with all of Armando Benitez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well documented ups and downs, his best years were with the Mets.<\/span><\/p>\n


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December 4, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Willie Blair to the Detroit Tigers for Joe Randa<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
December 10, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Joe Randa to the Kansas City Royals for Juan LeBron<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Juan LeBron may have been the first LeBron, but he never made it to the big leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 Joe Randa, meanwhile, had a very nice career.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1,522 career games, Randa had 1,543 hits, and a career slash line of .284\/.339\/.426.\u00c2\u00a0 His defense was very good for the most part until his 35th<\/sup> birthday.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 16, 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Rickey Henderson as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Rickey played very well for a year and a half on the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 In 152 games, he hit .298, on-base\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d .416, scored 106 runs, and stole 42 bases with a 116 OPS+ as a 40 and 41-year old.<\/span><\/div>\n
March 25, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Orel Hershiser as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Another 40-year old that helped out in 1999 was the Bulldog.\u00c2\u00a0 He had a 1.95 avWAR, which is pretty solid return for a $2.5 million investment, even back then.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 2, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Angel Pagan in the 4<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> round and Mike Jacobs in the 38<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> round of the amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Even though they sold Pagan to the Cubs and had to trade for him two years later, getting two major leaguers per draft, especially after the first three rounds, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bad.<\/span><\/div>\n
Steve Phillips is still looking pretty good, and his team is pushing towards a wild card berth to the postseason.\u00c2\u00a0 As another trade deadline approaches\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n
July 23, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Leo Vasquez and Terrence Long to the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for Kenny Rogers<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Rogers didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pitch great for the Mets, but he went 5-1 in 12 starts with a 111 ERA+.\u00c2\u00a0 He helped them get to the playoffs, where he did not perform so well.\u00c2\u00a0 The highlight was when he pitched two scoreless in innings 13 and 14 of a 15-inning win for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Game 6 was a problem, as he walked in the winning run in the bottom of the 11tt<\/sup>.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 31, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Jason Isringhausen and Greg McMichael to the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for Billy Taylor.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Epic Fail<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets should have tried Isringhausen in the bullpen, as he went on to save 293 saves in his career, but only 1 for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Billy Taylor was TERRIBLE for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 His ERA was over 8.00, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even think he made the postseason roster.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 31, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Brian McRae, Rigo Beltran, and Thomas Johnson to the Colorado Rockies for Darryl Hamilton and Chuck McElroy<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The big names in this trade were all basically past their primes, but the guys they gave up really didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do much afterwards, while Hamilton and McElroy played well for the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 31, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Craig Paquette to the St. Louis Cardinals for Shawon Dunston<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I could go on for another eleven thousand words on the efficacy of the intangibles Shawon Dunston brings to a team.\u00c2\u00a0 For the sake of everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention span, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just point out that Dunston hit .344 for the Mets, which incredibly translated to a 99 OPS+ because he had no (and I mean Zero) walks as a Met.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
August 16, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Jose Reyes as an amateur free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Steve Phillips is seemingly doing great as Mets GM.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited to see where the plot points in this drama take the team from here<\/span><\/div>\n
September 14, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Dan Murray to the KC Royals for Glendon Rusch<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Glendon Rusch didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become a star, but he was a serviceable Major Leaguer for 12 seasons and became a much more valuable player than Dan Murray.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Todd Zeile as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Zeile\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 2.2 WAR season as the starting first baseman in 2000 and his contributions in the NLCS helped propel the team into the World Series.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 23, 1999<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Octavio Dotel, Roger Cedeno, and Mundelein High School\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kyle Kessel to the Houston Astros for Derek Bell and Mike Hampton<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Slight Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
This was almost a push or a loss because Dotel was so awesome for the Astros, but Hampton and Bell also contributed to winning the pennant in 2000.<\/span><\/div>\n
March 27, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Timo Perez from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Timo was a low-cost add who played well in the Division Series and NLCS in 2000.<\/span><\/div>\n
Once into the 2000 season, the Mets are still playing well, on the way to the World Series, but we know the story doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end with Steve Phillips going to Cooperstown\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
July 12, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Willie Banks as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
This was probably a low-cost addition, but Banks was bad a long time before 2000.\u00c2\u00a0 He never even made it out of triple-A in 2000, before the Mets cut him loose after the World Series.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 28, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Melvin Mora, Mike Kinkade, Leslie Brea, and Pat Gorman to the Baltimore Orioles for Mike Bordick<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
We already touched on this one.\u00c2\u00a0 Mike Bordick fell short of expectations.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

August 30, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Traded Nelson Cruz to the Oakland A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for the aforementioned Jorge Velandia.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Fail<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Remember Velandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s batting averages for the Mets?\u00c2\u00a0 .000, .000, and .149<\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets made it to the World Series and lost as the cross-town Yankees 3-pete\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d.<\/span><\/div>\n
October 12, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Selected Desi Relaford off waivers from the San Diego Padres<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Relaford was good as a Met.\u00c2\u00a0 He was their utility infielder who occasionally got regular playing time when someone like Edgardo Alfonso would get hurt.\u00c2\u00a0 In his one season with the Mets, 2001, Desi Relaford batted .302\/.364\/.472 with 35 extra base hits in 301 at bats and a 118 OPS+.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Kevin Appier as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

People do not mention Kevin Appier enough as a dominant pitcher of his time.\u00c2\u00a0 Being on the Royals in the 1990\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s will do that to you.\u00c2\u00a0 When he was 25-years old, Appier went 18-8 and led the league with a 2.56 ERA, 179 ERA+, and 0.3 HR\/9.\u00c2\u00a0 He finished 3rd<\/sup> in the American League CY Young voting that year, 1993, behind Black Jack McDowell, who won 22 games, and Randy Johnson, who struck out 308 and won 19 for an 82-80 Mariners club.\u00c2\u00a0 McDowell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s White Sox were a loaded team that won the old American League West.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span> Imagine how much better they would have been if they hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t traded Sammy Sosa.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1993, as a 24-year old, Sammy hit 33 HR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and stole 36 bases for the Cubbies.\u00c2\u00a0 As a 33-year old that same year, George Bell sucked the life out of 436 plate appearances by walking only 13 times, hitting only 13 HR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and grounding into 14 double plays.\u00c2\u00a0 Bells OPS+ was 63, and his slash line was .217\/.243\/.363.\u00c2\u00a0 One of those is putrid and the other is abysmal.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you tell which one is which?*<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

*As Ellen Griswold said to Clark, late one night on the road with her family \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You get weird when you get tired, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just find a motel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
Anyway, back to Appier.\u00c2\u00a0 He was fantastic from 1990 to 1997, never finishing with an ERA+ below 121.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

