Kid's Allright

It's very easy to attack the Mets and Omar Minaya for their inactivity during the rush to the Trading Deadline last Thursday, particularly considering how little the Dodgers gave up to land Manny Ramirez, who, let's face it, is the ultimate rent-a-player with his impending Free Agent Payday this offseason.

With the Mets languishing without a bonafide corner outfielder and a bullpen that appears more frightening than the latest Will Ferrell movie, Omar is certainly taking it on the chin right now. This is a double-edged sword. Yes, Omar wants to keep his prospects with the team. There's a general unwillingness to deal guys like Fernando Martinez, Mike Carp, Eddie Kunz and Jonathon Niese within the organization. Omar was adamant. Martinez wasn't going anywhere, for Ibanez, Bay, Nady or Manny, and that was the guy everyone wanted. So, in the end, no deal was done.

What it means is, basically, the Mets are going to go to war with kids over the next two months. Fans who were screaming for the team to get younger, you're getting your wish. Expect guys like Kunz, Niese, Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy to see a lot of burn for the Mets down the stretch. This is how it's going to be. It's counterproductive, as fans, to continue to whine and complain that the Mets could have had Manny for a pair of prospects when that was basically going against everything the club is trying to do, and everything we've been calling for the club to do. In fact, if things had broken one way or another in June, the Mets could easily be playing out the string as a 4th place team with these guys, and nobody would be complaining (except for the fact that this team that was supposed to contend would be out of it).

This division is a 3-team race, and it's 3 teams that are full of holes and lacking in consistency. Two of them made deals to bring in...middling pitchers.

So, why not Eddie Kunz? Why not Daniel Murphy? Why not Jonathon Niese? I've always been a big proponent of youth; these kids aren't going to be any worse than some of the guys we've been trotting out there to this point. Let them show us something. It's better than more games with Schoeneweis or Heilman or whoever spitting it up, or Endy Chavez looking overmatched in a key at bat.