When the rains finally stopped, the reign began: John Maine was terrific tonight, though it took a great catch by Cliff Floyd (who should be sick more often, apparently) and a nifty block of home by Paul Lo Duca to elevate him to terrific from just very good. Rookie pitchers, particularly ones being rebuilt after a falling-out with their previous clubs, tend to follow the one step forward, two steps back model, but Maine's seemed to grow in confidence with each gradually better outing, and it seemed obvious from the gun tonight that he had good stuff. Which was good for all sorts of reasons: Who knows what awaits our bullpen this weekend, between El Duque and another rookie in Pelfrey and rain expected at least through Saturday?
The breather was appreciated. So too was the possibility that we might do just fine at the trading deadline by keeping all current hands on deck. I'd trade Milledge and Heilman for Dontrelle Willis in a heartbeat, but that's unlikely to happen; I wouldn't trade anything for Livan Hernandez. (OK, maybe Jose Offerman and Michael Fucker. And Jose Lima too, to ensure Omar can't bring him back in September.) I'm well aware of the dangers of falling in love with a current team and seeing beloved players' fundamental flaws as quirks, but it's not a wild leap of faith to think that there's a 2006 keeper among Maine, Pelfrey and the soon-to-return Bannister — maybe even two. Shake things up for an obvious upgrade? Sure — our current rotation isn't exactly scary in a playoff situation. Trade away chips for a different maybe? Let's be careful, please.
Oh yeah, the cranes. It didn't get a lot of notice, but the IRS signed off on the city's plans to sell $1.6 billion in bonds to pay for new stadiums for us and some other local team. Which means the heavy equipment out there in the parking lot should soon be doing more than testing landfill — and Shea has just over 800 days left of life, as marked by Merengue Nights, rain delays, grand slams, complete-game shutouts, visits from trainers, right fielders lost in firework clouds, and all the other bits and pieces that go into baseball games satisfying and un-.
Let's not forget Phil Humber – if he comes back from TJ surgery and lives up to his potential he could be a factor in '07. With Pelfrey, Humber, Maine and Bannister, the Mets could have the front and back ends of their rotation locked up for a long time.
That's really ballsy to end a post on a hyphen.
Upgrades are all very well, but let's not rent a pitcher. Do we really want to look back (knock on wood) at our World Series championship and say, yeah, it's all thanks to that stud we traded Milledge for…who ended up being a Met for about as long as Milledge was? And if this is Floyd's last year, don't we need a left fielder?
This team has what it takes to win this year, without sacrificing next year. I think so, anyway…
Indeed. Few grammatical entities are more gutsy to end a post with.
Do we really want to look back (knock on wood) at our World Series championship and say, yeah, it's all thanks to that stud we traded Milledge for…who ended up being a Met for about as long as Milledge was?
Um, well, uh fuck yes.
I'll take that scenario any ol' time, thank you very much.
Not that I'm particularly clamoring for a trade.
That's assuming said “stud” is actually available, which may not be true in this particular case. A better question: How much would it suck if we traded Milledge and still lost?…very possible as well. Either way, I'm spoiled enough to expect that the same team that plays our 162 games should help us play the last 20 or so. It just seems dishonest to acquire someone entirely for a single post season. It's like deciding the World Cup on penalty kicks.
But I guess it's a question of priorities. Do we want to the Mets (whoever they may be in the end) to win this year, or do we win them to be able to win for years and years to come. The two aren't actually mutually exclusive though, are they? They don't need to be.
Is '69 tainted because of Donn Clendenon? If Kenny Rogers had been enough to put us over the top in '99, would you be looking to give it back due to some apparent dishonesty?
As far as contending every year, I refer you back to 1970, 1987, 2001, etc.
While I'm very strongly against doing something dumb just to appear proactive, and given that I like this team just fine as it is, there is no next year.
I'd trade anyone in this organization not named David Wright if it meant a World Series championship in 2006.
Fair enough. But you gotta include Jose Reyes in your off-limits group.
And the truth is, the total number of players in existence who (a)
would pretty much guarantee a World Series ring if added to the
2006 Mets AND (b) could conceivably be acquired now in a trade
comes to exactly zero.
Players like that only change hands in the off-season, either in
big multiplayer trades or through free agency. Once in a very great
while an idiot owner conducts a fire sale, or a great player has such
rotten chemistry with the manager and front office that they have to
move him. But I know of no current cases of that.
The Mets' only burning need now — meaning, the only place you could
really change the team's fortunes by adding a single player — is for
a true front-line starter, the kind of guy who is so consistent, durable
and effective that he'd be the ace of most teams' rotations. Such
pitchers do not grow on trees and are almost never obtainable for
spare parts — you'd have to pay dearly to get one, meaning a real
risk of giving up more than you get. And there goes the guarantee.
It's possible Minaya can still improve this team with a trade now, but
there is no chance of making the Series a lock with one. And young
Mr. Milledge has too much upside to let him go for less. So the
inescapable conclusion is he should not be traded now.