Steve Serby of the NY Post does a great job in his interview with Mets GM Omar Minaya..They talk about what he did immediately when he landed in Vegas and how the JJ Putz deal got done...click here for entire article...
Some excerpts:
Q: The first call you made when you landed in Las Vegas and checked into the Bellagio?
A: The very first call really was to get together that night with Frankie Rodriguez and his agent (Arn Tellem).
Q: Were you optimistic? (about K-ROD)
A: They were at three years and vesting for a fourth. We were at two years vesting for a third.
Q: What was the game plan at that point?
A: We were not sure if Fuentes was going to sign before Rodriguez. We felt being patient was the key here. Fuentes might have been waiting to see what Rodriguez got. They felt Rodriguez was gonna drive the market.
Q: You were supposed to meet with Trevor Hoffman, as well.
A: His plane got delayed. We were never able to meet with him.
Q: K-Rod had one concern.
A: He also wanted to know "Who's the guy that's gonna give me the ball?"
Q: What did you tell him?
A: "Look, we're gonna try to trade for a guy." I didn't want to give him false hope.
Q: But you wouldn't trade your young pitching prospects Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell.
A: So what happened was, he asked me, "Can you get me (outfielder Franklin) Gutierrez and (Aaron) Heilman? I called Mark (Indians GM Mark Shapiro) and asked, "Will you do Gutierrez for (Joe) Smith?" 'cause they like Smith. He said, "Let me think about it."
Q: Do you think you've closed the gap on the Phillies?
A: I don't believe in winning championships on paper; I think we're a better team. I think like last year, it's really who gets the stroke of luck. Unfortunately for us, we haven't had the stroke of luck. They're champions, and we respect that. One of these years, we'll get a stroke of luck.
Q: You're the talk of the town.
A: Being a Met fan, it's a passion. I just want Met fans to know we all care. I say, "Look, if you're afraid of your heart being broken, you cannot be a baseball fan," but you can't be a Met fan if you're afraid of your heart being broken. We overcome tough losses. It's like relationships in life - you overcome them. You bounce back. The fact that it's Christmas in the city, waiting for spring to start for new hope of a better year - they (Mets fans) should feel ownership and the front office will continue to do everything they can to provide them a championship team.
For the entire article click here.
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