I read the Daily News every weekday. I have an iPhone, so I could probably rely entirely on electronic sources at this point, but buying the paper is part of my morning routine.
I have a pretty long train ride, so I usually finish just about the entire thing by the time I get to Grand Central, and the paper is, I think, one of the best ways to get firm handle on the city’s news and the way it is being covered.
But I’ve been a bit disturbed lately by the way the News has covered the Mets. Not just the bizarre Bill Madden incident from last week, either. This, too:
That subhead says: “Time running out for Jolly Ol’ St. Omar to deliver.”
The small black font under the photo says: “Nine days until Christmas and there’s still nothing under Mets’ tree thanks to Omar Minaya’s casual approach to free-agent season.”
Interesting. I had no idea Major League rosters needed to be set by Christmas. Is that a new rule?
There are a lot of fair criticisms of Omar Minaya. I perpetuate most of them in this space.
His inaction this offseason? Not one of them. Sure, it does appear the Mets misread the market a bit and thought there’d be more discounted players available, but would Brad Penny and/or Rich Harden really have made the difference to the Daily News? And other than those two, have there been any deals made that the Mets absolutely missed out on?
John Lackey at five years and $85 million or whatever it was? I’ll pass.
Roy Halladay was never even an option.
I’ve been urging Mets fans to be patient this offseason, but the more Mets fans I talk to, the more I realize it’s mostly not the fans that are impatient. I haven’t heard any Mets fan use the term “dithering.”
If we want to criticize Minaya, we should talk about how he gives too much money to replacement-level players and appears to actually think Bengie Molina is good. Those are fair criticisms.
But Minaya has not done any irreparable damage to the Mets yet this offseason, by action or inaction. Let’s wait until he does before we tee off on him.
Tedquarters 
I dont think that fans are really all that impatient. We’re more frustrated by what appears to be incompetence on the part of the FO. They seemed to have messed up in every aspect: mismanaged Mets memorabilia at Citi Field, the bungled Bernazard Firing, every level of the club was dreadful Majors though every minor league team. Couple all of this, along with big seasons and offseasons from every major rival (Yanks, Phils, Sox) I think Met fans are entitled to be disgruntled to say the least.
I think what we really want is some certainty that the team has a plan in place (any plan!) The worst thing is, the possibility of the team bungling even next offseason. Imagine, the Wilpons waiting until the very end to get rid to Minaya and Manuel. The FO and coaching staff will be in complete turmoil at the very time we need to be focused on pursuing the best FA class in years! Can’t you just see them blowing next years offseason in that way?
Mismanaged memorabilia – agreed
Bernazard firing – who really cares about him or Willie
Minor leagues were bad because AA players were in AAA, AAA players were in the majors and the major leaguers were in the infirmary.
Rival acquisitions – agreed
Baseball teams change way too much year by year, it is unrealistic to have a long term plan.
The Wilpons are using Minaya to cover up their unwillingness or inability to spend, plain and simple.
This back cover proved that the NY sports media are bigger a$$holes than previously suspected.
I agree that it is unfair. I think that the media has turned biased towards Omar ever since the Adam Rubin episode. I find this very unprofessional. Using logic, Omar has always been a big spender. With his job on the line, about $44 million dollars less in payroll than last year and almost all spending completely stopped since the Madoff scandal, the proper front page picture should have been a Photoshop of a Wilpon and Scrooge.
I agree 100%. Funny thing is, I guess the Daily News thinks we are all stupid. I have never seen more biased reporting in my life. Frankly, I stopped reading it.
As said, mistakes were made but you would think the Mets were the ones to give out the Lackey contract.
But I just will not read it anymore. I hate newspapers that genuinely think its reading public is stupid.
Mets fans are an impatient, digruntled bunch, and Omar should be on the unemployment line for lots of reasons. But, I agree with Ted – not for this offseason. The Daily News is so out of line and so outrageous. I don’t even bother buying that paper anymore for good reason. I don’t know why any sports fan bothers with the back pages. Those back pages so unprofessional. It’s only mid December. The Daily News is trash. Plain and Simple.