When the Mets signed Appier, he was coming off a rebound season, where he was still rounding into form after two surgeries before the 1998 season.\u00c2\u00a0 Kevin Appier did not hurt himself the way most pitchers hurt themselves, by pitching.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a freak injury that hurt his shoulder – according to BaseballLibrary<\/a>.com<\/a>:\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A freak fall at his sister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s baby shower injured ligaments close to Appier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitching shoulder.<\/span><\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Steve Phillips saw Appier as worth the risk, and even though he had lead the American League with 102 walks the year before, the move paid off.\u00c2\u00a0 He started 31 games for the Mets, going 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA and 111 ERA+.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Purchased Tsuyoshi Shinjo from Hanshin Tigers<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Shinjo not that OPS+ is everything, had a below average 90 OPS+.\u00c2\u00a0 For more standard stats, his career OBP was .299.\u00c2\u00a0 His first year with the Mets, he stole four bases and was caught five times.<\/span><\/div>\n
The reason the Mets went from the World Series in 2000 to an 82-80 club in 2001 is because of the mediocrity they started importing onto their Major League roster.\u00c2\u00a0 Shinjo was certainly a part of that.\u00c2\u00a0 He got 438 plate appearances in 2001 and made 312 outs, which really hurt his club\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chances.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Bubba Trammell to the San Diego Padres for Donne Wall<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
On December 11, 2000, Phillips should have signed Kevin Appier and gone to the movies to see \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Billy Elliot<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Red Planet<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, or something.\u00c2\u00a0 Bubba Trammell would have done better for the Mets than Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and Donne Wall was terrible.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a double whammy.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
December 14, 2000<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Steve Trachsel as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

After a pretty miserable time with the Cubs, losing 18 games in 1999 in particular, and losing another 15 in two AL stops during 2000, Trachsel actually performed a bit better one getting to New York.\u00c2\u00a0 He still lost double decision games in each of his first four seasons with the Mets and was just never quite good enough to achieve greatness as an individual or in reaching team goals.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

January 5, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Steve Ontiveros<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure this didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cost a lot of money, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry if this was some sort of ceremonial signing so that Steve Ontiveros could retire as a Met.\u00c2\u00a0 Considering Ontiveros never played for the Mets, I think this was just a case of Steve Phillips thinking that another 40-year old could help the team.\u00c2\u00a0 There is a disconnection, however, when you see the lineage as Rickey Henderson, Orel Hershiser, Steve Ontiveros.<\/span><\/div>\n
January 5, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Jorge Velandia<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
After Velandia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s .000 batting average in 2000, maybe Phillips should have been looking for an upgrade.\u00c2\u00a0 This is that rare combination of hindsight and foresight working in tandem.<\/span><\/div>\n
Fans don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know it, yet, since 2001 games have yet to be played, but if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still with us, I think we can see the foundation for lousy play being set.<\/span><\/div>\n
There were a few other minor signings that each had different degrees of failure.\u00c2\u00a0 Steve Phillips proceeded to sign or trade for jadrools like Darren Bragg, Tom Martin, (stop me if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard this list before), Joe Depastino, Tony Tarasco, and Brian Rose, who at least hurt the team in opportunity cost.\u00c2\u00a0 In the past 15 months, Phillips also happened to lose Endy Chavez\u00c2\u00a0 to Kansas City in the Rule 5 draft, reacquire him and trade him back to the Royals the same day.\u00c2\u00a0 Chavez would have a few stops before finally delighting Met fans with his defense and baserunning in \u00e2\u20ac\u212206, \u00e2\u20ac\u212207, and \u00e2\u20ac\u212208.<\/span><\/div>\n
May 8, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Dan Serafini as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The season is over a month old.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets are 14-18.\u00c2\u00a0 Serafini never pitches for the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
May 9, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Doug Linton as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets are 14-19.\u00c2\u00a0 Linton never again pitches in the National League.<\/span><\/div>\n
May 19, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded PTBNL Brian Jenkins for Justin Speier<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: See May 29<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets are 16-26 and in last place\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
May 29, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Justin Speier selected by the Colorado Rockies on waivers<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

At this point in time, the Mets are 22-30 with a -69 run differential and an even worse Pythagorean Winning percentage of .368.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

June 5, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted David Wright in the 1<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> Round (38<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> pick) of the 2001 amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span> <\/span><\/div>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no fun to nitpick every little move, especially when forced to be negative.\u00c2\u00a0 To speed up the discussion, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gloss over a few bad moves from Mr. Phillips\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n
Trades<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
– Todd Pratt for Gary Bennett, five weeks later Gary Bennett for Ender, not Endy, Chavez<\/span><\/div>\n
– Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell for Bruce Chen, who basically did nothing for them<\/span><\/div>\n
– Rick Reed for Matt Lawton, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 3 Losses<\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets finished the season a lackluster 82-80.<\/div>\n
November 15, 2001<\/strong><\/div>\n
Signed Yusmeiro Petit as an amateur free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Petit was\/is good, as he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had to battle injuries for too long.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 2001<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Alex Escobar, Matt Lawton, Jerrod Riggan, Earl Snyder, and Billy Traber to the Cleveland Indians for Roberto Alomar and Michael Bacsik.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Something about December 11 makes Steve Phillips think big, I guess.\u00c2\u00a0 This time, he should have gone out to see \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Training Day<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153American Pie 2<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 Roberto Alomar was terrible for the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
Through the rest of December, until the holidays, Steve Phillips made okay moves\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n
December 13, 2001:<\/strong> Signed David Weathers<\/span><\/div>\n
December 14, 2001:<\/strong> Traded for Mark Guthrie<\/span><\/div>\n
December 16, 2001:<\/strong> Traded for Shawn Estes<\/span><\/div>\n
Followed them with a couple of unspectacular moves\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 <\/span><\/div>\n
December 17, 2001:<\/strong> Signed Roger Cedeno<\/span><\/div>\n
December 19, 2001:<\/strong> Signed Mark Johnson<\/span><\/div>\n
Peaking with a colossal trade acquisition\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

December 27, 2001:<\/strong> Traded Kevin Appier for Mo Vaughn<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>And, saying goodbye to 2001 with a couple of questionable signings\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

