Most Mets fans use their dislike for Omar in a way to suggest he doesn't know what he is doing. Not the greatest speaker in the world, it is suggested that he has no feel for the operations of a baseball team. That could not be further from the truth. Minaya has been known as one of the top minds in the game for years now and it is about time he got another job. Prior to joining the Mets, he was known for his scouting and player development skills. He will put them to use in San Diego.
Of course, its easy to bring up the worst trade in the history of baseball that he made when he was in charge of the Montreal Expos. In case you forgot he acquired starting pitcher Bartolo Colon from the Cleveland Indians in an attempt to make a push for the division title. Unfortunately, he traded Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee to get him. Major League Baseball was running the team and trying to see if it should bother finding a new ownership group. In his defense, he was making a run to win with a strong chance that the Expos may be contracted at the end of the season. If that was the case, who needs prospects?
Omar did bring the Mets back to prominence, albeit for a short period of time. His aggressiveness to add Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran in 2005 and Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner in 2006 made those teams a legitimate contender. Unfortunately, the shelf life was very short and every move he made after that was an utter failure. After the collapse in 2007, and the team was under scrutiny, was a big deal ever made his public speaking skills. I am confident he will be an asset to the San Diego Padres and will eventually get a GM job where baseball fans will realize how good of a baseball man Omar Minaya is.