Wednesday, September 16, 2009

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Omar: Don't Let History Repeat Itself; Resign Delgado

Vegas Rich


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Does the name Pedro Martinez ring a bell Omar? It should. You were smart enough to bring him to New York and it was a brilliant move because it started a whirlwind movement by Latin players who wanted to come to New York to be in his presence. Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Johan Santana, all expressed publicly that coming to the Mets to play with Pedro was paramount in their decision to want to play in New York.

The fact that Omar had the chance to resign him this year at a much lower cost to the organization was a wasted effort on Omar's part.

Well Met fans, I screamed about this for 9 months only to see Pedro wind up in Philadelphia, of all places, and come back magnificently and literally kick our butts all over the northeast part of the US. I felt the beatings here in Vegas and the only saving grace for me was I put y money where my mouth is and collected on every game he has started for the Phillies.

I may be richer for it but I'm miserable as hell.

Now Omar is about to make the exact same mistake all over again. The chances of resigning Carlos Delgado are slim to none. Fast forward to next September and I sure hope he's in the American League because without a crystal ball I can give you his numbers going into Sept 1st. Write them down so you can choke on the paper next year.

450 plate appearances, 155 hits, 28 doubles, 3 triples, 29 home runs, 91 rbi's, .282 batting average, .372 OBP, .585 Slugging percentage .957 OPS.

Crazy, you think? I think it's as real as it can get. His had hip surgery. The same surgery as Chase Utley and Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell. This injury, when fixed is fixed, period.

If the Mets resign him and he plays only 120-130 games, so what. Daniel Murphy and perhaps Ike Davis are the heir apparents for the Mets at that position. I would have Murphy playing winter ball at second base and use him as the super-sub in 2010.

Delgado is a core player for a reason. He is a leader both on the field and off. He takes the pressure off David and provides motivation for Beltran Reyes, Pagan and every player on that team.

Omar now has the reputation of being a fixer of problems. That's not his job. He needs to develop the farm system through the draft and through the international market. His results as a fixer are terrible. One could even argue that K-Rod and I love him a New York Mets uniform was not the fix the Mets needed when Houston Street, Brian Fuentes, and a few others were out there last year to be had a a much lower cost and you really don't want to bring up JJ Putz do you?

I'm going to take a lot of flack on this the same way I did on taking the side of Pedro Martinez. Believe me it's not a matter of being right or even saying I told you so. I'm way too old for that. I just want to see this organization be pro-active instead of being re-active all the time.

To be pro-active would be to resign Carlos Delgado and move on from there. In Part II, I will give my opinion of what it's going to take to get back into contention for 2010. You'll be surprised, it really doesn't have to take too much.
16 Responses to "Omar: Don't Let History Repeat Itself; Resign Delgado"
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Sure Pedro looks great, but then again he's only been pitching for a month! Do you honestly think he would be where he is if he started pitching back in April? It will be interesting to see how he is down the stretch given the number of pitches he threw over the last 2 games.

If Omar can sign Delgado for two months, great. Otherwise, let's move on.
Rich said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:21 PM
I agree with you provided it is an incentive laden contract; say 5M with easily attainable plateaus that could bring the contract to 11-12M. Considering that Davis is the heir apparent and could be ready for the job come the 2011 season, we could do far worse than another year of Delgado.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Bringing back Delgado on an incentive based deal is the right move, but it has nothing to do with Pedro, who wanted guaranteed money. Unlike Pedro, Carlos has stayed on the field this year notwithstanding. Unlike Pedro, there is no available 1b who can provide what Carlos can do, and as he has done for his entire career. Sure guys like Gonzales and Fielder are out there, but the bounty required in a trade is almost prohibitive. Delgado doesn't really displace anyone, and would not block Davis, who won't be ready till 2011. The biggest thing against Delgado is whether he can perform to his norms and stay on the field. An incentive based deal mitigates both those risks. If he tanks, you still have Murphy in the wings. Some may question his leadership/attitude, but the fact is that his bat has been a crucial part of the li eup over the past few years. That impact was best felt last year, as the Mets fought from 10 games out to get back in contention, when Carlos turned it on. For the record, his 2008 season was right in line with his career numbers. Unless bringing back Delgado blocks the Mets from acquiring a superior hitter, then there is reason the Mets shouldn't look to being him back (plus after a lost year, his contract demands can't be too high).
Coop said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Vegas Rich - hey, Coop from My Summer Family here. No i ask you this - are you f'ing kidding me? Delgado? If anything he's been a succubus since 2005 - when he wasn't even on the team! I am telling you right now, it would be the biggest mistake ever to re-sign Delgado. I plan on addressing this very topic on my site - you've actually given me a reason to do it sooner than later :)
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:48 PM
Terrible idea...that money needs to be used to fix holes at corner OF, SP, and RP. Murph will be fine at 1B next season. He already has 33 doubles this year.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Insanity. There is a big difference between signing Pedro when we had gaping holes in our pitching and re-signing Mo Vaughn. He can't field, he was "bored" and hit .200 half the time, he was the leader of the COLLAPSE, not of the team. He had six hot weeks late last year. They are the last good weeks of his career. We have wasted $40-$50M on this guy... enough!
Andrew said :
September 16, 2009 at 5:26 PM
You crazy.

