Molina mess

So let me get this straight. Now, even Bengie Molina wants nothing to do with us? Yesterday, Molina agreed to return to the San Francisco Giants for less money and without the guarantee for a second year. Granted, 500K is the difference but for major leaguers, that’s relatively peanuts.

More so, its the decision that bears mulling over. After beating us over the head with the idea that he would sign with the Mets, now management is back pedaling after he decided to go back to the Giants. Team wise, you move on, because let’s be clear, Bengie Molina is NOT the missing piece on a championship team.

However image wise, its a downright catastrophe. Its an unmitigated disaster in a year that has begun with disasters. Let’s see, we can start with the Beltran mess. There’s something we’re all not being told in terms of the he said, she said game.

Its all indicative of what the Mets have become. The Mets don’t have a clear cut identity. In Tom Verducci’s recent column, he ranked the Mets as the least efficient baseball operation in all of baseball, which should NOT surprise a single Met fan. We have made a world series and an LCS, and yet, we’ve spent so much money on teams that have basically earned nothing.

So, as the good news comes rolling in like a tidal wave, now the Mets deal with this. Again, Bengie Molina was never viewed as the major piece in the puzzle, but after a few rough seasons, and a tough offseason, the Mets head into this season with no real enthusiasm. What could they possibly sell their fan base on? The last few years have not been a fluke. They have not played well and aren’t a player away from getting back to ’06 level as they might have previously thought.

The problem that I see, is that they have a major identity problem. Are they the big market free-wheeling team or a cost conscious small market bunch? Are they willing to spend money or are they hard bargainers?

The Mets have a hard time toeing the line between small market team and big market one. They want the respect but have a hard time knowing where to draw the line. Their decision making lacks something I like to call sense. Their players have little faith in the Met front office most notably shown by Carlos Beltran who symbolize the Met locker room. All singular entities, no longer tied together by one thread.

Meanwhile the Mets are trying to get rid of a contract, they brought upon themselves, while there is a player who publicly has said he would approve a deal with the Mets. A player with a very good reputation as a clubhouse guy when what this team precisely needs is a clubhouse presence. A guy who can be the glue. The AJ Burnett throwing pies in peoples faces if you will.

The Mets since 2006 have ignored that essential component of a clubhouse: the glue guy. In 06, it was Cliff Floyd. In 2009, the Mets should suck it up, pay Orlando Hudson and get him on the team. There’s no doubt that the Mets have talent, what they are missing is that consistent voice within the clubhouse.

No matter what the Mets tell you, the message is this: the people that are supposed to be experts in the front office, do not have a plan. They don’t have an identity. Its plain to see to everyone in the league, except them.

But the fact is this, this can all be resolved. We all know how this will end. Only, when will the Mets realize it?