December 28, 2001:<\/strong> Signed John Frascatore as a free agent<\/span><\/div>\n
December 28, 2001:<\/strong> Purchased Gary Matthews, Jr from the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/span><\/div>\n
From December 12 through the rest of the year, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s three slight wins and five losses.<\/span><\/div>\n
January 21, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Todd Zeile, Lenny Harris, Glendon Rusch, and Benny Agbayani for Ross Gload, Craig House, Jeromy Burnitz, Lou Collier, Jeff D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Amico, and Mark Sweeney.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
If only for opportunity cost, this is a loss.<\/span><\/div>\n
March 24, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Lou Collier to the Montreal Expos for Jason Bay and Jimmy Serrano<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Jason Bay was better than Lou Collier and useful in a future trade.<\/span><\/div>\n
April 5, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded <\/strong>Saul Rivera<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Bruce Chen<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Luis Figueroa<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Dicky Gonzalez<\/strong><\/a> to the <\/strong>Montreal Expos<\/strong><\/a> for <\/strong>Phil Seibel<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Scott Strickland<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Matt Watson<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
It looks like a meaningless trade, when Bruce Chen and Scott Strickland are the most recognizable names.\u00c2\u00a0 We left the hyperlinks in there, in case you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see which side got a better deal.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh and by the way, this is one of those magical deals between Steve Phillips AND Omar Minaya, who was of course the GM of the Expos at the time.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually kind of funny to see that both of these guys went in together on a seven-player deal, and neither GM was able to get anything really good out of it.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 4, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Scott Kazmir in the 1<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> round and Matt Lindstrom in the 10<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> round of the 2002 amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Phillips successfully found a power arm on each side of the hill in this draft.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 27, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Carlos Gomez as an amateur free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Gomez was a big piece of the Johan Santana trade, so even though he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become much for the Twins or Brewers, he worked for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, the Johan trade was during Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tenure.<\/span><\/div>\n
August 15, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Shawn Estes and cash to the Cincinnati Reds for Pedro Feliciano, Elvin Andujar, Raul Gonzalez, and Brady Clark<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
They were more than 20 games out of first place on this date, so at least they got something useful for the future.<\/span><\/div>\n
The offseason started with low impact signings of guys like Esix Snead, John Bale, and out new cult hero: Jorge Velandia (yes, still with a Mets career batting average of .000)<\/span><\/div>\n
After the postseason, nothing much happened from when free agency opened up until the resigning of Velandia on November 25<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
When December came around, Met fans were waiting for a splash, while Phillips was stealing a franchise icon from the Braves.\u00c2\u00a0 On December 5, 2002, Glavine decided to go with Phillips and the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

As John Schuerholz writes in his book: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies from baseball\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s winningest GM<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, they has a six hour meeting on December 3rd<\/sup> that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seal the deal.\u00c2\u00a0 Apparently, the big difference in the offers was that the Mets offered a $35 million \/ 3-yr deal with a 4th<\/sup> year option or $3 million buyout, while the Braves offered a $30 million \/ 3-yr deal with an innings pitched clause to guarantee the 4th<\/sup> year.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The interesting part is that on Saturday, December 7th<\/sup>, Tom Glavine was having signer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s remorse.\u00c2\u00a0 According to Schuerholz in his book, Glavine called Bobby Cox saying he had second thoughts and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to go to the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 Bobby called Schuerholz saying he was concerned about Tommy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well-being and asked John to call him.\u00c2\u00a0 Schuerholz called him, and Glavine invited him to his home.\u00c2\u00a0 So, John Schuerholz got in his car and drove to Alpharetta, on the extreme northern outskirts of the Atlanta area, at the Country Club of the South.\u00c2\u00a0 As Shuerholz writes:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We shared a great bottle of Silver Oak cabernet wine.\u00c2\u00a0 He and his wife, Chris, and I talked.\u00c2\u00a0 The three of us talked and talked and talked.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a tough visit.\u00c2\u00a0 At times, we were all on the verge of tears.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Apparently, during the visit, Glavine decided he wanted to stay with the Braves.<\/span> <\/span>According to the book:<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Quite obviously, he was relieved.\u00c2\u00a0 His wife was relieved.\u00c2\u00a0 And I was bouncing their son on my knee.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The three of them had a tough time getting Glavine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agent on the phone that night.<\/span> <\/span>When Shuerholz hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t heard from Glavine by noon on Sunday, he called him and heard that Glavine simply decided to stay with the Mets.<\/span> <\/span>An hour later, he and his wife were on a private plane to New York to begin his new life as a Met.<\/span><\/div>\n
Although Steve Phillips had gone through two difficult years, and he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to survive the season as GM, this move looked like it could save his job by turning the franchise around.\u00c2\u00a0 Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not underrate the positive impact for the Mets was doubly impacted because it was also a major loss for the division rival Braves.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 7, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Steve Trachsel as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Push<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
On second thought, this move seemed less inspired.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not ruling it a loss because Trachsel was at least serviceable and even had his best Mets season in 2003.\u00c2\u00a0 He stopped losing double digit games every year.<\/span><\/div>\n
We keep going back to opportunity cost.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t suggest that the Mets, or any franchise, could always just sign the most desirable free agents and trade for the best pieces.\u00c2\u00a0 There is more value in not signing an average player than signing them to guaranteed dollars. <\/span><\/div>\n
There are cheaper options for a fifth starter, who can get you innings, ground balls, even just throw strikes.\u00c2\u00a0 Invest those dollars in scouting the Pacific Rim, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.\u00c2\u00a0 Build a baseball academy in Hawaii or Japan.\u00c2\u00a0 Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give millions of dollars to Steve Trachsel and Tsuyoshi Shinjo.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 15, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Rey Ordonez to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for PsTBNL Russ Johnson and Josh Pressley<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
It was becoming clear to some that Ordonez would never be able to hit.\u00c2\u00a0 He wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to flip the Ozzie Smith switch and become at least capable of handling the bat effectively.\u00c2\u00a0 He was like a goalie trying to work the midfield, and Russ Johnson is a decent player even still today.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 31, 2002<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Rey Sanchez as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a baseball academy in Thailand sound better than investing $1.3 million for a nightmarish 27 OPS+ from Rey Sanchez?<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

January 9, 2003<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Signed Cliff Floyd as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Floyd is great.\u00c2\u00a0 He suffered a terrible wrist injury just before his prime years and never was able to rebuild the early power he flashed as a young Expo.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nHe was really good in odd-numbered years for the Mets to an impressive 8.4 avWAR player in four seasons, with a 116 Met OPS+.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Not only that, Cliff Floyd was a powerful hitter and positive influence in every clubhouse he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever been.\u00c2\u00a0 As I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure Ron Artest agrees, big ups for signing Cliff Floyd.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

