Doh'mar: Dumb Shit Omar's Saying

Omar Minaya discusses the size of Aaron Heilman's love handles.

According to Fanhouse, Omar "had a simple message for the folks in New York who keep bothering him when he goes out to get his morning bagels. "To you Mets fans, we've addressed the bullpen by getting Mr. Putz," he said.

Thanks for clarifying that Omar. Who else cares? Would it have too been tasteless to begin his statement "To you Mariners fans..."? Did the original speach have a passage starting "To you Aaron Heilman fans"...? He just blathers on and on.


Omar welcomes K-Rod to the Mets.

This winter has been dreary without mention of Bean Stringfellow. Ol' Bean is probably in his castle made of marzipan lording over the other elves and counting the money he made on Billy Goat Wagner's huge contract. If you're into this kind of thing, go compare November 2005's reports about Wags the Tongue , Mr. best available closer, with this week's signing of the best available closer. If you don't have the time, let me just whet your appetite with some remarks relevant to contemporary concerns:

Wagner, [who chose the Mets over resigning with his old club the Philadelphia Phillies] again distinguished between the Mets who, he said, were intent on winning, and the Phillies, whom he characterized as "trying to be competitive."

Sigh. If John Franco was our Korean War (never ended), Armando was Vietnam (a bad idea, a morass) , Goat was the Gulf War '91 (seemed like a sucess at the time but apparently didn't go far enough). What's next?

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Now that we don't have Willie to kick around any more, let's do tune into Omar's frequency, courtesy of Steve Popper who has some truly Amazin' Stories...

Omar on getting another good starter:

"I can be a player - but depending on where the dollars are going," Minaya said. "The (number). two and three, you see what the price is going for right now - the $15-plus (million) range. I don’t know if that ballpark is an area we're going to be able to (be at), understanding not only do I have a $27 million pitcher this year (Johan Santana), but I have to carry Billy (Wagner’s) money. I’m carrying a lot of money back there. We'll free up something next year ,but I’m carrying a lot of money."

Interesting use of rhetoric to make it seem as though he is passively accepting a restraint imposed from elsewhere. Who made you carry a lot of money back there, Omar? Who? Is it that guy in the mirror? Is it? Answer me dammit. You're a "player" are you?

On being about to make a dumb wrong move:

Minaya said he didn't anticipate spending on a bat, dedicating his dollars to finishing up the pitching staff.

NoooOOoooOOOooo! Not dumb because the Mets don't need pitching mind you. If you watched the Mets for any time at all recently you can see they need a offensive chemistry adjustment (not the same as signing anti-dinosaur self injuring players, mind you.) In baseball, offense is tightly linked to bats, the kind Omar doesn't anticipate spending on.


On Castillo, who is hated by his manager and a good part of the fanbase after being senselessly signed to a mulityear contract by Doh'mar.

"Right now, Castillo's going to be our second baseman," Minaya said. "I know he didn't have a good year, I know it's tough for him to come back. But this guy's been an All-Star, and a two-time World Series winner, a .300 hitter for 10 years.

"When you have the kind of year that he has and you've got three years left, there's not many teams that are exactly going to be jumping and knocking down the door for Luis Castillo, you know what I'm saying? The cost issue will have to be kind of weighted, but the bottom line is he's our second baseman. He's not a player that there's a great market for him based upon the year he had last year."

We know, Omar. We know what you're sayin. In fact we knew it before you outbid the Astros for his services. We know it, not because we're omnipotent bloggers (although we are), but 'cause we used something my pappy used to call common fucking sense.

Amazin' Stories is a good description of the kind of stories Omar likes to tell a lot. "Maine was my main target." "Ollie was my goal all along." I needed to sign Pedro to get Beltran. Etc.



Minaya says he was motivated to upgrade the bullpen by his wish not to get shivved again in spring training.


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Cole Hamels, the last time he talked smack to anyone.

The Pop-star is also reporting that Cole Tadpole Hamels is flapping his lips. Luckily for him he is picking on the folding chair of baseball, the NY Mets' pride. When old Jimmy Rollins talked smack, what did the Mets do? A year later, after collapsing and signing the best free agent pitcher on the planet, the Mets got around to having their firey centerfielder respond. Then they folded again.

Here's what Daryl Strawberry had to say about the matter, courtesy of Metsblog:

“That’s sad… If we had a team say that about us – oh, no – they were gonna be in trouble… I mean, it would definitely be hard if, in the days us playing, if somebody said that, I mean, we’d have stuck one right in his neck. We’d be fighting. There’s no way any one would be allowed to disrespect us like that, and that is what has happened to the Phillies.”

What's sad to me is that Straw puts it in painful perspective. Hellya, those 80s Mets didn't wait til someone said something like Cole Haan did, they didn't need an excuse. Jeesh Straw was taking swings at his teammates during photo day!

I know some fanboys don't like this kind of talk, that the Mets have no fight in them, but until this club shows it can triumph over adversity, they're the LA Lakers of the MLB, talking a bigger game than they play. Soft and weak and not champions.