Oh My, Omar

Has anyone seen the Mets play recently? If not, then you obviously missed the old fashioned beat down they delivered to the Nats last night. New York's second team may now have a team that can compete against the elderly pitching staff and monster lineup of the crosstown Yankees. Is this a team that has gelled instantly like the White Sox of last year, or is this a result of the talent that Met's GM Omar Minaya has assembled over the past two seasons?

This past off-season I stopped hearing those annoying questions of whether or not Kenny Williams knew what he was doing. No one questions the man's baseball mind and savvyness on the trading blocks anymore after assembling one of the most coherent teams in recent memory. Since Minaya took over in 2003, he has spent money like Dan Snyder after a 5-11 season, acquiring almost every sought after free agent on the market. And now the Mets are 9-1, pounding teams down in their pursuit of disrupting (their appetite for destruction) the Braves improbable hunt for a 14th straight division championship.

Two years ago it was Pedro and Carlos Beltran. Last year it was Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, and Paul LoDuca. You add those all-stars, each one of them at their respective positions, with the homegrown talent they've stirred up (David Wright and Jose Reyes) and you've got the makings of an NL pennant winner. Now not all of Minaya's moves have been as slick as Pat Riley's hair (see Kris Benson and Kaz Matsui) but no one's perfect. Even the salient Billy Beane makes a false move every once in a while. But after seeing this team beat up on almost everyone they have played so far, I'd say his GM report card looks better than Lindsey Lohan did two years ago.

You may be saying, "It's a long season. Wait and see." If I were a Mets fan, I would probably be skeptical too. But things are looking pretty good in the Big Apple right now. If you're a lover of baseball and live anywhere near New York you probably feel better than a massage from a girl named Fingers. Your lineup is going to score a ton of runs and your bullpen is solid. For those two reasons alone you'll probably end up winning near 80 games. I would take that. So pack that tinder box stadium, crack open a few cold ones for me, and pray that your starting pitching holds up. This could be as special a season for you as last year's was for me.