“Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon isn’t worried about the glacial pace being set by GM Omar Minaya,” writes the New York Post’s Bart Hubbach during a guided tour of Citi Field yesterday, politely neglecting to mention that said pace is largely dictated by Fred’s son.
“Omar is very comfortable with where we are and he’s ready to take care of business,” Wilpon (above) said yesterday.
“He’s on the phone all the time now with other GMs trying to set things up, and as long as he’s comfortable, he’s who we have the faith in. He knows where he wants to go, and we’re going to let him do that.”
The pitcher closing games for them in their new stadium was supposed to have been identified and signed by now, but Minaya is working slowly in his pursuit of top targets Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes. Wilpon, the son of Met owner Fred Wilpon, indicated Minaya’s pace could pick up rapidly at the winter meetings that kick off this Sunday in Las Vegas.
“He’s trying to get some things [in place] so he’s ready when we get to the winter meetings and can go from there,” Wilpon said of Minaya.
“When you look at where the economy is right now, it’s not unexpected that we’re slow to get going,” Wilpon said. “Everybody is taking a little bit of a cautious approach. Maybe once somebody does a big signing, that might start a flurry of them.”