The Mets might be hard-pressed to replace free agent Brian Schneider. Schneider hit .218 and was injured for much of 2009 but is well-equipped to handle a pitching staff. The '09 Mets surrendered 66 steals (third-fewest in the National League), and they could go with Omir Santos, who performed respectably in Schneider's absence. Josh Thole, a late-season call-up, showed offensive potential in Venezuela this offseason. - usa today
Caracas 6, Lara 3 - Mets prospect Josh Thole went 3-for-4 with an RBI, raising his average to .403 in 38 games for the Leones, - mlb
Or maybe the Mets will just notice that pitchers better than Jon Garland and Jason Marquis are being desperately ditched by other teams, and get the hint that multi-year, multimillion dollar commitments to pitchers with marginal stuff rarely--if ever--end well. In the never-ending myopia of the Mets brass (and some of their fans), though, the injuries of last season will create a premium on durability. Undoubtedly some nightmarish, Oliver-Perez-part-deux scenario will develop where Jeff Wilpon and John Ricco conference call with "Scott Boras," who is really just Omar Minaya in the other room, forging fake term-sheets between Jon Garland and the Brewers, which he might "accidentally" leave in the fax machine on his way out. -
Amazinavenue
Delgado has been a slightly below average defender in recent years without being a major liability, according to UZR/150. He isn't the offensive force he was in the early part of the decade with the Blue Jays, but he recovered from a tough start to hit 38 homers and post an .871 OPS in his last full season, 2008. This year, he had a .914 OPS before getting hurt in May and he's now just 27 homers away from 500. So if you cheer for one of the many teams that could use a first baseman or DH, would you want your club to add Delgado? He's never been much of a defender, is returning from hip surgery and turns 38 next season. But he shouldn't be too expensive and he can still hit. The Mariners, Orioles, Braves, Mets and D'Backs are among the teams that could fit - yardbarker
The (allegedly) 34-year-old righthander was arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball in '09 after Mets GM Omar Minaya signed him as one of the options to fill the void in the back of their rotation. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hernandez had the highest ERA (5.44) in the majors among qualifying starters along with the highest batting average against (.308) and the second-highest baserunners-per-nine innings ratio (14.11) with 120 hits and 67 walks in 183 innings. You had to be pretty bad to get cut loose by both the Mets and Nationals. - Read more: NYDN
It's been a few years since the ex-Mets GM made it onto this list, but his latest impropriety, cheating on his wife with an ESPN intern that cost him his job as the network's No. 1 baseball analyst, earns him permanent turkey status if only because he's now blown two prestigious baseball jobs. Can't imagine anyone or anyplace in baseball giving him a third strike.
Like Bradley, his temper earned him a premature summer vacation, but his firing by the Mets - after the Daily News' revelations of him tearing off his shirt and challenging their Double-A Binghamton players to a fight - was long overdue. Before that, he undermined Willie Randolph with the Latin players on the Mets and was generally a negative, perpetually angry influence in the organization. Lastly, as VP of player development, he presided over the worst farm system in baseball.
Much as we might personally like the Mets GM, he had a horrible year, culminating with his out-of-line “shooting the messenger” - in this case the Daily News' Adam Rubin - in the Tony Bernazard affair. Otherwise, Minaya's three-year, $36 million contract to chronic head case Oliver Perez was misguided, as was his judgment that Tim Redding and Livan Hernandez could be adequate back-of-the-rotation options.
Read more: NYDN
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