The real problem is that the Mets haven’t hired a GM from outside the organization since Frank Cashen. Frank Cashen!!! That was 1980. Since then, they’ve replaced the general manager with an assistant below him, regardless of how successful (or in most cases, unsuccessful) his superior was.

Nothing earth shattering, but on the same plane as what we’re discussing here.

When you think about it, most of these ‘rumors’ about Omar being on the hot seat seem to stem from guys like Heyman who see Mets push to keep Sandy Johnson or the Mets exploring the names Kevin Towers, JP Riccardi, or any other GM type, as some indictaion of pressure on Omar, or that they are doing it to think about possible replacements.

So to me there in lies the problem. The Mets seem to be making an effort to bring in thebest staff they can to work with Omar, to the media, and then the public, its perceived as them not showing confidence in Omar. So are they not suppose dto pursue the best talent for the front office?

The fact that the Mets spend less on the draft year after year than other top-market clubs is indicative of the small-mindedness the Wilpons are capable of.

I don’t see Minaya as the main problem, although the situation has gotten to the point where his dismassal makes great sense. Isn’t the main problem Jeff/Fred Wilpon?

I’m hoping against hope that when they replace Minaya it won’t be with a Ricco type, but with a strong, proven GM, who will be allowed to spend what he thinks is necessary on the draft (one example). But I’m not holding my breath that will happen

But the draft and free agency, as you suggest, are all tied up together. I’m not willing to call 2009 a bomb yet, but a GM definitely can’t continue making bad Type A free agent signings (Perez, K-Rod) and complementing them with bad drafts.

And Sackmann’s study skews the opposite direction a bit, too. Since he only counted 1.0+ WAR players, he didn’t penalize Minaya for spending ~$5 million on Tim Redding, Alex Cora, and Cory Sullivan, three free agents who combined for a whopping 0.2 WAR.

International free agents are typically signed at age 16, so players from Minaya’s first class turned 20 this season — or not old enough to make an impact at the ML level.

As far as the draft is concerned, he has a mixed bag. He hasn’t had a full complement of draft picks to work with, due to signing a mulitude of Type A free agents (Pedro & Beltran cost 2nd and 3rd rounders in 2005; Wagner cost a 1st rounder in 2006; Alou, foolishly, cost a 1st rounder in 2007; KRod, also foolishly, cost a 1st rounder in 2009), but many of high picks he’s made are either helping at the ML level (Pelfrey) or have turned into a significant prospects (Davis, Holt, Havens). The 2007 and 2009 drafts, unfortunately, look to be complete bombs, so there’s that.

His utter lack of regard for player valuation in free agency and trades have been his biggest faults. The Perez, K-Rod and Castillo deals are all disasters to various degrees. The trades of Bannister and Bell plus the singing of Schoeneweis has shown us that he doesn’t understand what makes a good relief pitcher. Most recently, the Church/Francoeur trade has shown us that Minaya doesn’t really understand the concept of replacement level.