Lay Off of Omar

Will Mets' fans please get off Omar Minaya's back. I'm not the biggest Omar supporter, but to make it seem like Minaya is a do-nothing General Manager is just not fair.

Minaya brought the best center fielder in the league today, Carlos Beltran, to Queens. He also orchestrated the trade to bring Johan Santana to the Mets, even though there was heavy competition from both the Yankees and Red Sox -- two teams who usually get what they want.

At the end of last year, by far the most glaring need of the organization was the bullpen. Omar signed Francisco Rodriguez and traded for J.J. Putz. As the season was about to get under way, the Mets realized they can use a corner outfielder with some pop in his bat. Sure enough Gary Sheffield was on his way to CitiField and is currently leading the club with nine home runs. Try and imagine where the team would be without Shef.

Results are the only things that matter in sports, both for an athlete and management, good intentions won't get anyone a contract. And Minaya has some positives --K-rod, Sheffield-- and some negatives -- Putz, Oliver Perez.

Sure the Mets need to go out and get a bat for the middle of the line-up, Omar would be the first to admit that. However, it's not as simple as it may seem. Every team in the league knows the Mets are desperate and will do everything to fleece the Mets of top tier prospects. It is still early and the G.M.s who are looking to dump players still have a month to play hard-ball. Plus, figuring out what position to fill is no simple matter.

If a first baseman is brought in , what happens when Carlos Delgado returns from injury? Want to bring in Adam Dunn because he can move to the outfield? Sure, but if you thought Daniel Murphy was an adventure in left, wait until you see this guy stumble around cavernous Citifield on an every day basis.

The Mets are one game above .500 but just two games behind division leading Philadelphia. Sure, they're a little lucky the Phillies have not been able to find any consistent pitching. But, the Phills are fortunate the Mets haven't been healthy. If not for the injury bug it's possible it would be the Mets who would have been able to run and hide.

Any evaluating of Minaya will have to include the collapses of the past two years. The injuries of this year will also be considered. Not many (if any) teams can survive losing three of their top four hitters, two starting pitchers and an eight inning set-up man.

If the Mets end the season without partaking in October baseball, both Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel should be on the way out the door -- despite the overcrowded DL. Three consecutive years with no playoffs is just too much in this city.

It's the result that should ultimately decide Minaya's fate, the pro-active approach is already there.