Luvofthegame
10-20-2006, 10:46 PM
By BEN SHPIGEL
Published: October 20, 2006
Omar Minaya, the Mets’ general manager, often accompanies the team on the road, but he had a special purpose in joining the Mets in Atlanta late last month. On the eve of the Mets’ first postseason in six years, Minaya wanted to catch up with his Braves counterpart, John Schuerholz, the architect of the Braves’ 14 consecutive division championships, to discuss the challenges of building a dynasty.
Discuss the N.L.C.S. between the Mets and Cardinals, and the upcoming World Series between the National League champions and the Detroit Tigers.
When Minaya was hired two years ago and started to implement his rebuilding plan, he expected the Mets to be able to contend in 2007 or 2008. But the Mets arrived ahead of schedule, buoyed by an influx of high-priced talent, shrewd trades and electrifying young players, and won 97 regular-season games and a playoff series before losing, 3-1, last night to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
“You feel like you’ve taken steps,” Minaya said. “If you don’t get to the World Series, then at least I feel we’ve taken steps to win the World Series. We are heading in the right direction.”
In place is a plan that mirrors the Braves’ recipe for success. The Mets have restored their farm system and established a foundation that should keep them among the best teams in baseball for years. They locked up David Wright and José Reyes, their electrifying 23-year-old infield cornerstones, with long-term contract extensions this summer. The Carloses, Beltrán and Delgado, fed off each other to post dynamic seasons, and they do not figure to leave anytime soon. Paul Lo Duca worked wonders with a patchwork pitching staff and, along the way, batted .318 in the regular season.
“The experience of being a first-place team, winning the division, winning in the first round, guys like José, David, Johnny Maine, Aaron Heilman,” Minaya said. “The list goes on and on of the young guys that have taken part in this. All that will help us going forward.”
But Minaya is known as one of the most aggressive general managers for a reason, and the two holes he foresees — starting pitching and second base — will surely be fixed. Minaya said he did not know the expected payroll for next season, which hovered around $100 million this year, but he said it would be an “acceptable number.”
José Valent*n went from the third guy off the bench to the starting second baseman after about six weeks, and his remarkable turnaround was a main factor in the Mets’ success. But he is 37, and the Mets would prefer someone younger — someone, perhaps, like the free agent Julio Lugo, who grew up in Brooklyn and has expressed an interest in returning to New York.
The Mets pursued Lugo at the trading deadline last year and again during the off-season. They were also interested in him this year before he was traded to the Dodgers. Valent*n will be a free agent, and the Mets are interested in re-signing him.
One of the more intriguing questions in the off-season will be what the Mets decide to do with the rookie outfielder Lastings Milledge. The Mets are unlikely to re-sign Cliff Floyd, who will require surgery for the left Achilles’ tendon injury that has limited him since August, and Milledge has been groomed to replace Floyd in left field. But Milledge irritated many members of the organization with his swagger and a perceived lack of professionalism, and it may be time for the Mets to trade him for a more pressing need like starting pitching.
With Pedro Mart*nez’s rehabilitation from rotator-cuff surgery likely to keep him out until about the All-Star Game break, the Mets do not have a healthy front-line starter under contract for next season. A top priority, Minaya said, would be re-signing Tom Glavine, who won 15 games this season, two more in the playoffs, and should reach 300 victories next season. Glavine has a $7.5 million option, and the Mets have a $14 million option that could be a little too expensive. The Mets figure to negotiate quickly and reach a compromise.
After that, the Mets have decent depth among their young starters. Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Pérez figure to get the first opportunity.
If the Mets re-sign Guillermo Mota, a free agent, and Duaner Sánchez recovers from shoulder surgery, Heilman could be shifted to the rotation from the bullpen. But none of those pitchers appear to have the potential to be an ace next season, so the Mets will try to acquire one through a trade or free agency.
The top starters on the free-agent market are Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt and the Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was given permission to pursue a career in the major leagues. Zito could benefit from pitching in the National League, and he has a good relationship with Rick Peterson, the Mets’ pitching coach. But he may not be the answer.
The Mets could dangle Milledge in a package for the Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis, who could add extra pizzaz to one of baseball’s most exciting rosters. Or Minaya could try to pry complementary starters like Freddy Garc*a or Javier Vázquez from the White Sox. Either way, the Mets will try to emulate the Braves, who always seemed to have a Glavine, a Greg Maddux or a John Smoltz.
