Let’s face it, there have been some highly questionable moves of late, especially the Royals deciding that Yuni Betancourt is some kind of answer at shortstop. That said, the Mets picked up Angel Berroa today and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo. A quick look at Twitter (follow me @kingclip) should all sorts of clever one liners about how stupid the Mets are and how Omar Minaya is dumb and how could anyone want Angel Berrora.
This is hardly a note to defend Angel Berroa, who stinks, but rather to defend the move itself. It’s easy to just see the name Angel Berroa and chuckle, but do people really think Omar Minaya is jumping up and down with joy over the signing? Really? Without getting into the real problem here, which is that for the last two years the Mets have assembled a roster with very little in the way of a backup plan, let’s just focus on the present facts, here and now.
1. The Mets have an injured Jose Reyes, and no shortstop at Triple-A.
2. The kid playing shortstop at Double-A, Ruben Tejada, is 19 years old and not near ready.
3. Last I checked, Hanley Ramirez wasn’t available.
So what were the Mets supposed to do? Teams need bodies, especially up the middle, and the signing of Berroa makes very good sense for New York, right here and right now, despite the fact that he’s not a good player, and while there’s nothing wrong with a quick one-liner, sometimes the 50,000 foot view, while less funny, can be far more enlightening.
I wonder if part of the outrage/humor/one-liners is less about Angel Berroa and more about how the Mets have shaped a depth-less roster where they are now one injury away from starting the likes of Angel Berroa, a player even the equally depth-lacking Yankees sent packing.
Agree. This is more about giving disgruntled Mets fans another excuse to complain than anything else, regardless of what they might say about Berroa. At this point, the fans are mostly (and understandably) incapable of judging a move like this at face value.
I think there is a bit of self entitlement at play here in the case of big market fans and media. It's as if the big market teams have a divine right to be 3 deep at every position. A-Rod goes down and suddenly Cashman is an idiot for not having an above average major league backup? The Mets start stacking injuries at several positions, but let's make fun of Minaya for signing Angel Berroa as insurance for their insurance?
Most teams have enough trouble STARTING 9 better than "replacement level" players, but the big market teams are expected to be able to summon them from the bench, minors or I guess some kind of magic hat. Even if you did have the resources (money, roster space) to sign a quality backup for every position, there isn't an unlimited supply of quality major leaguers. Some mid-career starting caliber type isn't going to pass up the chance to start somewhere just to caddy for A-Rod. So you end up with fringe types on your bench, just like every other team.
Here's a silly thought I just had... people have mentioned that it's been harder to apply Moneyball tactics to identify market inefficiencies since many front offices have been improving their evaluation skills of players. Free talent is just harder to find. It was mentioned in the 2009 Annual that VORP also had to be adjusted, though I am unclear what adjustments are made.
So I wonder if free talent is much harder to find... four years ago, it might've been easy to pick up a Berroa type but there were also higher quality "free" shortstops to choose from. Who would win if a roster of today's replacement level players faced a roster of replacement level players from 10 years ago?
When you consider that the AAA SS for the Mets is Wilson Valdez, who is on a hot streak that his average 'up to' .210, Berroa can help. When you add in the fact that the parent club's backup SS is Arenis Reyes, who is hitting a robust .118, the move makes even more sense.
Also, consider that signing Berroa for nothing is a considerably better move than trading actual prospects for Betancourt (let alone paying Yuni $7 million).
I interned with the Mets in the Media Relations department last year and I got a bunch of those calls. Usually they were about the moves Omar wasn't making. There's just no pleasing Mets fans.
Is it Omar or is it the current economic model in baseball. Should teams seemingly flush with cash such as the Mets ever find themselves in such an embarrassing spot? Did dollars spent on Reyes, Beltran and Delgado prevent Omar from stocking the Mets system or are the scouting and player development departments to blame?
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I wonder if part of the outrage/humor/one-liners is less about Angel Berroa and more about how the Mets have shaped a depth-less roster where they are now one injury away from starting the likes of Angel Berroa, a player even the equally depth-lacking Yankees sent packing.
Agree. This is more about giving disgruntled Mets fans another excuse to complain than anything else, regardless of what they might say about Berroa. At this point, the fans are mostly (and understandably) incapable of judging a move like this at face value.