I’m in Camp Omar. I say give him the contract… and the confidence.
I say this because I remember where we were only a few short years ago. And it was far, far away from bickering over a team that has averaged 89 wins a season in the Minaya era.
That’s a record of success. Not HUGE, MAJOR success. Not The Ultimate Prize. But again, much much better than what we were working with.
Sometimes — especially times like these — it’s easy to lose perspective. Even one of TMABTS favorites, Adam Rubin is subject to hyperbole. Evidence by his chat about the future of the Mets today where he says:
“Omar is a fine person. I just think one postseason appearance in four years when you inherit an $83 million payroll and raise it to $140 million is utterly underwhelming.”
I thought that would indeed be a telling point, the payroll raise part. But I went over to USATODAY’s salary database starting with 2003 and got contrasting results:
2003: 66-95, 117M
2004: 71-91, 96M
2005: 83-79, 101M
2006: 97-65, 101M
2007: 88-74, 115M
2008 – 89-73, 138M
So, I don’t know, it’s not a HUGE deal by itself, but when you’re trying to frame a picture and get perspective… well then I think it’s two different outlooks.
That 2003 season is not only one of our worst but stands out as one of our worst VALUE seasons.
And if you add up the number-fudging Rubin does ($83M is actually 96, and 138 instead of 140), well you get an extra 15M to work with. Which could get you 5 new 3M-dollar relievers. Or … it’s also about what Francisco Rodriguez will get per year this offseason. Or a bat like Adam Dunn.
So there’s critiquing to be made, fo sho… but let’s look at that record, and consistency, and injuries/accidents etc and not get narrow-minded and greedy about things.
After all, we don’t want to be like the Yankees. Watching Joe Torre do his same ol’ shuffle into the playoffs …. again.
Omar’s our boy. He’s got work to do. But he’s done a good job so far. Period.
Now, let’s figure out what sexy stud we want to get …
