Omar Minaya: I Told You So

Of course, one game does not make a season.

But after the struggles the Mets pitching staff has had this year one must wonder why Omar Minaya, supposedly a close personal friend of Pedro Martinez, didn't sign the oft injured pitcher both before or even after the season started.

I started this bandwagon all the way back in October. At that point I looked upon all the intangibles that Pedro brings to a team. He has a compulsion to win, and he can teach, motivate, and lead on and off the field.

He's a loose fun guy that players want to have around, and he's a living legend who stars like Santana, Reyes, Delgado, and Beltran look up to and respect.

And if Pedro was on the roster, how hard do you think Manny would have pushed Boras to allow him to sign with the Mets? If you don't believe that you are foolish.

As the season got closer, and it looked like there was going to be a competition for the No. 5 spot on the rotation I brought it up again.

I talked about the fact that I didn't think Pedro was done at all. I explained that the type of injury he had required about 18 months to heal fully.

But more importantly I tried to point out that Pedro was not the type of man that would "quit" on a bad note, and that his legacy to finish as a star was motivation enough to put out credible performances game after game after game.

I pointed out in this next article that the Mets had three pitchers coming off surgeries. Now John Maine is off the shelf for the year.

Pelfrey has taken a step backwards from last year, although if you remember he wasn't the same pitcher down the stretch last year as he was in midseason. And Ollie is just Ollie.

The five spot in our rotation has given us far less than Pedro could have done. In fact the spots two through five spot have given us some of the worst numbers in baseball this year.

Let me share.

Excluding Johan Santana (thank goodness for him) here are some ugly numbers for you. Among pitchers who have started games for the Mets this year, only Jon Niese and Nelson Figueroa have a better than 2-to-1 strike out to walk ratio.

The rest? Well check out this mess—343 strikeouts to 254 walks, and that includes Niese and Nelson. That's the worst in the league. They have won 31 games and lost 32. They have a combined ERA of 5.37.

In his first appearance last night Pedro had five strikeouts and one walk. He gave up three runs in five innings and was in complete control. He struck out both Derrick Lee and Soriano with vintage Pedro change ups and hit 90-plus on the gun when he had to.

Two of the hits he gave up were bloops, and he looked just as fresh when he finished as when he started.

Now maybe he won't go 5-1 the rest of the way, but his infusion into the already solid Phillies rotation looks like a sure bet that the Phillies are primed for a long playoff run come October.

Meanwhile Omar's band of retreads will have us fight to stay ahead of Washington's surge for fourth place in the NL East.

I already know what Omar's response will be. He will say two things. First, Pedro's only pitched one game. And second, Pedro will win because the Phillies average about a trillion runs per game.

I would like to hear Omar come out and make a statement like, "I made a mistake. I should have signed Pedro when I had the chance." If he did that I would back him 100 percent and fight to see him return.

Will he do that and finally take responsibility for any of his poor decisions? Of course he won't.

And that's why he will be gone no more than five days after the season ends.

I wonder if the next guy is smart enough to sign Pedro to a two-year contract. I doubt it.

Too bad. I guess some people will never learn.