Sorry, Mets Fans: No Manny For You

Who would have ever thought Manny Ramirez would be unsigned this offseason as we rapidly approach February? He wore a Superman cape for the last two months of the season for the Dodgers, and here he is, unemployed on January 23. Even though David Wright lobbied for the them to go after the eccentric power-hitter earlier this week, it's not going to be the Mets who break down and sign Ramirez.

Jeff Wilpon -- COO of the Mets -- said that it's not ownership who isn't interested, but the Mets' general manager, Omar Minaya.

"I know the perception out there again is that ownership said no," Wilpon said. "I don't have the opportunity to say no because Omar hasn't brought it to me as an option. Omar and the baseball staff aren't interested."

I'm not quite sure what the problem is. The Mets are trying to overtake the Phillies after two consecutive September choke-jobs. Manny put the Dodgers on his back down the stretch. Left field for the Mets right now is a mess. They could start Daniel Murphy, though he appears ticketed for second base. The other options would be Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Angel Pagan, or possibly Jeremy Reed.

It seems as though the "small market" cries from fans were legitimate. I'm not one of those fans who thinks throwing money at problems will always solve them, but signing Manny -- along with Ben Sheets -- would definitely make the Mets a better team for 2009.