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Everybody is in an uproar in Metland about Willie.  The “Willie Watch” has even started, and GM Omar Minaya’s change of plans to meet the team in Colorado for this weekend’s series only makes Monday’s return home seem more ominous.  It is hard to argue that the Mets have underachieved, and it is hard to advocate that Randolph has done a great job.  I am not sure he has.  That being said, all this talk about firing Willie because the only other option is to fire 25 players is crazy.  There is a solution, but it requires an open mind and outside-the-box thinking.  Follow me…

First of all, everybody has got to realize by now that Omar did not do quite the job we all thought he had two years ago.  Victor Zambrano is gone, Ollie Perez has returned to his Pirate form, Carlos Delgado has aged, and some of the pieces he removed are doing okay (Kazmir in Tampa, Bannister in KC, and Nady in Pittsburgh).  That being said, Omar did look like a genius last year, and the Ryan Church/Brian Schneider deal looks great so far.  He isn’t bad.  He also isn’t infallible.  So this is not a fire Omar piece.

This is a “send a message to 25 players” piece.  It is a call to change the culture in the clubhouse by supporting the one person with a pedigree of winning.

I believe the biggest problem on this team is heart.  Heart is something that makes people treat winning and losing the same way.  It is attitude.  It makes people show up and speak to the press.  It keeps people from being flambouyant in good times and then petulant in the bad.  New York has seen two of the best examples of heart in the past 20 years - Mark Messier and Derek Jeter. Nobody on the Mets demonstrates a lack of heart more than Jose Reyes.  Last night was the last straw for me.  Even Aaron Heilman, who has been unbelievably horrendous, treats his terrible outings and his okay outings the same way.

Let’s take emotion out of this and think about how trading Reyes could be a boon for the Mets, then we will get back to Reyes’s actions.

First of all, he could be the finest player in baseball.  Nobody can impact a game in a bigger fashion, in more ways, than Reyes.  He really can be that good…and he is only 24.  Some team (and it CANNOT be anybody in the Mets’ division, the Yankees, or the Red Sox) would love to take a chance on that and pay a huge premium.  This is not about rebuilding with prospects or getting a veteran, this trade would require both - getting a first baseman, a shortstop, an outfielder, and a prospect or two.  This is one of those trades.  It can’t happen today, but that is also why Omar should be working on it now.  This is a trade that might take a month, and it should not be rushed.  Frankly, if the Rockies didn’t have Troy Tulowitzki, the Mets could use Barmes (hurt last night, I know), Spilborgs/Taveras, Helton, and a couple decent prospects or bullpen help for Reyes and Delgado. 

Here is Why:

1.)  The clubhouse needs to be cleaned out.  Maybe Billy Wagner should not have called a bunch of guys out for not staying to see the press, but that is going to keep happening until management sends the message it is inexcusable (LoDuca wasn’t crazy after all.  Yeah, he was, but that is another blog).  Trading Reyes would certainly take care of that.  It would also send the message:  We are not about anything but winning, and nobody is safe if we aren’t.  Not a bad lesson for Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, or even David Wright (who has been a stand-up guy for these two years, in general). 

2.)  Willie has the only rings on that team.  Don’t yell - I know Pedro, El Duque, and Moises all have rings.  They also would be great additions to this team IF THEY COULD PLAY!  I don’t think any of them have been dodging playing, I think they all are gamers.  The problem is that none of them can be counted on anymore because of their age.  That is not meant to be a dig - Pedro could come back and be a 1A starter to Johan Santana’s 1…or he could pull a muscle two innings into his second start and be out until August 1…then to be pushed back to the 15th.  Alou did come back and make an immediate impact - for 14 games.  Waiting on these vets has become bad for several reasons: A.) it creates a leadership vaccuum; B.) it builds in excuses; C.) it allows players to think the cavalry is on the way, taking a sense of urgency away.  It doesn’t need to be that way, management has a leader that is there everyday.  Randolph has that pedigree.  He is super-competitive and committed to process over flash, but in case you forgot, he was capable of the flash too.  New York fans want rage from him, he knows the umpires don’t respect that.  He knows that what works in baseball is consistency, levelheadedness, persistence.  If management would demonstrate to the players that Willie deserves to be respected, respect would follow.  Maybe consistence would follow too.

3.)  Reyes could fetch just about anything on the market.  Reyes is one of those guys that you could get players AND pass off most of Delgado’s contract.  Some GM will think that he has his centerpiece, and he will, for years to come.  Reyes has tantalizing ability.  As does Ollie Perez.  Sure, Reyes could mature into a leader that wins titles in a new town, but he just as easily could be this inconsistent, moody, enigma, that shows only flashes of brilliance.  So they Mets should be able to find somebody to pay for the flashes, blinding them from the longer term picture of his performance. 

4.)  The problem for the taker is that he is not the guy you want your team taking its cues from.  His dancing in front of the Marlins at the end of last year has been documented.  His benching for lack of hustle in Houston last year has been documented.  But what has changed?  He was dancing during the Yankee series, and pouting in Atlanta in the past week.  A friend of mine mentioned that he might not have a high baseball IQ, and a play against the Nats brings that to mind.  He tried to go 1st to 3rd on a groundout - and 3rd base wasn’t covered, but then he got run down from behind by Christian Guzman.  Guzman is not faster that Reyes.  As I said earlier, last night was the last straw.  After Reyes lead off the 10th with a double, he got picked off 2nd base.  What?!  I hesitate to call anybody I have never met anything as disparaging and demeaning as dumb, so this is not that he is dumb, but I doubt he is a student of the game.  Moreover, I don’t think he is all “id” as Freud might say - if he feels it, he does it.  No organization needs that to be its role model or its emotional leader.

We all know Reyes will be playing somewhere after Willie is done managing.  Do you really think another manager will be able to make Reyes settle down though?

Willie has made mistakes, and his comments in the past week are hard to ignore, but the Mets have to look at a bigger picture. 

Is Jose Reyes a winner?

If he isn’t, now is the time to turn the page and not sacrifice the season or the future.