Well, that was a bizarre day. Yesterday had Mets written all over it. If something really weird can happen to a baseball team, that team is the Mets. In probably the most memorable trade deadline day since the Mets shipped Tom Seaver to
Just twenty-four hours earlier, the Mets were celebrating a sweep of the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Then something weird happened. Life got in the way. You know life, that’s the thing that the rest of us deal with. The Mets are our escape from life. Life isn’t supposed to happen to them; they are just supposed to play baseball…for us.
Unless you were in a coma for the last 24 hours, and don’t know what’s going on let me recap. Duaner Sanchez while riding in a taxi cab in
As a result of losing one of the most valuable pitchers the Mets have in their bullpen, Omar Minaya traded Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez (I’m sure Rick Peterson just needs 10 minutes with Perez—sorry). Feeling backed into a corner, the Mets GM felt he had to make a move to sure up the setup role for Billy Wagner. According to today’s Daily News, this deal was discussed before this accident occurred but the Mets refused to part with Nady. Yesterday however, Minaya felt he had no choice and Hernandez was his best option to somehow replace Sanchez. Omar then tried to package newly acquired Perez with Heath Bell and send them to
Before we all start running around like Chicken Little claiming the sky is falling, let’s analyze this situation. There is no question that the Mets bullpen took a huge hit yesterday. Duaner Sanchez was the best reliever in the 8th inning in baseball. No other team had this kind of weapon. The Mets did the best thing they could in bringing back Hernandez who understands the New York scene and at the very least will not let that pressure affect him. But he is 41 years old and you cannot expect the performance we’ve have come to know from Sanchez. Most likely, Willie Randolph will have to get through the eighth inning by a committee of Hernandez, Bradford, and Heilman. I like Omar’s remark in regards to Heilman. He said “Heilman must step up and give us a better effort than what he has done lately”. We’ll see.
Oliver Perez of course is a project, a left handed pitcher who showed great promise a couple of years ago who has floundered since. He has been sent to
What makes me the saddest in all this is the loss of Xavier Nady. I like the guy. He’s a good player and seems like a decent human being, a nice guy to have in the clubhouse. And from what I understand, he was a big part of that chemistry. You can’t help but feel bad for him as he goes from the National League’s best to the worst team in the league. Talent wise however, Xavier was this generation’s Ron Swoboda. Nady was a decent hitter with power who rarely came through with runners in scoring position. He also was somewhat of a liability in right field. So the players will miss his friendship, but I do not believe the Mets are worse off without him. In fact, Lastings Milledge is an instant defensive upgrade (thank God he doesn’t have to play at Fenway anymore this year…or will he?) in right field. Also he should provide more offense as well but not necessarily more power which the Mets have plenty of anyway. The big question with Milledge will be how he responds knowing he’s here for the duration. Hopefully the kid sees it as a great opportunity and responds accordingly.
Do the Mets not make the playoffs now? Of course they do. Look, the Sanchez accident is a huge blow, no question. But please, if they can’t overcome an injury like this then they don’t deserve to be a championship team. Good teams respond to adversity. The hated Yankees have managed to hang in there all year long after suffering from major injuries. There is too much talent and leadership on this Mets team to let one loss of a player derail their championship hopes.
Maybe this really is the Mets year. Consider a point I heard Richard Near make on WFAN last night. Suppose this accident occurred today, after the deadline? The Mets would have been in position to do nothing. Always try to see the class half full. Let’s hope Sanchez does not need surgery and let’s also hope that Milledge becomes the type of every day player the experts have predicted he will become. Then we can all look back and smile, except for Xavier.
Extra Innings: I actually heard a caller yesterday on WFAN basically say she was glad the Mets suffered this injury because the Yankees had so many of their own. Oh the ugly Yankee fan. How so very sad.
Gee, the Mets may yet get another shot at Greg Maddux now that he is on the Dodgers. LA comes to Shea in early September.
Did you hear Russo with Yankees GM Brian Cashman. I give credit to Cashman, he took none of Mad Dog’s poop.
A Canadian company called Structal from
