Minaya to Blame?

Every Met fan knows the infamous Scott Kazmir- Victor Zambrano trade orchastrated by Steve Phillips. Most baseball critics consider it the worst trade of all time; infact Sports Illustrated wrote an article about it a few years ago. Many Met fans, however, consider it one of the best trades becaues it got Phillips fired and then Omar Minaya came to town (that sums up the Mets. It takes the worst trade in baseball history to get somebody fired).

Since then it has been a complete transformation for the Amazins. Minaya brought in Pedro and Beltran. As well as Billy Wagner and completed a trade for John Maine. He became the Mets golden child as his newly constructed team won the NL east by 12 games and came within a game of the World Series.

Lately, however, Minaya's luster has faded away. He traded away Heath Bell and Brian Bannister in '06. Both pitchers thrived with their new teams and could have helped the Mets during their epic collapse to the Phillies two years ago.

He did trade for Santana and sign K-Rod but this season has exposed the real holes in the Mets organization.

The Mets have been plagued by injuries and while that is not his fault, he is to blame for the lack of depth throughout the entire team. The Mets have been mixing and matching players all season looking for a winning combo and they just cannot find it. They lack the utlitly players that can play multiple positions and they have a severe lack of power within the lineup. Not to forget that they field like a little league team. The worst part is there is no help on the horizon.

The Mets farm system has been picked over the last few years and Minaya has failed to restock. Not to mention that their two big prospects, Daniel Murphy and Fernando Martinez, have been flops.

So with the Mets needing the cavalry to charge over the hill Minaya cannot provide the support. The market out there is weak and teams that are selling are few and far between. It will take a lot to acquire any of the quality talent there is out there and the Mets just do not have the pieces to make a move.

Minaya has done a great job in bringing in star-power to compete for the New York headlines against the Yankees but he has failed to build an organization. The Mets lack depth on the field and within their farm system and Minaya is to blame.