1. ARod is going to have to have more surgery in the offseason.

2. Delgado will be 38 next year.

3. Delgado hasn't posted an OPS as high as .957 since 2005. His career mark is .929. His high a a Met (not counting this year) is .909. At age 38, he's suddenly going to have this big OPS improvement? Doubtful. Citizens Bank Park this is not.

4. Pedro's pitched in 7 games this year. Let's not write him off as a big Omar failure quite yet; the most important thing for a starter is stamina. And they said Pedro was throwing 85, 86 in ST. Being able to pitch a full season consistently is important. Witness Johnny Cueto, who had a 2.17 ERA June 14 and has managed precisely 3 quality starts since, more than doubling his ERA in the process.


Murphy sure ain't the answer at first unless he can put up Olerud numbers, and I'm far from convinced that's the case. But Delgado? No, no, no. Gotta change things up, gotta get someone different in the clubhouse, gotta have a younger team. Delgado, thanks for your service, but byebye.
Steve Merican said :
September 16, 2009 at 5:31 PM
Carlos Delgado has been among the most prolific run producers in the last 10 to 15 years. Almost anyone else the Mets can put at first will be a step down from Delgado. Murphy can only hope to be half the player Delgado has proven he is. Delgado's a smart ballplayer (something in short supply on the Mets) and a warrior on the field. The Mets should make all reasonable efforts to re-sign Carlos Delgado.
-Bambino
Mets on Deck said :
September 16, 2009 at 8:53 PM
I have to admit, I like Daniel Murphy, and hope he continues to develop. But your post on Delgado actually makes a lot of sense.

If the Mets go with Murphy at first next year, they are practically forced to buy a big bat for the corner OF position. The Mets in the mid-1980's had Hernandez at 1B, but also had Strawberry, and G Carter for power.

Unfortunately I feel Murphy will not get a full chance to develop, and will ultimately fall into the "Wigginton" category. Too bad.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Andrew is spot-on. 38 is too old to be expected to come back from hip surgery. Utley's 30, Rodriguez 34. Old men with hip problems are not "fixed, period."

Also, Murphy as a super-sub? He can only play one position. Let's keep the term super-sub reserved for guys with names like Super Joe.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 10:28 PM
Delgado is not a leader, unless you think lazy fielding, undermining your manager in the clubhouse, and failing to do anything noteworthy during the 07 and 08 collapses is "leadership"

The reality is that Delgado did not want to play for the Mets in the first place and is only here for the check. And nothing he said or did during his rehab this year really suggests otherwise.

He's nothing more than a pretty good but very streaky power hitter and a mediocre defensive first baseman. And putting him in the field nearly every day will not make him younger or less injury prone.

The Mets would be better off spending their money elsewhere.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Yikes. Terrible, horrible idea.
Anonymous said :
September 16, 2009 at 11:58 PM
Why is Murphy at 1B better than Pagan at LF? an OF of Pagan, Beltran, Francoeur, I wouldn't mind seeing that, but we need a big bat in first base and his name is Carlos Delgado, at least until 2011.
Mets on Deck said :
September 17, 2009 at 3:13 AM
I have to admit, I like Daniel Murphy, and hope he continues to develop. But your post on Delgado actually makes a lot of sense.

If the Mets go with Murphy at first next year, they are practically forced to buy a big bat for the corner OF position. The Mets in the mid-1980's had Hernandez at 1B, but also had Strawberry, and G Carter for power.

Unfortunately I feel Murphy will not get a full chance to develop, and will ultimately fall into the "Wigginton" category. Too bad.
Anonymous said :
September 17, 2009 at 8:04 AM
There is no Friggin' way The Mets should bring Delgado back!Omar needs to learn from his mistakes by NOT signing Delgado!As far as Murphy goes,if he is even on the team next year,I quit Rooting for The Mets!
TomG said :
September 20, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Murphy will still be here. He has hit better in the later part of the year this year. That being said, I have to agree about bringing back Delgado. There just aren't great options out there at 1B right now on the free agent market. Delgado isn't what he was (despite his belief that he is) but he can still contribute when healthy. He was off to a great start before getting injured this year and, as you state, other players have recovered from the same hip surgery.

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