Punch drunk

It's not like I didn't see it coming...

This team was flawed from the beginning of the year, just look back on all the pre-season picks. It was just about anybody but the Mets in this division.

About six to eight weeks ago, Steve Phillips, that failed GM of the Mets past and yes, I'm still holding a grudge for him not signing John Olerud and getting Todd Ziele instead. Phillips made the claim that the Mets wouldn't make the playoffs and the Rockies would be the wild card.

I smirked at the idiot and I still do because he figured it would be the Braves since they mortgaged their future (Salty and the young SS) for a top tier first baseman in Mark Texeria.

Everyone said it gave Atlanta the best lineup in the league, but I didn't agree, especially after Omar went out and got Luis Castillo for a couple of A-leaguers.

That move gave the Mets the most complete lineup, top to bottom with speed, power and more speed.

But while that was a great move for the present and the future (We better resign him!!!), it didn't address the needs of the team and that's why we're at home...

That and the Mets decided they couldn't beat bottom feeders at home in the final week of the season.

It will be a long off season according to oh Captain, my Captain Willie Randolph and believe I stand behind him all the way. He'll get calls for his job, he'll be criticized for decisions and if there is a smart man in that front office, he'll be answering choke questions in Port St. Lucie next March...

Especially since this wasn't his fault.

The disapperance of Jose Reyes was huge. As he goes, so goes the team but he's not in the top three reasons why I'll be at home in late October, avoiding Sportscenter highlights of the World Series. Here are those reasons...

3. Paul LoDucaLast year, Dukie batting primarily in the No. 2 hole and hit .318 behind Jose Reyes. He had 39 doubles and a .355 on-base percentage. This year, he was moved down in the lineup, but I'm not accepting that as an excuse for batting .273 with 18 doubles and a .312 on-base percentage.
But worse than the numbers was his attitude. I'm not in New York, but apparantly he's on WFAN once a week. He's sniped at Willie all year and has complained that he hasn't come out and argued when Dukie doesn't agree with a call.
Yes, he's got fire and passion, but sometimes that can be to a fault. He's in a contract year and hasn't done anything to have fans like me not call for Ramon Castro behind the plate next year.

2. Carlos Delgado
He had surgury in the off season and was just about right at spring training, then his wife gave birth and he missed a week. When he came back, he wasn't the same and every time he gets close, he gets another injury.
The fact he was a career .280 batter that only hit .265 last year wasn't that bad because he had a .548 slugging percentage and knocked in 114 with 38 home runs.
Delgado hit .258, 24 home runs, 87 RBIs and slugged .448. Willie, to his credit, tried to stick with him as long as possible before moving him down in the lineup, but that wasn't going to do much.
He was the left handed bat to slot between Wright and Alou, he was the continuation of the mid-lineup power and when Alou went down (As should have been expected), Shawn Green decided to play average and Lastings Milledge was out for as long as he was, the fact that Delgado stunk up the joint to high heaven showed its painful head.

1. Omar Minaya
I read Buster Olney after John Maine almost made Mets history and he makes a great point. All the moves made by Omar this year have been horrible.
Simple as that.
Any complaints about the bullpen and its use should be directed to Omar. He's the one who let Chad Bradford go and gave Scott Show-in-wise the same loot. Don't think about the trades he didn't make at the deadline, it's the small stuff like Brian Bannister to the Royals that didn't turn out, then averted attention away from where it was needed.

I need Tom Glavine to not be in a Mets uniform next year. I need Paul LoDuca gone and I need Duaner Sanchez to be healthy and help form the bridge to Billy Wagner. I need Jose Reyes to remember what the first half of the year was like and duplicate it and I need the front office to have faith in Lastings and the other young outfielders.

But most importantly, I need the Giants defense to keep playing like they did against the Eagles on Sunday night so I don't have to think about the Mets until the Winter Meetings.