What was Omar Thinking? What were we thinking?

Omar should have known better. We all should have known better. Pick up the 7.5 Million dollar option on an outfielder that only played in 87 games in 2007 and 98 games in 2006? Is that at least prorated?

We fell in love with the .392/.524/.341 OBP/SLG/AVG line and thought it was a bargain at seven and a half million. We rationalized that no other outfielder with that kind of production could be picked up for near that price. Even if he plays in 120 games, it’s worth it right?

Alou costs much more than 7.5 million dollars. With Carlos Delgado’s bat slowing, the Mets desperately needed a productive, solid and dependable bat for the middle of the order and they got one…for half the season…maybe.

Back in October the Mets were still reeling in the aftermath of one of the greatest collapses in baseball history. Glavine was leaving (though most fans didn’t mind that so much) and a season full of expectation and promise was left to only look to next year.

I signed off on the deal back then. I gave it a thumbs up and a knowing nod. I convinced that Alou was going to find a fountain of youth and have a healthy season for the first time since he was a Cub. Then I set out on a quest to find a real unicorn. He didn’t and I haven’t. Who knew?

The Mets expect Alou back in the lineup in May after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia. And by expect, they mean hope.

With Castillo now day to day and likely headed to the DL at some point, unless the Mets elect to play with 24 and an emergency player, Angel Pagan will now hit in the two hole. Pagan, a spring training standout, will hit in behind Jose Reyes who apparently has forgotten that not swinging at four balls grants you first base. Wright and Beltran are still solid and then you have Delgado who is still effective middle-in, but vulnerable outside, Ryan Church, Damion Easley and Brian Schneider.

Right now, save for the three and four hole, none of that lineup is Murderer’s Row or even 2006’s offense that gleaned significant production from the entire lineup, one through eight.

Moises Alou should have been an expensive luxury. A fourth outfielder. A DH for inter-league play, possibly a World Series. Moises Alou should have been the Mets answer to Gary Mathews Jr.: a extravagance made feasible by location in the best market in the country, not someone to count on as an everyday outfielder and lineup staple. It would have better served Omar to find a productive and non-injury prone corner outfielder to protect Beltran. The There’s no one better available than Alou notion should have addressed the question as to the availability of a better outfielder on the market than a combination of Angel Pagan, Endy Chavez and Marlon Anderson?

The offensive lag may be a hangover from a spring training shortened by injuries to nearly the entire squad. The Mets may shake off the cobwebs and start producing runs in copious amounts. Alou may return in May and stay healthy for the rest of the season. That may have been a horn on the head of that horse I saw this morning. Watching these first games, I have confidence in scoring chances only when the Mets number three and four hitters are at the plate.

And we should have known better.