January 11, 2003<\/strong><\/div>\n
Signed Tsuyoshi Shinjo as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
C\u00e2\u20ac\u2122mon, Phillips, we just gave you big ups, and two days later you bring back the light hitting Shinjo?<\/span><\/div>\n
January 20, 2003<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Tony Clark as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Slight win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Tony Clark was valuable well beyond 2003, but the Mets just signed Cliff Floyd.\u00c2\u00a0 I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe to say that if Phillips was considering it at all, he must have been expecting too much from one of these fellas.<\/span><\/div>\n
From the end of January to Opening Day, the transaction wire was littered with misused signings like Dan Wheeler, Jay Bell, David Cone, and Donovan Osborne.<\/span><\/div>\n
In the example of Donovan Osborne, we really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what it takes to evaluate a LOOGY, but we know that guys who are left handed and can throw strikes are valuable.\u00c2\u00a0 I would probably sign all of the available ones every year, if I could, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to blame Steve Phillips for signing Donovan Osborne and releasing him 6-weeks later.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 3, 2003<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Lastings Milledge, Bryan Bannister, Carlos Muniz, and Evan MacLane<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: jury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s out<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Again, most teams have a draft czar, usually a Director of Player Personnel or something like that, so it can be hard to give credit or blame to a GM.\u00c2\u00a0 In the spirit of being positive, and less negative, we wanted to show that Phillips\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team was able to uncover a couple of Major Leaguers again in 2003.<\/span><\/div>\n
Steve Phillips was dismissed on June 12, 2003.<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I do not believe I know more about baseball than any actual professional general manager at any level in the history of the game.\u00c2\u00a0 We can sound pompous with hindsight on our side.<\/span><\/div>\n
As Jackson Browne wrote, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And while the future\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there for anyone to change, still you know it seems it would be easier to change the past.<\/span><\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Or, as another Californian, the Dude from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Lebowksi<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah, with hindsight being 20:20 and all that.<\/span><\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/div>\n
In other words, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really easy to look at ten years in the past and make yourself a genius.<\/span><\/div>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure why we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing this.\u00c2\u00a0 It probably has something to do with the fact that we never have done it before, it seemed interesting enough to see if the criticism these two guys have taken is merited.\u00c2\u00a0 After so many thousand words, it feels a bit like lunacy past the point of no return.<\/span><\/div>\n
Intermission: Jim Duquette<\/strong> (June 12, 2003 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c September 30, 2005)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
After releasing Jerrod Riggan and Lyle Mouton, Duquette sold Jimmy Serrano and Jorge Toca and traded Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Armando Benitez, Greame Lloyd, and Rey Sanchez before the end of August.<\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets have had an infamous reputation as a team where the owning family meddles\u00c2\u00a0with decisions their baseball people should make.\u00c2\u00a0 Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to know if Steve Phillips would be better if given a new opportunity?\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly, being around the game as an analyst has kept his mind limber, but we have to wonder when he has such a long track record of foot-in-the-mouth proclamations on TV and radio.\u00c2\u00a0 Should we give him credit that he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made much of a ripple since the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trade Stephen Strasburg for Roy Oswalt suggestion<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? <\/span><\/div>\n
That was 3 months ago.<\/span><\/div>\n
Jim Duquette made a few big moves:<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
December 10, 2003:<\/strong> Signed Kazuo Matsui<\/span><\/div>\n
December 23, 2003:<\/strong> Signed Mike Cameron<\/span><\/div>\n
January 8, 2004:<\/strong> Signed Braden Looper<\/span><\/div>\n
April 4, 2004:<\/strong> Traded Roger Cedeno to St. Louis for Wilson Delgado<\/span><\/div>\n
June 7, 2004:<\/strong> Drafted Phil Humber, Nick Evans, and Mike Carp<\/span><\/div>\n
June 17, 2004:<\/strong> Traded David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths to Houston for THE Richard Hidalgo<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
***<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
July 30, 2004:<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Scott Kazmir and Jose Diaz to Tampa Bay for Victor Zambrano and Bartolome Fortunato<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Also,<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Justin Huber to KC for Jose Bautista<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Then, he proceeded to trade the very same Jose B<\/span>autista, Ty Wigginton, and Matt Peterson to Pittsburgh for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
***<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
It took another 2 months for Duquette to get reassigned on Omar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first day of September 30, but for all intents and purposes, Duquette took himself out of the running for non-interim GM on July 30.<\/span><\/div>\n
August 27, 2004<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Dan Wheeler to Houston for Adam Seuss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
This really didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help Duquette’s legacy, not that GM’s should concern themselves with their legacies.*<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
*Mercifully, that will discussion be saved for another time.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Jim Duquette never really got a good chance to make a positive impact as General Manager.<\/span><\/div>\n
Omar Minaya<\/strong> (September 30, 2005-today)<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

From all accounts, Omar Minaya is a wonderful guy.\u00c2\u00a0 My old boss at the Portland Beavers* told me that he spoke with Omar for about an hour getting advice as to how to get into baseball, after they had been introduced by a mutual acquaintance.\u00c2\u00a0 In addition to that anecdote, I think there is a reason he is so good at recruiting free agents.\u00c2\u00a0 People like Omar.\u00c2\u00a0 Omar Minaya will fly coach if he has to.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the word?\u00c2\u00a0 Gregarious<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

*Can you believe the developments in Portland?\u00c2\u00a0 The MLS is moving into Portland by granting a franchise to the Portland Timbers.\u00c2\u00a0 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fantastic for PGE Park, the Timbers, and the city of Portland, which is very passionate for soccer.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, one of the requirements for the MLS was that PGE Park be converted to a non-baseball stadium.\u00c2\u00a0 Therefore, the triple-A Beavers were without a home to play games.\u00c2\u00a0 They have been sold back to the Padres, who will most likely move to team to a community between San Diego and Los Angeles.\u00c2\u00a0 Portland will get professional baseball again, once a suitable stadium is built, but it looks like it will be many years before that will happen.<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

This should be good for the Mariners, as Portland will become an even more active part of Mariners Country, as it is for many Seahawks fans.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also very good for the single-A <\/em>Salem-Keizer Volcanoes<\/a><\/em> and triple-A <\/em>Tacoma Rainiers<\/a><\/em>, who should get an increase in demand from baseball fans in the area.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Omar get\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s criticized, I think, unfairly for signing mostly \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclatin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 players.\u00c2\u00a0 Last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team was even comically called by a few people as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153David y los Muchachos<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 We haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t heard much of that talk this year, mostly because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stupid, or because Jason Bay, R.A. Dickey, Big Pelph, and Josh Thole have gained popularity.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 17, 2004<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Pedro Martinez as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
This was the prime example of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh wow!\u00e2\u20ac\u009dbig splash signing, showing players around the league that this team would be a big spender and competitor.\u00c2\u00a0 They wanted more free agents to see them as major players for a trip to the World Series.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