“We have to have volume,” Minaya said
Published: October 20, 2006
Omar Minaya, the Mets’ general manager, often accompanies the team on the road, but he had a special purpose in joining the Mets in Atlanta late last month. On the eve of the Mets’ first postseason in six years, Minaya wanted to catch up with his Braves counterpart, John Schuerholz, the architect of the Braves’ 14 consecutive division championships, to discuss the challenges of building a dynasty.
Discuss the N.L.C.S. between the Mets and Cardinals, and the upcoming World Series between the National League champions and the Detroit Tigers.
When Minaya was hired two years ago and started to implement his rebuilding plan, he expected the Mets to be able to contend in 2007 or 2008. But the Mets arrived ahead of schedule, buoyed by an influx of high-priced talent, shrewd trades and electrifying young players, and won 97 regular-season games and a playoff series before losing, 3-1, last night to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
“You feel like you’ve taken steps,” Minaya said. “If you don’t get to the World Series, then at least I feel we’ve taken steps to win the World Series. We are heading in the right direction.”
In place is a plan that mirrors the Braves’ recipe for success. The Mets have restored their farm system and established a foundation that should keep them among the best teams in baseball for years. They locked up David Wright and José Reyes, their electrifying 23-year-old infield cornerstones, with long-term contract extensions this summer. The Carloses, Beltrán and Delgado, fed off each other to post dynamic seasons, and they do not figure to leave anytime soon. Paul Lo Duca worked wonders with a patchwork pitching staff and, along the way, batted .318 in the regular season.
“The experience of being a first-place team, winning the division, winning in the first round, guys like José, David, Johnny Maine, Aaron Heilman,” Minaya said. “The list goes on and on of the young guys that have taken part in this. All that will help us going forward.”
But Minaya is known as one of the most aggressive general managers for a reason, and the two holes he foresees — starting pitching and second base — will surely be fixed. Minaya said he did not know the expected payroll for next season, which hovered around $100 million this year, but he said it would be an “acceptable number.”
José Valent*n went from the third guy off the bench to the starting second baseman after about six weeks, and his remarkable turnaround was a main factor in the Mets’ success. But he is 37, and the Mets would prefer someone younger — someone, perhaps, like the free agent Julio Lugo, who grew up in Brooklyn and has expressed an interest in returning to New York.
The Mets pursued Lugo at the trading deadline last year and again during the off-season. They were also interested in him this year before he was traded to the Dodgers. Valent*n will be a free agent, and the Mets are interested in re-signing him.
One of the more intriguing questions in the off-season will be what the Mets decide to do with the rookie outfielder Lastings Milledge. The Mets are unlikely to re-sign Cliff Floyd, who will require surgery for the left Achilles’ tendon injury that has limited him since August, and Milledge has been groomed to replace Floyd in left field. But Milledge irritated many members of the organization with his swagger and a perceived lack of professionalism, and it may be time for the Mets to trade him for a more pressing need like starting pitching.
With Pedro Mart*nez’s rehabilitation from rotator-cuff surgery likely to keep him out until about the All-Star Game break, the Mets do not have a healthy front-line starter under contract for next season. A top priority, Minaya said, would be re-signing Tom Glavine, who won 15 games this season, two more in the playoffs, and should reach 300 victories next season. Glavine has a $7.5 million option, and the Mets have a $14 million option that could be a little too expensive. The Mets figure to negotiate quickly and reach a compromise.
After that, the Mets have decent depth among their young starters. Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Pérez figure to get the first opportunity.
If the Mets re-sign Guillermo Mota, a free agent, and Duaner Sánchez recovers from shoulder surgery, Heilman could be shifted to the rotation from the bullpen. But none of those pitchers appear to have the potential to be an ace next season, so the Mets will try to acquire one through a trade or free agency.
The top starters on the free-agent market are Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt and the Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was given permission to pursue a career in the major leagues. Zito could benefit from pitching in the National League, and he has a good relationship with Rick Peterson, the Mets’ pitching coach. But he may not be the answer.
The Mets could dangle Milledge in a package for the Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis, who could add extra pizzaz to one of baseball’s most exciting rosters. Or Minaya could try to pry complementary starters like Freddy Garc*a or Javier Vázquez from the White Sox. Either way, the Mets will try to emulate the Braves, who always seemed to have a Glavine, a Greg Maddux or a John Smoltz.
“We have to have volume,” Minaya said