You're the GM! New York Mets Edition

That graphic might be the single greatest thing you've ever posted here.

Strike that. It's DEFINITELY the single greatest thing you've ever posted here.

Oh sorry, that was as a fan.  As the GM, I would have to resign and launch Randolph prior to the resignation.

Pelfrey and Humber both need spots in the rotation.  Period.

Green and Glavine are gone which frees up $20MM.  LoDuca and Castillo are FA's as is Alou.  Take the cash and go get bullpen help.

This team could win 70 games next year.  I'm still laughing my ass off!  Minaya contructed a fatally flawed team.

I think at this stage you need to lock up Julio Franco with a two-year deal, and then everything else falls into place.

Maine and Perez are nice #3's but they don't have an ace.  Pedro is probably a #2 at best now with his health and age.  Give up the overrated outfield prospects and maybe Reyes.

I am a Mets fan, and seeing the graphic only symbolizes what agony I've gone through the last month.  That being said, if I was the GM, this is what I would do.

1.  NOT fire Willie - while he seemingly lost his club, I don't think he can be blamed for this in its entirety.  The club was over .500 and during the years prior to Willie, even sniffing at .500 would have been lovely to my ears.  Expectations were high and not achieved, but on the whole, Willie has won and one tragic year shouldn't doom him as manager.  
2. Set a rotation - Pedro/Maine/O.Pe/El Duque/Pelfrey.  Humber as the 6th man in (or when perhaps) one of these guys go down.  Unless Santana is obtainable, then this should be how it is.  There is no starter worth spending a ton on.
3. Fix the bullpen.  I'm not really sure how, but you have to do it.  First thing may be to cut ties with Mota to end any temptations.  Then I'd heavily consider it with Schoeneweis.  Find middle  relief, including heavily consider whatever internal options we have.  We really haven't been grooming guys for middle relief, but its obvious we need it.  Bring in arms, tell Sanchez not to screw up his shoulder.  One thing may be to consider Humber in a temporary relief role for the season with going back to starter later in the year.  Not sure, but we need back of the bullpen arms that won't destroy us night in night out.
4. Resign LoDuca AND castro if possible - its a good two-headed monster as far as I'm concerned.  Only other option would be to go for pudge if released by tigers.  1 yr deal with him may be acceptable.
5. OF - Alou/Beltran/Milledge - Let the kids play, whether it be Milledge or Gomez, just one of them has to be in RF, full time.  Alou was great when not hurt, and if you have another OF, lets say Chavez or Gomez, then him being out for extended period isn't too horrible.
6. Believe this was a horrible happenstance and move on.  Really, the core of this team is still very very good.  I don't know what happened, but I don't like it.  But, the best way is to treat this as a motivator into next year.  Prepare like you never prepared before.  We don't need to restart, we just need to rehabilitate.

1.  DO NOT trade Reyes, as some idiotic "fans" have suggested.  Corollary to this:  Fire Rickey Henderson.
2.  Let Glavine go back to Atlanta, and go into '08 with a rotation of Pedro, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, and Humber.  You're not going to get solid value in return for Pelf/Humber, and it's time to let them sink or swim.  El Duque's there, but use him as a safety net and spot starter/swingman/longman etc. He's not good for more than 20 starts, anyway.
3.  Give Milledge the everyday RF spot, and exercise Alou's option at (I believe) $6.5 mil.
4.  Do not re-sign Shawn Green (almost goes without saying) or Luis Castillo.  Physically, both are finished/near finished.  Look to find a right-handed platoon mate for Ruben Gotay and suck it up at 2B.
5.  Consider finding a righty platoon mate at 1B--if there's one out there--as Delgado absolutely STUNK against lefties this year.  
6.  At catcher, let Lo Duca walk and bring back Castro--I'm not the biggest fan of Pudge, but it might be worthwhile to see if he can be signed to some kind of incentive-laden deal.  DO NOT overpay for Jorge Posada.
7.  Get some goddamn bullpen help and tell Willie to quit it with the quick hook on the younger starters.  Feliciano, Wagner, Heilman are fine at the back end, and someone needs to kick Duaner Sanchez in the ass and get him back to Shea.  Find a way to cut the Roid Boys + Jorge Sosa loose.