I was trying to remember what other signing this reminded me of, where a team tried to make a splash to let future free agents know they were serious contenders.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The more and more I thought about it, the more I believe that this was the quintessential \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to win it!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d moves of any recent offseason.\u00c2\u00a0 A couple of offseasons ago, Peter Angelos hoped to recreate this momentum if Teixeira would\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve signed with the Orioles.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After the big splash of getting Pedro, Minaya signed some lower profile players through December, guys like Andres Galarraga, Orber Moreno, Grant Roberts, Scott Strickland, and Chris Woodward.\u00c2\u00a0 No offense, but those guys had very little competitive advantage to offer the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
No worries, Minaya was working on the best free agent signing of his Mets career\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n
January 13, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Carlos Beltran as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Hello!\u00c2\u00a0 Beltran was coming off the best postseason of any impending free agent in history.\u00c2\u00a0 With the Mets, he would continue to be an extremely valuable player on both sides of the ball.\u00c2\u00a0 We are big, Big fans for Carlos Beltran and think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been underrated and under appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Signing Roberto Hernandez on January 17 worked well, and they have gotten good results from Pedro Feliciano.\u00c2\u00a0 So, selling him to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks for \u00e2\u20ac\u212205 shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be criticized.<\/span><\/div>\n
January 27, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Ian Bladergroen for Doug Mientkiewicz<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Bill Parcells gets credit for recruiting \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Parcells guys\u00e2\u20ac\u009d at every stop.\u00c2\u00a0 Omar is reconnecting with some guys from his Montreal days, and getting a defensive first baseman with World Series Championship pedigree cannot be seen as an entirely bad move.<\/span><\/div>\n
Not much more retrospective good news before Opening Day.\u00c2\u00a0 In March, Minaya traded Jason Phillips to the Dodgers for Kaz Ishii and purchased Fernando Lunar and Benji Gil.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 7, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Mike Pelfrey, Drew Butera, Jonathan Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Josh Thole<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Very nice draft for Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team, four of them are on the major league roster today.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 11, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Fernando Martinez as an amateur free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: jury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s out<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fernando Martinez and Carlos
\nGomez\u00c2\u00a0were Good Friends.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The jury system may not work anymore as a lot of moves made five years ago could still be up in the air for hindsight to provide perfect vision.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt this was a good signing.\u00c2\u00a0 If Minaya has erred, it is in not trading him when his value was at its highest over the last couple of years.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, he could blossom to be a great player and is still a Met.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

July 27, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Wil Cordero as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
No-one likes a wife beater, and if said wife beater can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hit, field, or run, forget it.<\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets were 3 games out of the Wild Card on July 27, 2005, but they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any deadline trades to get them over the hump.\u00c2\u00a0 In 2005, the Mets finished 6 games behind the Wild Card winning Astros, who eventually went on to win the pennant.\u00c2\u00a0 Had the Mets made the postseason, they would have had as good a chance as anyone to make the World Series.<\/span><\/div>\n
Morgan Ensberg was awesome for the 2005 Astros team, by the way.<\/span><\/div>\n
The offseason started off with a bit of a bump in the road, but then a few positive moves improved the roster\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
November 18, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Mike Cameron to San Diego for Xavier Nady<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Nady could always hit and was a solid prospect, but Mike Cameron was more valuable in the next few years.\u00c2\u00a0 Besides that, Nady was used in that lousy trade with the Padres for Ollie Perez and future Roberto Hernandez.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

November 24, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit, and Grant Psomas to Florida for Carlos Delgado and cash<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice when you root for a team that capitalizes when another good team is going through a budget induced dismantling.\u00c2\u00a0 Delgado wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in his prime as a Met, but he was good at first.<\/span><\/div>\n
November 29, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Billy Wagner as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think investing a lot of money in a closer is wise for most teams, but when you do it, you hope to get someone close to as good as Billy Wagner has been anywhere he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
December 5, 2005<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Gaby Hernandez and Dante Brinkley to the Florida for Paul Lo Duca<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Why not?\u00c2\u00a0 Minaya went back to the well and got himself a major league backstop.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
That’s three wins in a row, and December was busy:<\/span><\/div>\n
December 12, 2005<\/strong>: signed Julio Franco and Jose Valentin<\/span><\/div>\n
December 14, 2005<\/strong>: signed Sandy Martinez and Julio Ramirez<\/span><\/div>\n
December 15, 2005<\/strong>: signed Matt Perisho<\/span><\/div>\n
December 16, 2005<\/strong>: signed Cory Aldridge<\/span><\/div>\n
December 22, 2005<\/strong>: signed Endy Chavez (finally!)<\/span><\/div>\n
December 27, 2005<\/strong>: signed Chad Bradford<\/span><\/div>\n
After New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Omar Minaya signed Darren Oliver, Mike Venafro, Geremi\u00c2\u00a0 Gonzalez, and traded Kris and Anna Benson to the Orioles for Jorge Julio and John Maine.<\/span><\/div>\n
There are some misses in there, but overall it feels like the Mets are getting better.\u00c2\u00a0 That Benson for Maine and Julio trade was very good.<\/span><\/div>\n
After the Geremi Gonzalez signing, the Mets sold Angel Pagan to the Cubs and signed Jose Lima and Pedro Feliciano, further adding to the Spanish-speaking culture of the clubhouse.\u00c2\u00a0 Feliciano, returning from his stink in Japan, was ready to be a leader in the bullpen.<\/span><\/div>\n
May 24, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Jorge Julio to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Orlando \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcEl Duque\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Hernandez<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Julio was not good on the Mets, while El Duque continued his edge over father time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

June 3 – 6, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Joe Smith, Kevin Mulvey, Dan Murphy, and Tobi Stoner in the amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
In Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second draft, his team selects another nice, albeit lackluster, crop of major leaguers.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 9, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Kaz Matsui and cash to the Rockies for Eli Marrero<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Marrero was pretty much washed up, and Matsui became a bit of a late bloomer, experiencing success for the Rockies and limited success later for the Astros.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
July 31, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

At first glance, this trade deadline deal looked like it could go either way, but when you see what Pittsburgh did with Xavier Nady, there is no question it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a win for the Pirates.\u00c2\u00a0 After below replacement-level performances in 2006 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc07, Nady had half a good year for the Pirates before they traded him to the Yankees in 2008.\u00c2\u00a0 Fans in the steel city are reaping the rewards of that trade, where the Pirates sent Nady and Damaso Marte to the Bronx for Jeff Karstens<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0Daniel McCutchen<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0Ross Ohlendorf<\/a> and\u00c2\u00a0Jose Tabata<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Wow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Mets were in first place by 14 games at this time. Oliver Perez started seven games down the stretch to the tune of a 1-3 record with a 6.38 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.\u00c2\u00a0 I guess Willie Randolph was pleased with the improvement from his 2-10, 6.63 ERA, 1.83 WHIP with the Pirates.<\/span><\/div>\n
Perez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one win with the Mets was a complete game shutout of the San Diego Padres.\u00c2\u00a0 With Ollie Perez, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been the same thing.\u00c2\u00a0 He can shut out a team on any given night.\u00c2\u00a0 Or, he can give up five runs before your bullpen is warming up.<\/span><\/div>\n
The team was in first place because of a solid bullpen, an offense mainly made up of Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Delgado scoring enough to win, and Tom Glavine leading a group of Steve Trachsel, Pedro, El Duque, John Maine, Alay Soler, (cough) Victor Zambrano, Brian Bannister, and a 22-year old Mike Pelfrey trying to solidify the rotation.<\/span><\/div>\n
The many transactions and investments in Pedro Feliciano finally paid off in 2006, as he was a monster in their bullpen.\u00c2\u00a0 He was second to only Guillermo Mota in ERA+ that season, and he contributed 60 innings to Mota\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 18.<\/span><\/div>\n
August 20, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Received Guillermo Mota from the Cleveland Indians as part of a conditional trade<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Under what conditions would it not be a win, when you get a power bullpen arm that goes 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 444 ERA+?<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Omar is looking like a great hire for the Wilpon family!\u00c2\u00a0 This shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel so long ago, but I know that to many Met fans, it feels like an eternity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

