Embarrassment

First, to my loyal reader(s), apologies for taking 2 days off last week. Second, to the guys who took my call on WFAN yesterday. I got through for the first time and went and got in an argument with the hosts, which I regret. I'll never be a First Time Caller again.

I prefaced my comments by giving Minaya credit for so drastically improving the squad. The previous caller had questioned the Beltran signing (pronouncing it bell-TRAIN, tellingly) and suggested a trade for Manny Ramirez would have helped more. I said I thought the Mets at the moment looked like an "87 or 88 win team," which given last year's showing is a high compliment to the GM.

BUT, I asked, why did we have to trade a prospect to acquire Doug Mientkiewicz?

Ian Bladergroen is by no means an elite prospect, but was that really the best deal Minaya could get? The number I should have had at my fingertips, but didn't because I was driving, was $3.75 million. That of course is how much the Mets will be paying for the privilege of having a first baseman with a career SLG of 404.

Instead of sticking to this central point (overpaying in dollars for DM's defense), I focused on the loss of Bladergroen, arguing the deal fit a pattern of holding the team's young minor leaguers too cheap. Though I still believe this is true, Bladergroen is not the proof of it.

NOTE: Thank you to SaberMets for a well-reasoned assessment of the Mientkiewicz deal, which I criticized on the FAN yesterday. It's appreciative of the upside (he's definitely better than Travis Lee) and mindful of the downside (he's not THAT much better than Lee, and Bladergroen has some value as a prospect).

It's a relief. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.