NY Frustrations

To start I would like to congratulate David Lee on being the Knicks first all star in 9 years. I know it is by default, but he truly deserves it for the season he is having. The Knicks could use some bright spots as things haven't been going to well for a long time. In my opinion, the Knicks should invest in building a good team instead of waiting for a free agent to come and be the franchise's savior. Come to think, of it how many free agents will be willing to come to New York and play for a team that has shown no sign of improving? If the Knicks hope to make anything of their future they had best lock up their young players i.e. David Lee, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari and get an actual center, then there will be room for improvement. If the Knicks really do believe that a high profile free agent will make all the difference then they are short changing themselves as an organization and should sell themselves to a billionaire like the Nets have done in order to save the teams integrity.

I want to talk about the Mets simply to vent some frustrations I have with their handling of the free agent period. Last year the Yankees made it top priority to sign players like Sabathia and Burnett to improve the team and re-insure the fans, the Mets however seem to lack this same urgency. I guess I cannot solely blame the team itself since the management are the ones calling the shots. The signing of Jason Bay was the one move that can be seen as a move to improve the team and lock up left field, however that was not the only place the Mets needed to get better at. Outside of Johan Santana, there is no starter that has proven that they can win games consistently, Kelvim Escobar is sure to be delegated to the bullpen since he has had recent Tommy John surgery and no one knows how he will perform on the mound. Omar Minaya has not done much to attack the areas of need with poor decisions that mirror those of Isaiah Thomas during his stay with the Knicks. His management has cost the Mets opportunities to sign players such as John Lackey and Orlando Hudson as a result of long tenured contracts to players that do not live up to the hype. Do not get me wrong as the Yankees have made these mistakes as well, but they have certainly made up for them as thet claimed their 27th championship. If the Mets want to get out of the shadow of the Yankees, they will need to make serious adjustments or face a very long decade thinking of what might have been if they had made the right moves.