August 22, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Evan MacLane to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Shawn Green and cash<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Not looking good<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Shawn Green was an overpaid, league average player for a year and a half in New York.\u00c2\u00a0 MacLane just made his Major League debut last month, so we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see what he has to offer.<\/span><\/div>\n
The end of the year formed a crescendo to Game 7 of the NLCS.\u00c2\u00a0 With the Mets desperately hanging on to hope, down to their last out, their season ended in defeat when Adam Wainwright struck out Carlos Beltran looking on a beautiful curveball.\u00c2\u00a0 Some Met fans still hold that against Beltran, even though they wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have been anywhere near an NLCS without him that year.<\/span><\/div>\n
Just like last November, Minaya starts the offseason with a trade he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d regret\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/span><\/div>\n
November 15, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the San Diego Padres for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
I was in Portland when Ben Johnson was a triple-A stud and Jon Adkins looked like an effective future closer.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get what they expected in this deal, and Heath Bell became one of the best closers in baseball.<\/span><\/div>\n
November 20, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to the Marlins for Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

This was another disaster.\u00c2\u00a0 If the Mets had Heath Bell, Royce Ring, Lindstrom, and Owens, they would not have missed the playoffs in 2007 and 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Minaya then signed Moises Alou, who played GREAT until he got hurt each of the next two seasons, and Tom Glavine, who at least pitched 200 competitive innings in 2007.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 6, 2006<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Brian Bannister to the Royals for Ambiorix Burgos<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Big Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Brian Bannister is one of the most considerate major league pitchers around.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lights out, but there is a place for him in the big leagues today.\u00c2\u00a0 Ambiorix Burgos is out of the game and constantly in trouble.\u00c2\u00a0 Incredibly, his name hit the newswire last Sunday<\/a> by being charged with attempted murder.<\/span><\/div>\n
Still, this is coming off an NLCS Game 7.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 They should expect a few tweaks to get them over the top.\u00c2\u00a0 Was Moises enough?\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe if he had stayed healthy, that would have been the difference between making and missing the playoffs by a game.<\/span><\/div>\n
Over the next few months, until Opening Day, Omar Minaya signed a slew of players where none of the names jump out as players any better than maybe Fernando Tatis.\u00c2\u00a0 Here are the players the Mets signed from December 2 to April 3, 2006: Anderson Machado, Guillermo Mota, Jorge Vasquez, Chip Ambres, Clint Nageotte, Mark Kiger, David Newhan, Jorge Sosa, Jose Paniagua, the other Jose Reyes, Andy Tracy, Scott Schoeneweis, Robinson Cancel, Jesus Feliciano, Chan Ho Park, Jason Alfaro, Sandy Alomar, Aaron Sele, Jose Santiago, Fernando Tatis, and Ricky Ledee.<\/span><\/div>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s terrible.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
April 4, 2007<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Jenrry Mejia<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Looks Very Good<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very young guy currently taking his lumps in the big leagues.<\/span><\/div>\n
July 30, 2007<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Drew Butera and Dustin Martin to the Minnesota Twins for Luis Castillo<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
The trade was bad, but the contract extension was worse.\u00c2\u00a0 Castillo is still owed another $6 million for next season.<\/span><\/div>\n
They missed the postseason by one game.\u00c2\u00a0 A better bullpen would have certainly gotten them over the top.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also arguable that a better deadline acquisition than Luis Castillo would have helped, too.<\/span><\/div>\n
The 2007 offseason started off slowly, with low-risk signings until November heated up with the Luis Castillo fiasco, trading Guillermo Mota to the Brewers for Johnny Estrada, and trading Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Ryan Church, and Brian Schneider.<\/span>
\n
\n<\/span> That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mota and Milledge for two catchers and Ryan Church.<\/strong> Johnny Estrada was released a few weeks later, so they traded Mota for nothing!<\/span><\/div>\n
On January 5, 2008, they traded a couple of minor leaguers for Angel Pagan, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been very good for them.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, the minor leaguers may become very good, but we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen it at the Major League level, yet.<\/span><\/div>\n
The rest of the offseason, again, was filled with signings of players who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound like great \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gets\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/span><\/div>\n
Argenis Reyes, Jesus Feliciano, Raul Casanova, Gustavo Molina, Nate Field, Matt Wise, Andy Cavazos, Joe Hietpas, Nelson Figueroa, Jose Santiago, Olmedo Saenz, Chris Aguila, Ben Johnson, Ricardo Rincon, Juan Padilla, Jose Valentin, Brady Clark, Enrique Cruz, Fernando Tatis, and Tony Armas.<\/span><\/div>\n
To show an example of how ineffective this group may have been, my favorite players on that list are Olmedo Saenz and Ricardo Rincon.<\/span><\/div>\n
June 5, 2008<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Drafted Ike Davis in the 1<\/strong>st<\/strong><\/sup> Round of the amateur draft<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Win<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>The Mets were 4.5 games behind the 1st<\/sup> place Phillies in a jumbled NL East that had them sitting in 4th<\/sup> place.\u00c2\u00a0 Omar hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made any big moves to this point, but he did pick a good hitter out of Arizona State.<\/span><\/div>\n
Ike Davis is doing very well in his rookie campaign this season.\u00c2\u00a0 Met fans should feel free to show genuine enthusiasm towards their first-baseman of the future.<\/span><\/div>\n
The Mets were not looking good in June of \u00e2\u20ac\u212208, and they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really add any big guns and the trade deadline. <\/span><\/div>\n
Still, the team got hot in July to sit just 1 game out of first place on August 1st.<\/span><\/div>\n
In August, they signed Ramon Martinez, Brian Rogers, and Alberto Gonzalez, traded for Luis Ayala, but it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough.\u00c2\u00a0 The Flushing Faithful were in line for more heartbreak, as the Mets missed the postseason again by just 1 game.<\/span><\/div>\n
Cry not for Met fans, though.\u00c2\u00a0 Take a 20-year old Pirates fan, or a 17-year old Royals fan, or a 101-year old Cub fan, if any of those mythical creatures even exist, and ask them if they prefer competitive Septembers with late season heartbreak or hopeless summers and playing out the end of the season with meaningless teams.<\/span><\/div>\n
Before doing this exercise, I personally thought Omar was to blame for not improving his team enough for the 2008 season.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve actually checked, there is no doubt that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do enough to improve the Mets chances in the offseasons before 2007 and 2008.<\/span><\/div>\n
December 9, 2008<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Signed Francisco Rodriguez as a free agent<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: jury\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s out<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pitched well for the Mets, but he also punched his father-in-common-law in the jaw with his pitching hand, thus injuring himself and being disqualified for the remainder of this season.\u00c2\u00a0 At least I think that means the Mets don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to pay him for the rest of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s salary.\u00c2\u00a0 If he comes back strong, this could be a good signing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change my thinking that unless you have money to burn, you should not worry so much about getting a closer because good managers and pitching coaches can find a guy in the organization and make him a good closer.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve talked about how much we value managers who have been known to build and maintain good bullpens: Bruce Bochy, Bud Black, Mike Scioscia, Jim Leyland, Gardie, Ozzie, and others*.<\/span><\/div>\n
*Lou Piniella had the Nasty Boys in Cincinnati, which is maybe my favorite 7th<\/sup>, 8th<\/sup>, 9th<\/sup> inning combination of all time.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that is enough to put him on the list.\u00c2\u00a0 Lou gets Big Ups for Carlos Marmol, though.<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
December 11, 2008<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Traded Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Ezequiel Carrera, and Maikel Cleto for J.J. Putz, Sean Green, and Jeremy Reed<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Verdict: Loss<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
Remember how Steve Phillips used to struggle with trades on December 11th<\/sup>?\u00c2\u00a0 It seems like Minaya got unlucky this time around, too.\u00c2\u00a0 Minaya probably should have gone to the movies to see \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Frost\/Nixon<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or something.<\/span><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>Minaya, naturally, wanted \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no, needed \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to address their festering bullpen problems. At the time, it was very exciting that they were getting two shut down closers to step in and handle the 8th<\/sup> and 9th<\/sup>.\u00c2\u00a0 Putz had an injury-plagued 2008 while still in Seattle, so this trade had some stink on it from the beginning.<\/span><\/div>\n
The holidays and New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s came and went with a few small moves like trading Scott Schoeneweis for Connor Robertson and signing Omir Santos.<\/span><\/div>\n
On January 12, 2009, Omar Minaya signed Tim Redding.\u00c2\u00a0 The verdict on this signing is a pre-warned loss.\u00c2\u00a0 This was one of those signings that made people cringe.\u00c2\u00a0 Met fans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 attempts to try to talk up any fabricated positives towards the signing seemed equally desperate and conservative.\u00c2\u00a0 I was relieved the Cubs didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sign Redding because there were rumors they were looking at him.\u00c2\u00a0 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those guys we just knew was going to be below average.\u00c2\u00a0 Moves like this are baffling.<\/span><\/div>\n
Minaya redeemed himself somewhat the next day by signing a utility infielder who is no doubt a future Major League manager: Alex Cora.\u00c2\u00a0 This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a huge signing for the bottom line (Wins), but the team is better in ways that cannot be measured just in 2009 Wins because Cora brings a professionalism that fosters winning and best practices.\u00c2\u00a0 Younger players, like Jose Reyes, learn valuable lessons from Alex Cora, and their future performance will benefit the Mets even beyond 2011.<\/span><\/div>\n
Unfortunately for the 2009 Mets, Cora couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really hit well and the rest of January and February was filled with bad signings like Mark Kiger, Cory Sullivan, Tom Martin, Freddy Garcia, Rob Mackowiak, Kyle Snyder, Jon Switzer, Tony Armas, Velerio de los Santos, Matt DeSalvo, Bobby Kielty, and Jose Valentin.\u00c2\u00a0 Most of those guys didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even make the team, and a lot of them would be out of baseball soon after.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

On Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day 2009, Omar Minaya signed 1997 World Series MVP and el Duque\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s younger half-brother, Livan Hernandez.\u00c2\u00a0 He was bad for the Mets in 135 innings, getting released in August.\u00c2\u00a0 Much like Alex Cora, Livan helped more in the clubhouse than with his on-field performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Before Opening Day, they cut a bunch of players they never should\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve even signed and picked up a couple of usefl bullpen arms in free agent Ken Takahashi and Fernando Nieve off waivers from Houston.\u00c2\u00a0 At least Nieve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relatively young and still on the club.<\/span><\/div>\n
The baseball world waited for the first pitch of Opening Night on April 5, 2009, when Derek Lowe would make his Braves debut in the home ballpark of the defending champion Phillies.\u00c2\u00a0 If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten this far down in the post, you may remember the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Brian McCann hit a two run homerun off Brett Myers in the 1st<\/sup> inning, and two batters after Jeff Francoeur hit a solo shot in the 2nd<\/sup>, Jordan Schafer hit another solo homerun in his first Major League at bat. <\/span><\/div>\n
This was the day before the Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Opening Day.\u00c2\u00a0 It was also the day before our first post ever<\/a> on BAseball Reality Tour.\u00c2\u00a0 That first post didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have any pictures!<\/span><\/div>\n
April 5 is also the day the Mets signed Gary Sheffield.\u00c2\u00a0 Some thought he was washed up, especially defensively.\u00c2\u00a0 No AL team brought him in to DH and the Mets thought he could help as a part-time starter.\u00c2\u00a0 The experiment worked well.\u00c2\u00a0 Sheffield played in 100 games, reaching 312 plate appearances, and uncorking his 500th<\/sup> homerun early in the year.\u00c2\u00a0 He hit an efficient and balanced .818 OPS vs righties and .834 OPS vs lefties, thus not existing as solely a lefty masher.\u00c2\u00a0 Gary Sheffield\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OPS+ for the 2009 season was a robust 118.<\/span><\/div>\n
In May and June, the Mets traded for Emil Brown, Lance Broadway, and Chip Ambres.\u00c2\u00a0 They also selected Pat Misch and Arturo Lopez off waivers from the Giants and Padres, respectively.<\/span><\/div>\n
Omar Minaya rolled another gutter ball on July 10, 2009, when he traded productive and oft injured Outfielder Ryan Church for nonproductive Jeff Francoeur.<\/span><\/div>\n
Angel Berroa was signed as a free agent, but it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bury the internet stories of the madness of trading for Francoeur.<\/span><\/div>\n
Emil Brown didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stick around past July 20 and Brandon Knight was gone the following week.\u00c2\u00a0 Brandon Knight sounds, to me, like a college basketball point guard.\u00c2\u00a0 Someone named Adam Pettyjohn<\/a> was signed on July 28th<\/sup>, and the Mets made no deadline deals. \u00c2\u00a0Well, on July 28th<\/sup>, they were 10.5 games out of first place, but only 5.5 out of the wild card, so it could have been tough to pull a full blown white flag trade, even though that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely what the franchise needed.<\/span><\/div>\n
Remember, they were out of it mostly because they lost Jose Reyes, David Wright couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hit homeruns, Ollie Perez was Ollie Perez, the bullpen couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t compensate for losing Putz, and Francouer certainly didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help.\u00c2\u00a0 I think fans were relieved that they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to have to endure a third consecutive late season collapse.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

