Dear Omar

Congratulations on your extension. You'll notice I left out the "well deserved" that you may think is forthcoming. The reason I did so is that I do not think it is well deserved. I understand why the Wilpon's gave it, but disagree.

You see Omar, you're scaring the fanbase right now. You've said some pretty scary stuff. Things like "Damion Easley had a good year". Omar, the dude had an OPS of .692. That is far from a good year. Yeah, I know he had a couple of good games, but the dude is not a starter, and is barely a competent bench player. In 31 PH appearances, his OPS was .515. That is NOT A GOOD YEAR.

You also stated "The Brand is Strong." No, it is not. A strong baseball "brand" is one that makes the damn playoffs. You know who has a good brand? The Phillies. Because they won the damn division 2 years in a row, and are, as I write this, up 3-2 in Game 5 of the World Series, possibly on their way to a trophy. That is a strong brand. Your brand is strong when you make the playoffs back to back, not when you make it once, then blow two leads the following two years. Your brand is strong when you have a good bullpen.

You also stated you think Luis Castillo can bounce back. Let me clue you in on something Omar. He sucks. Sucks at defense, sucks at hitting. Now, I like saber, and I get OBP is an important factor. But Luis' OBP is empty when you factor in the multiple double plays he hits into, and the key groundouts. Not to mention his inability to hit the damn ball out of the infield. His OPS while playing 2nd base? .666. That's a sign Omar. Not to mention the fact that Mets fans, well, hate his ass. Did you not hear the boos? Now, I know, you will say "Well, the booed Delgado too." The difference is that Delgado can hit home runs. Fans dig the longball. Luis cannot hit home runs.

I know you signed him to a 4 year deal, and he has 3 years left. Big deal. The Wilpon's can be persuaded to eat the contract. They paid Mo Vaughn. They are still paying Bobby Bonilla for fuck's sake. If you can't trade him, cut him. We will not care if he comes back to someone else and suddenly finds the fountain of youth. We do not like him.

Now, let's think about who can play 2nd next year. Easley and Castillo are gone. You could use Argenis Reyes, but that would be stupid. Ypu could throw money are Orlando Hudson, which the press will love since he has "attitude" (we'll get to this). Or, you could do the smart thing and LET DANIEL MURPHY PLAY! He has already shown he can hit the snot out of the ball. His line last year, .313/.397/.473. That's a .870 OPS. That's good. He's young, unlike Hudson. He can hit, something Hudson does not do away from Chase Field. And he's under contract and cheap, which means you can spend money where you need to, the BULLPEN.

Yes Omar, you need to spend money on the bullpen. There are NO internal options for closer. Sign Fuentes, or trade for Putz or Soria. Get Dennys Reyes (we need at least 2 Reyes' on the team). Juan Cruz is an intriguing idea. This is where you need to focus your time and effort and money. Not on 2nd base. You need to sing guys who are not ROOGY's or LOOGY's. You need to sign guys who can face both. In reality, not in your world where Scott Schoeneweis is able to. The real world.

Lastly, there has been a lot of talk about attitude on the team. You know where attitude comes form? Winning. Yeah, it helps to have some hard nosed guys who could NOT care less what people think. The key is to make sure they are actually good (in other words, not a PLD type.) If Jose wants to dance, let him. If Keith Hernandez doesn't like it, TFB. Just remember, it does help to have the stats that Jerry commented about. You know, it is hard to drive guys in if they are not on base.

The last thing is to either resign Ollie or get a reasonable replacement. Derek Lowe is nice. Burnett would be nicer. See, I'm a little worried about Pelfrey coming off his innings. And Maine with his surgery. So, no Pedro. You need depth. Get a couple of guys for AAA while you are at it. I'm fine with Niese as #5, so long as the pen is strong.

Forget the brand being strong. Make the TEAM strong. Fix the pen. Find a Leftfielder. Build a better bench. Put Murphy at 2nd.

Just Fucking Win.

Ed in Westchester