Congratulations to Ryan Howard, the National League's Most Valuable Player. He joins Joe Girardi, N.L. Manager of the Year, and Brandon Webb, the circuit's Cy Young winner in the 2006 awards pantheon. Great jobs, fellas.

Howard, you beat out Carlos Beltran (fourth in the voting after becoming the first Met to win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger and start an All-Star Game in the same year), Jose Reyes (seventh), David Wright (ninth) and Carlos Delgado (twelfth).

Girardi, you topped Willie Randolph, the runner-up skipper.

And Webb, you finished way ahead of Billy Wagner, sixth among pitchers when all the ballots were counted.

You guys rocked. And you were smart. You piled up your qualifications and then beat the rush. I mean you and your Phillies, your Marlins and your Diamondbacks were all home by the evening of October 1, the morning of October 2 at the latest. Our Mets had to keep working for almost three more weeks.

What suckers.

But seriously...

Franchise record for homers (tied).
Franchise record for runs scored (broken).
Silver Slugger.
Gold Glove.
All-Star starter.
Team has best record in sport and wins division by largest margin.

And he finishes FOURTH?

Where's that New York bias we're always hearing about?

Greetings from Omar Minaya's pocket. That's where I'm wintering.

The healthy level of skepticism one should maintain in any situation has seeped away where me and the Mets' GM are concerned.

Trade away relatively young lefty Royce Ring when lefties are lefties? Omar knows what he's doing.

Sign potentially decrepit Damion Easley off a tepid year? Omar knows what he's doing.

About to grab Moises Alou, the recently achy 40-year-old who doesn't move well and isn't a stickler for hand sanitation? Omar knows what he's doing.

I'm a shill. I'm Tony Snow. I've got sunshine on a cloudy day if Omar Minaya's my forecaster. My hot stove is room temperature. There's nothing to debate: Omar says it; I believe it; that settles it.

When did I get this easy? I didn't trust Steve Phillips as far as I could throw him even after he general-managed us to a World Series. Omar Minaya could package Jose Reyes and David Wright for Jimmy Wynn and lawn furniture and I suspect I'd rationalize it.

Getting rid of those contracts now is going to free up the budget nicely. Reyes never did get to 20 homers or 20 triples. Wright has yet to win an MVP. That GQ spread was pretty embarrassing. Wynn's a proven commodity. He's the Toy Cannon! Sixty-five isn't that old for a slugger. If he hit 37 homers playing in the Astrodome in '67, imagine what he'll do at Citi Field in '09 when his option kicks in. Lawn furniture will come in handy when we start to move. Omar's a genius!

This is supposed to be the time of year when we question authority, when we assume that every move our team makes is the wrong one. You know, like swapping that stud Mike Jacobs for that malcontent Carlos Delgado...like taking on the overrated Paul Lo Duca...like letting go of good ol' Jae Seo for Duaner Somebody...like giving up dependable Kris Benson for a Yankee patsy and a minor leaguer nobody ever heard of...like soaking up Quadruple-A flotsam along the lines of Endy Chavez...like signing clearly decrepit Jose Valentin off a tepid year.

What I can't figure out is where I got the idea that Omar knows what he's doing.