After the deadline, Minaya worked the waiver claims to get former Met Anderson Hernandez from the Nationals and Jason Dubios from the Cubs.\u00c2\u00a0 As a Cub fan, I can say that an acquisition of Jason Dubois on August 7, 2009 is highly questionable.\u00c2\u00a0 He was more of a slow pitch softball stud, or a poor man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AL dh, but under no circumstances should he be going to a National League team in a cavernous ballpark.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By late August, the Mets were sufficiently out of the race.\u00c2\u00a0 They traded rehabbing former closer, Billy Wagner, to the Red Sox for Chris Carter and Eddi Lora.\u00c2\u00a0 Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s thoughts were that if they offered Wagner arbitration, he might take it and become a very expensive LOOGY, or Carter and Lora were more attractive than the two draft picks they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d get after he signed elsewhere.<\/span><\/div>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a movement now to realize that trading players in with this status for two signed prospects is a bit underrated because draft picks require signing bonuses.\u00c2\u00a0 Minor leaguers you trade for are already signed, so the bonuses to sign them are all taken care of.<\/span><\/div>\n
Building towards 2010 had few bright spots, but some of Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finds were perfect.\u00c2\u00a0 On January 5th<\/sup> of this year, Minaya signed R.A. Dickey, who has been a typically late-blooming knuckleballing late bloomer.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets and Dickey are already rumored to be in extension talks.<\/span><\/div>\n
They traded for Gary Matthews, Jr, which didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work out even though someone else was paying most of his salary.\u00c2\u00a0 They signed Mike Jacobs on February 11, which is terrible.\u00c2\u00a0 What a waste of money.\u00c2\u00a0 Through Q1 of this year, Minaya and his team signed a bunch of nobodies and never has beens.\u00c2\u00a0 As they said in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Major League<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, some of these guys never had a prime.<\/span><\/div>\n
I actually thought Kiko Calero was a good signing because of his recent success for Oakland, but he was actually more injured that I was aware and turned out to be useless to the Mets.<\/span><\/div>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a lost season for the Mets.\u00c2\u00a0 They were only a half game out of first place on June 15, when they released Gary Matthews, Jr.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mets have been more than a handful of games out of the postseason since a midseason freefall that started in July.<\/span><\/div>\n
Which brings us to Minaya’s<\/span> most recent transaction. \u00c2\u00a0On August 31, 2010, Minaya traded Jeff Francouer to Texas for Joaquin Arias.\u00c2\u00a0 Bravo, Omar.\u00c2\u00a0 The last time that Arias was traded, he and Alfonso Soriano went to Texas in exchange for Alex Rodriguez.\u00c2\u00a0 This time, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s getting traded for Jeff Francouer.\u00c2\u00a0 Times change.<\/span><\/div>\n
So, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it.\u00c2\u00a0 Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been better for the Mets?\u00c2\u00a0 Phillips? Or, Minaya?<\/span><\/div>\n
If we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re keeping score of verdicts and notes, it would look like this:<\/span><\/div>\n
Steve Phillips<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
4 big wins<\/span><\/div>\n
1 big, Big win<\/span><\/div>\n
1 Epic fail<\/span><\/div>\n
1 fail<\/span><\/div>\n
1 jury’s out<\/span><\/div>\n
25 losses<\/span><\/div>\n
8 pushes<\/span><\/div>\n
6 slight wins<\/span><\/div>\n
22 wins<\/span><\/div>\n
Omar Minaya<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
1 bunch of terrible<\/span><\/div>\n
2 big losses<\/span><\/div>\n
1 Big Win<\/span><\/div>\n
1 doesn’t matter<\/span><\/div>\n
2 jury’s out<\/span><\/div>\n
1 looks good<\/span><\/div>\n
23 losses<\/span><\/div>\n
1 not looking good<\/span><\/div>\n
15 wins<\/span><\/div>\n
The formula for calculating this data is too complicated to share.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0No, check that. \u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually too silly to even exist, but these abstract results prove my hypothesis false.\u00c2\u00a0 Although appearances can be deceiving, it sure seems that Steve Phillips was a more successful General Manager for the Mets than Omar Minaya.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Looking back now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as simple as the fact that one of his teams made the World Series and Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s did not. <\/span>In the grand scheme of team building, the difference in losing Game 7 of the NLCS 3 to 1 and getting swept in the World Series is minute.<\/span><\/div>\n
Omar still has a chance because he still has his job. \u00c2\u00a0Even if he were fired tomorrow, there’s still a chance that his record would look a lot better if Ike Davis, Parnell, Mejia, and some of the other prospects become big time stars. \u00c2\u00a0In the event that he’s only done enough for the Mets to maintain mediocrity in an increasingly tough division, I think Phillips still did a better job.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
In the spirit of Omar Minaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unintentional comedy, I thought it apropos to share this very recent anecdote from a contributing reader on Deadspin<\/a>:<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153So I’m settling into my seat on a VERY inexpensive Jetblue flight to Chicago to see the Mets in Wrigley when I notice the flight attendant having a hard time closing the overhead compartment because of someone’s bag. After she sheepishly looks around for the culprit\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhe identifies himself. Since everyone was already seated and ready to fly, the apparently inconsiderate passenger was on stage for all to see. It was none other than Omar Minaya himself. What I didn’t say before is that this flight is CRAWLING with Mets fans making the pligramage to Wrigely. At once the plane is abuzz. One young man in 18A shouts out “I woulda traded frenchy three months ago” another says “Better live it up, this is probably your last flight to chicago as GM”. Delighted by the impromptu celebrity roast I chimed in with “I bet they flew Mike Jacobs in business class, at least”. We all laughed in unison\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhe sat down and put his headphones on, a defeated man.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Quick, Met fans!<\/span> <\/span>Someone get the Wilpons in touch with Kevin Towers before another team transitioning General Managers does.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was thinking that it’s about time someone compared the careers of current and recent GM of the Mets, Omar Minaya and Steve Philips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":761,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[1942,21223,10678,10681,2433,1333,10680,10679,10683,1785,10682,10674,10673,1120,4334,1780,10677,10676,3157,10675],"class_list":["post-7920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-statistical-analysis","tag-baseball-almanac","tag-baseball-reference","tag-breaking-hearts","tag-cub-fan","tag-cub-fans","tag-cubs-fan","tag-dying-cub-fans-last-request","tag-fantastic-episode","tag-game-recaps","tag-harry-caray","tag-ides-of-march","tag-jethro-burns","tag-national-league-ballparks","tag-no-hard-feelings","tag-omar-minaya","tag-ron-cey","tag-roy-leonard","tag-steve-goodman","tag-steve-phillips","tag-wgn-radio"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/761"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}