1. Perez. He looked like a mere throw-in when the Mets desperately acquired Roberto Hernandez at last year's trade deadline after Sanchez hurt his shoulder in a freak car accident. But Minaya had been working for weeks to acquire the pitcher who was toting around a 6-plus ERA over a year and half in Pittsburgh. At first no one liked the trade, which sent Xavier Nady to the Pirates. Now Oliver has an army of supporters.
2. Maine. Hardly anyone noticed when he came with Jorge Julio for Kris Benson. The Orioles got their throw in (Anna Benson), and Minaya got his. Folks figured Minaya was blowing smoke when he talked up Maine, a middle reliever in Baltimore. Yet Minaya remembered on Wednesday that Maine was second in the minors in strikeouts two years before the Mets got him.
3. Sanchez. Minaya was criticized for giving up starter Jae Seo to the Dodgers for a reliever, but before Sanchez hurt himself he gave the Mets about as perfect a half season as a set-up man can have.
4. El Duque. Julio went west for another pitcher with a 6-plus ERA, one Minaya had acquired as Expos GM and who thrived previously in New York.
5. Endy Chavez. Another player whom Minaya liked so much that he acquired him twice. No one thought anything of it when the Mets signed Chavez. Now, after making one of the greatest catches in playoff history and becoming baseball's best fourth outfielder, he's a fan favorite.
6. Mota. He was terrible in Cleveland. But scout Russ Bove liked his arm strength, and Mets people recalled that he did his best work throwing to catcher Paul Lo Duca in Florida.
7. Lo Duca. He's more of a front-tier fellow than the other eight on this list, but he was still a cost saver after neither Ramon Hernandez nor Bengie Molina jumped at bookend $18 million, three-year offers. He's been a consistent threat, a steadying backstop and a clubhouse key -- not bad for $6.25 million a year.
8. Jose Valentin. This one even surprised Minaya. A little, anyway. Coming off a year of injury, the Mets knew he was better than most folks gave him credit for. However, they still looked to deal him early last year, before he became, in Minaya's words, "one of the best defensive second baseman in the National League."
9. Damion Easley. Right-hand man Bernazard, who himself carved out a fine career at second base, recommended Easley, who has stunned folks by being tied for third on the team with seven home runs (David Wright and Beltran each have eight, and Delgado hit his sixth and seventh on Tuesday night), despite having half the at-bats of the regulars. The Mets outbid the Yankees for Easley's services by offering $800,000, making him perhaps the second-best bargain in New York baseball.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/w ... wednesday/
What a GM
