My Reaction to Omar on WFAN

Earlier today, Omar Minaya was a guest of Mike Francessa's on WFAN.  In this interview, which Matt Cerrone did a recap of here, Omar talked about a few of the burning questions as we head toward opening day, and the final roster cuts.

The first thing I want to talk about is Omar being willing to go with what he has at first base in Murphy's absence.  This means, to me, that Jacobs will be the guy and Tatis will be the back-up, unless Chris Carter makes the team, which Cerrone seems to feel won't happen (I agree).  I hope that's not the case but tend to agree that Catalanotto will probably fill the last bench spot. 

Okay, so I have no real problem going with Jacobs over Carter or Davis, mainly because I don't think Davis is ready and Carter isn't a full-time first baseman.  What I do have a problem with is this feeling that Catalanotto will make the bench over Carter.  I think Carter is a better hitter, and is almost as versatile as Catalanotto in the field, but not as good a fielder overall.  However, I think the logic that the Mets needed a lefty power bat off the bench should not have changed when Murphy went down.  Don't they still need a lefty power bat off the bench?  It's pretty obvious that Carter has more power of the two bench-bat options.

And the thing that bothers me the most is this idea that because people don't have options they will make the team.  I thought the Mets would want to put the most talent out on the field, not just make sure they don't lose guys on minor league deals just because of a fear of depth.  I guess that's just me...

And as far as the line-up without Murphy, I think the team now has more pop at first base.  It's just funny to me how the same people wondering why we had Murphy at the top of the depth chart are now the same complaining about the line-up without him.  It just makes no sense to me...

Another thing that I want to talk about is Omar's breakdown of the bullpen, as not having one set-up man.  I think this is more Omar staying behind Manuel because all we (bloggers and media) do is jump all over them when they're not on the same page.  I would have to assume that we're looking at either Mejia or Feliciano as the primary set-up guys.  If this isn't the case then Mejia should be at Binghamton learning to become a starter, anything less than that is a waste of this kid's talent.  I still think that at the end of the day Pedro Feliciano will be the one doing most of the heavy lifting in the eighth inning.

The last thing I want to touch on is Omar saying that Tejada will play, should he make the team.  I like that a lot, but when we they find time?  With Reyes returning 5 games into the season, I really don't see when Tejada gets any playing time.  Maybe this means that Catalanotto and Carter will make the team to start, and Cat will be the back-up at second for the first 5 games.  I know that's a risk, but a move can always be made if something happens to Cora or Castillo.  I also like the feeling that Tejada will be the second baseman of the future.  Well he's hit so far this spring, and can definitely work on his fielding, but regardless he looks good.

I'm just getting  tired of talking about the make-up of the team here.  Let's just get to it and play a game already...