While the Mets are free falling and Wilie Randolph is unfairly twisting in the wind, the man behind the aging unproductive roster, Omar Minaya, has failed his manager in putting pieces in place for a successful roster in the short and long term.  It's not on Willie that his penciled in starting left fielder on opening day just needs to sneeze to land of the DL (Moises Alou).  It's not Willie that signed an aging Luis Castillo, or pulled the trigger on boneheaded moves that I mention in my last post.  So, Omar, it's time to take a page from the Boston Red Sox, and the best GM in baseball, Theo Epstein.  Look at the Red Sox roster. 

Farm System.  A key to success.  Developing players on the farm allows you to either deal blue chip talent (as the Red Sox traded Hanley Ramirez, the best SS in the NL,  to Florida for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell), or keep the talent and let them be a big part of the team's success (Jonathan Papelbon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, among many others).  To say the Mets farm system is a disaster is too high of a compliment.  It's a disgrace.  All you have to do is look at the Mets roster to see 3 catchers on the roster (Casanova, Castro & Schneider) because there isn't any talent in New Orleans Zephyrs' outfield that would make any difference. 

Free agent signings.  It's important to spend your money wisely.  Just because there is a lot of money in the coffers doesn't guarantee success.  The Red Sox spent money wisely on Dice-K and Okajima.  The Mets spent cash on Moises Alou and Matt Wise, each spent more time on the DL than on the active roster...enough said. 

Ultimately, the key to success is a smart guy pulling the trigger.  Theo Epstein has done a remarkable job in shaping that roster with a great mix of bringing guys along in the farm system and good free agent signings.  His Mets counterpart, on the other hand, found great value in bringing in old guys like Moises Alou and Luis Castillo.  It's time for Minaya to follow the Bo Sox blueprint of building a major league roster, and history tells us Minaya is incapable of doing so.  He's just not as smart as Theo. 

I live in the Fort Myers, Florida area, spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. 

Ever since I've been here, I've been amazed at the fact that chowd fans camp out overnight for...SPRING TRAINING TICKETS.  Are you kidding me?  This isn't camping out for a hot concert ticket like Beyonce...you know what you get with her, but to watch a game where the stars may play 3 innings, and I bet that you won't know the roster by the time the game is winding down. 

This year is no exception.  The first fan, Brian Griffiths, according to a story in the Bonita Daily News (www.bonitanews.com), started camping out Thursday.  Tickets went on sale today.  That's two days parking your can outside a ticket window for games that don't count.  What am I missing here?  I don't get it.  Is it passion, or do you chowd fans not have a life?  Mr. Griffiths wasn't the only one.  Reportedly, there are dozens of you pathetic no life Chowd fans just waiting for the chance to see one Manny Ramirez at bat, Jonathan Papelbon pitch one inning, or Jacoby Ellsbury make a play in center field. 

One fan was quoted as saying this is no different than those who waited all night for Harry Potter books.  He's right...they're just as pathetic. 

A firiend of mine told me this week that this is as exciting as the baseball season.  I have to agree.  Rumors flying around like snowflakes in a blizzard, and things you don't see coming hit you like a ton of bricks.

For example, did anyone know that the Tigers would land BOTH Cabrera and Dontrelle from the Marlins?  WOW.  It's no surprise that they traded both of them, but to the same team.  I give a lot of credit to the Tigers front office for pulling this coup off.  For their sake, I hope the Dontrelle of a couple of years ago is the Dontrelle they get, not the Dontrelle of last year.  As a Mets fan, I'm glad to see Dontrelle out of the NL East.  He's a Mets killer...

Now for the big prize in Johan Santana.  It appears that this is now a one-team race with the self imposed Hank deadline come and gone, but those deadlines don't mean anything...just ask Pay-Rod.  What I don't understand is why Boston is going so hard after Santana.  The package rumored including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz, Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and others for a luxury more than a need.  The rotation is still very solid.  Beckett may be the best in the game right now, Schilling is very crafty, Dice-K and the two young arms I mentioned earlier provide a very good rotation.  Both NY teams need Santana far worse than the Sox do.  The Mets need to make a harder push for Johan, although they may not have all the chips the Twins want.  The Yankees need him badly as well.  Assuming the pinstripes hold steady, and the rocket stays on the launchpad, include Wang, Pettite, Hughes, Joba (assuming he starts) and Kennedy?  Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not all that impressed, although the back end has potential, and I think Pettite is very overrated.  Just another aging overpaid ballplayer in the Yankee rotation.

The Mets also lack any depth in the rotation.  As of now, the boys from Shea are looking at Pedro, El Duque, Maine, Perez and either Pelfrey or Humber.  Two you can't count on for a full season for health reasons, Perez has issues finding the strike zone, and the 5th spot would be going to a pretty young guy.  As it sits now, this rotation won't win any pennants, and didn't win an NL East crown this year.  Omar Minaya must find a way to get a front line starter, whether it's Santana, Bedard or Haren.

Boston showed how pitching wins...and having a stud at the front of the rotation is a huge advantage.  The Mets need to make this move.