1. Do whatever possible to get younger.  Plan on playing the kids even if veterans who seem slightly better are out there.  Try to make any FA signings as young as possible.
2. Get a great bullpen coach, and designate a lot of authority to that guy.
3. It may be over for Delgado, so be ready.  At least get a RH who might be able to step in.  Sweeney from KC could be a good gamble if healthy, and coming over to the AAAA-NL.
4. Don't mortgage the future for 2008.  Now is the time to find out if the kids can play.

As for next year there isn't much ways in which the Mets can improve from this year besides the bullpen.. and im a mets fan..

I give Milledge the starting job in RF..

I want Cordero and Rauch from Washington, I make a package around Humber but do not trade Kevin Mulvey in the deal. Maybe a Humber,Parnell,Carp,Owens deal can get it down.

Re-sign Alou and Castillo. Keep Gomez in the majors and the Mets must give Alou at least 2 days off a week.

Castillo will basically be healing his knees all off-season and since he won't be on turf anymore I have faith then he will be in great shape come spring training. Also I have no faith in Ruben Gotay I'm not letting him get a shot at 2B.

Catcher is an interesting posistion. I would want to take a chance on a guy like Josh Bard, who hits like .324 on the road but like .225 at home. Idk what it would cost to get him but that'd be an interesting case. Also re-sign Ramon Castro give him 300 at bats and see what he can do.

Either he is Nook or a more powerful Crawford.  I'll give you that he looks like Ramirez in the box, but will he mature like Hanley did when he turned 22.  They both have comparible numbers in the minors for their age 21 bracket.  One good thing for him was that he only struckout once in his comeback and that was 17 AB's, granted he only got a hit or two.

Like John said in his Mets rankings, i'm not sure he'll hit for power.

I agree with most of the sentiment of the posts above. Give Humber and Pelfrey rotation spots. Give Millidge

I think a trade for Orlando Hudson from the Diamondbacks to play second base would make a lot of sense.

because the Phillies are just so much better. HAAAAHAAAA! GOOD TO BE IN THE PLAYOFFS! WOOHOO! This never gets old.

They have no farm system to trade for anyone.  Braves will return to 1st next year.

I really do think Willie's a giant problem.  His tactical skills have always been weak, and his demeanor and ability to keep control of his team have now been called into question.

That said, he's coming back, and so the point is moot.  Given this, the best thing Minaya can do is to remove the temptation to play "Proven Veterans."

In the end, one of the fatal flaws of the '07 Mets was Willie's lack of trust in his younger guys and his misplaced faith in certain older vets.  Humber, Muniz, Collazo, and others should have been involved more often starting on Sept. 1.  Milledge was benched down the stretch, presumably because of his tirade towards the umpire, while Lo Duca gets a pass because of his "fire heart grit blah blah blah."  Simply unacceptable.

It's only going to get worse, and so somehow, some way, he's got to be forced into getting some of the younger and better players into the lineup--and once they're in, let them play.

-Fire Rick
- Keep Willie

-Sign Scott Linebrink, Mike Timlin, and Brad Wilkerson - all short term deals (short term =3 or less years contract duration not counting options

-Trade Aaron Heilman and Carlos Gomez and Francisco Pena to Florida for Dontrelle Willis

-Resign Ramon Castro short term, have him start, and also sign a serviceable good fielding backup let Lo Duca go.

- You can call me a little idealistic, but frankly this is just about equal to Minya's 05' spending campaign, but please don't lump me in with the rest of the Met fans on the board, you know who they are, primarily cause you post complaints about them. That being said, I don't think I'm that farfetched with my proposals.

