Omar Minaya: Meet the Hot Seat

Recently, Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon gave general manager Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel a vote of confidence and assured they would not be fired after 2009.

Quite frankly, I don't believe a word Wilpon says about it.

Now, Minaya started out a very popular figure for the Mets in late 2004.

He brought in Pedro Martinez following the Boston Red Sox World Series win.

He brought in Carlos Beltran after he hit nearly .500 in the 2004 playoffs; Beltran almost went to the Yankees, but the Yankees decided to overpay Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, and could not afford to add Beltran.

He hired Willie Randolph to be the new manager, who learned under Joe Torre and the Yankee dynasty teams.

The Mets took a step in the right direction in 2005, going 83-79.

In the offseason, Minaya brought over Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, John Maine and Orlando Hernandez to the team to solidify a possible playoff run.

The Mets did just that, going 97-65 and finishing first in the N.L. East. The Mets fell just short of reaching the World Series as they lost to the eventual champion Cardinals in seven games.

The Mets brought back virtually the same team for 2007 and in September seemed destined to return to the playoffs.  They were up six games with 16 games to play, but then the 2007 collapse happened, as the Philadelphia Phillies won the division on the last day of the year while the Mets faltered.

Many felt the Mets' collapse could have been avoided if only the Mets had a legitimate ace on their squad.  After the Yankees and Red Sox failed, the Mets swooped in and virtually stole Johan Santana away for Carlos Gomez, Phillip Humber and two minor leaguers.  The Mets had their ace for a 2008 run.

Only, 2008 did not start out so great.  There was tension in the clubhouse and, apparently, nobody wants to play for Willie Randolph.  Rumors ran rampant that Randolph would be fired and he in fact was in June, while on the road in Anaheim at three in the morning.  Many felt Minaya handled the Randolph situation horribly and could have done things differently.  In came bench coach Jerry Manuel to be the interim manager.

Manuel went 55-38 down the stretch, but the Phillies were the superior team as they clinched the division earlier than they did a year ago.  The Mets were then in a fight for the wild card with the Brewers.  On the final day of the season, the Mets again lost and the Brewers won.  The Brewers had made the playoffs and for the second straight season, the Mets were the odd team out in an embarrassing fashion, especially coming in the final game held at Shea Stadium.

Now, Minaya knew he needed to fix the team for 2009 and he started out in the right direction, bringing in Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz and trading away Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoenweis to upgrade the bullpen.  But after that, what did Minaya do?

Minaya passed up on signing Derek Lowe, a proven playoff pitcher to bring back Oliver Perez, who has been terrible.

He also signed Tim Redding, who is on the verge of being released because of how terrible he has been, when he could have traded for Jason Marquis, who leads the N.L. in wins in 2009.

Minaya also refused to look into signing Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Raul Ibanez, Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn.  Okay, Ramirez was suspended 50 games for testing positive for steroids, but still, Manny at the time seemed perfect for the Mets lineup.

The next big name he brought in wasn't until the beginning of the season when Minaya claimed Gary Sheffield off waivers from the Tigers.  Sheffield has played very well despite being over-the-hill and not able to play every day anymore.

Minaya has also over-evaluated Daniel Murphy, who was supposed to be the next great Mets player.  Murphy started out in left field and was terrible, making terrible errors.  After when Delgado got injured, he was mercifully moved to first, but still hasn't been the player they have expected, hitting around .235.

Now, injuries have ravaged this Mets squad with Jose Reyes, Beltran and Delgado all missing time, but Minaya has done nothing to try and fix some of the holes.

Rumors have it that the Mets will try to sign Julio Lugo, who was designated for assignment by the Red Sox after a terrible stint in Boston.  Lugo will be an upgrade over Alex Cora, but is not an impact player like Reyes is.

Minaya also gave Castillo a new contract before 2008, which was seen as ridiculous, especially considering how bad Castillo has been and since Hudson was a free agent option for 2009.  The result: Hudson is an All-Star with the Dodgers and Castillo will be remembered for the "dropped ball game" against the Yankees in June.

Now, put all that aside; this next week could be even worse for Mets fans.  Rumors have had it that the Mets rejected a possible deal of Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and a minor leaguer for Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay, a guy the whole league would love to have.

Now, it's all speculation and rumors on this rejection, but if it is true, that is not good for Minaya.  But we're going to leave that rejection as it is, a rumor.

There is still 10 days to go until the deadline.  If Minaya doesn't bring in Halladay if that package is still out there, or even if Minaya doesn't add anyone else other than Lugo, Minaya's days in New York could be numbered.

The Mets are nine games behind the Phillies and are in fourth place.  The Mets are slowly falling out of the playoff race, which means the Mets fans may slowly start to not come to Citi Field anymore and season ticket sales may start to drop.  The Mets fans want to see a contender, and the team out there now is hardly that.

Even if they do get Reyes, Delgado and Beltran back, the Mets may be in so deep of a hole, 2009 will just have been a waste.  What the Mets and Minaya need to think about now is 2010.

Halladay would be the perfect fit to pitch with Santana.  A Santana-Halladay combo would be like the Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling duo from the 2001 Diamondbacks championship team: unstoppable.  When the 2009 season ends, the Mets will have entered a playoff contender and most likely, not been in the playoffs for three straight years.

After a third failed season, something may give this time.  Manuel may in fact get his pass, but I wouldn't be so sure on Minaya, because people will be looking for someone to blame for the failed 2009 season.

The players will get a free pass because of injuries, even if they don't hit in clutch situations or pitch well when needed.

Manuel kept a positive attitude every day and handled the media well, so I think Manuel will keep his job for 2010.

But the architect of the team, Minaya, I'm not so sure about anymore.  Depending on what the Mets do in the next 10 days and how the Mets finish in September will determine if Minaya even makes it to 2010.