Salarywise: the Willis deal is pretty even, the FAs in total should cost about 8-14 mil annually, and with the Mets not having to pay people like Lo Duca, Glavine, Alou, and Green we might actually save money with this roster

C) Castro
1B) Delgado
2B) Gotay
SS) Reyes
3B) Wright
LF) Chavez/Wilkerson
CF) Beltran
RF) Milledge

SP) Martinez
SP) Willis
SP) Maine
SP) El Duque
SP) Perez

LR/SS) Humber
LR/SS) Pelfrey
LR) Mota
MR) Schoeneweis
MR) Smith
SU) Timlin
SU) Linebrink
CL) Wagner

1. Reyes
   
2. Gotay
   
3. Wright
   
4. Beltran
   
5. Delgado
   
6. Milledge
   
7. Castro
   

 Chavez/Wilkerson

I don't know what to do with Pelfrey and Humber, so I'm going to say they will be deadline deals unless they can turn it around. Currently, they are spot starters, if someone gets hurt, which is more than likely, they'll go into the rotation.

Bringing back Willie Randolph is a big mistake. This couldn't be more obvious (well, to me!).

The A's have too many excellent RPs - why not snag one or two of them?

1. I'm torn about Willie.  On the one hand, I don't blame him AT ALL for the Mets collapse, so I hate to see a knee-jerk reaction.  On the other hand, he's not the best in-game manager, so if you can find a better alternative, cut him loose and hire it.  But probably you can't.
2. Do not trade Gomes, and for God's sake don't use him as a 4th OF.  Let him develop on the minors.  He's still young.  Sign a cheap 4th OF, like everyone else does.
3. Whatever you do, do not spend for bullpen help.  It's pretty obvious both statistically and anecdotally that this never helps.  Look on the scrap heap and see what you can find.  You'd be surprised how often this works, as the guys on the scrap heap haven't begun the three-year run relievers usually get before they sign a three-year contract and crap out.  What's more, the guys who got you there aren't all that bad.
4. As people have suggested, sign a platoon mate for Delgado and look into Pudge.  If you can't get Pudge on incentives or a one-year deal or something, just go with Castro.  Posada is too old, will be too expensive, and will probably stay on the other side of town anyway.  And LoDuca is one of the most overrated players in the game.  Let Green go, stick with Milledge.  Talent trumps attitude.
5. Despite the rending of garments, gnashing of teeth, and pictures of crying children, this is a really good team that won 88 games.  Without any significant changes, this is a pretty good roster:

SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
LF Moises Alou
RF Lastings Milledge
2B Ruben Gotay
C  Castro/Pudge (prolly Castro)

SP Pedro
SP Maine
SP Perez
SP Pelfrey
SP Humber

RP Wagner
RP Heilman
RP Feliciano
RP Smith
RP Burgos

Plus, you've got Mulvey waiting in the wings, and Heilman as a potential starter if you need one.

6. The only other thing I can see doing, if you wanna splurge, is something along the lines of trading Milledge for a quality SP, someone like Blanton (though his K rate scares me, even in the NL at Shea, see if you can't find someone better), and then splurging on someone like Fukodome.  Or Aaron Rowand, and play two CFs.

Agree with everything you just wrote--but unlike you, I'm not at all convinced it's fixable, and even if it is, I've always found Willis to be extraordinarily overhyped (as most "Met killers" are).  As you say, he's a low K/high BB contact pitcher, and he's always been a high WHIP guy.  Contrast that to our own lefty reclamation project, Oliver Perez.  

Additionally, I'm not so sure the added bulk can come off Willis's frame so easily.  I was listening to Darling's comments as well; I was under the impression he felt that Willis's mechanics evolution wasn't reversible.  Unlike Cabrera, Dontrelle isn't fat--just bigger and stronger.  Sort of a Ruben Sierra-esque transformation.

Any idea what his BABIP was in 2005?  I don't know what it is, but I'm curious to know.

BABIP in 2005: .306 2006: .317 2007: .328

a) Fire Willie... Oh well.. too late... I would have liked Girardi or Frank Robinson... Someone to teach them fundamentals and respect for the game..
b) Definitely not sign Glavine (Thank god he's going to decline his option)
c) Trade for an STP... Hopefully an Ace like Santana but more likely a quality starter that can give you innings eater like Ted Lilly, Dontrelle Willis, or Dan Haren.  
d) Fix the bullpen.  Get Rid of Mota... Hopefully, D.Sanchez can come back or trade for a reliever...  Chad Cordero would be ideal...
e) Put El Duque in the Pen
f) Start Milledge, if not trade him...
e) Resign both catchers for a couple of years if Pudge is not available.
f) Resign Luis Castillo but keep R.Gotay around for insurance
g) Keep Moises Alou... Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez are good insurance
h) Keep Marlon Anderson
i) If Shawn Green agrees to be a bench player, sign hime to a one-year contract.
j) Oh yeah... Get rid of quirky Rickey Henderson... Other than being aggressive on the bases (which could be a bad thing if caught stealing at a bad time), he does not look like he can contribute anything else...
k) Soon, maybe at the all-star break, look for a replacement for Carlos Delgado...

I think that's it...  

First of all, it's not a bad team.  But you have to realize where they are.  They've got a bunch of talent under 25 years old.  It's a different situation from the Phillies, whose core talent is all 26-30.  The Mets have really been rebuilding, and trying to compete at the same time.  They tried to supplement that young talent with some past their prime players on short term contracts.  Most of the age 32 and over guys have disappointed some, as is to be expected.  

The first thing I'm going to try to do here is let some of those older guys whose contracts are up go.  Next, two of them still under contract, who still have some value, Wagner and Delgado, I'd be shopping in trades.  If I can get value for Wagner, I'd give Heilman a chance to close.  Pedro Martinez is the other mid 30's guy under contract, but him I keep.

Next, I'm looking to acquire more talent in the 26-32 range.

1. My number one target is Adam Dunn for 1B.  If the Reds don't pick up his option, I' all over this in the FA market.  If they do, I'll still consider a trade.
   
2. For a SP, I like Jason Jennings in the FA market.  He should be healthy by April.  
   
3. I don't like to spend too much on relievers, but the bullpen needs help.  I'll look at Scott Linebrink and Japanese reliever Masahide Kobayashi.
   
4. For left field, I'd look at Milton Bradley.  
   
5. I'd love to add a decent catcher, but there aren't really any in the FA market.  Here I have to persue trades, or settle for Lo Duca returning if he'll accept arbitration.  I'd inquire about Shoppach from Cleveland.  They seem set with Victor Martinez starting.

I would also shore up the pen by moving El Duque there, and possibly Phil Humber, who seems to be lights out the first time through a lineup.

If everything goes right:
SP: Pedo Martinez, Oliver Perez, Jason Jennings, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey
BP: Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Linebrink, Orlando Hernandez, Jorge Sosa, Phil Humber, Scott Schoeneweis

Lineup: Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Dunn (1B), Bradley (LF), Milledge (RF), Shoppach (CA)
Bench: Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley, Ruben Gotay, Ramon Castro, Endy Chavez

AAA: Kevin Mulvey, Joe Smith, Carlos Muniz, Carlos Gomez, Anderson Hernandez, Ben Johnson.  Mota if he clears waivers and accepts assignment after not making the team in ST.

As for coaching staff, I brig back Randoplh and most of the coaches.  But I fire or transfer Rickey Henderson, and let Willie pick a replacement.  Also I ban Tony Berazard from the clubhouse.  I want Willie to run this clubhouse.

And, I'm always looking for a true ace pitcher, but I'm assuming there won't be one available at a price I'd be willing to pay right now.