The Departed

The Academy would like to take a moment to remember those Mets who have left us in the past year…

Jeremi Gonzalez, 2006
I won’t say “and that was that,” because didn’t Jeremi Gonzalez settle down in the second on Friday only to implode in the third?
—May 25, 2006

Bartolome Fortunato, 2004; 2006
Do you have a category for guy who did really well in his shot last year but doesn’t seem to get mentioned at all this spring? That’s Bartolome.
—February 21, 2005

Kelly Stinnett, 1994-1995; 2006
Kelly Stinnett has been here before.
—September 5, 2006

Henry Owens, 2006
Henry Owens has been handed the seventh inning in my head.
—July 8, 2006

Eli Marrero, 2006
…Eli Marrero made some nice plays out there in right. (Though his game saver in the 6th was mostly impressive because he had to salvage a bad route to the ball.)
—June 18, 2006

Ricky Ledee, 2006
We could all use our own Ricky Ledee. We could all use a caddy to go in and play for us the day after we’ve had a big time the night before.
—September 20, 2006

Royce Ring, 2005-2006
And the closer of future past, Royce Ring, actually appeared on TV, pitching well if wearing No. 91 without a name. I guess the future will have to wait.
—March 28, 2005

Michael Tucker, 2006
Michael Tucker as a 2006 Met is at worst an experiment that won’t come to fruition and at best a revelation. So far, it’s the latter. This is what happens on good teams. It’s the difference between depending on Michael Tucker and taking a flyer on Michael Tucker.
—August 13, 2006

Heath Bell, 2004-2006
I’ve adopted Heath Bell as my first sentimental favorite of 2005.
—March 6, 2005

Jorge Julio, 2006
On a day when Wagner, Sanchez and Heilman were best not bothered, Jorge Julio was one of several who saved the day.
—May 6, 2006

Brian Bannister, 2006
When Bannister’s facing the bases loaded (even if it’s his fault) the expression on his face is that of a bright young student facing a difficult but interesting math problem.
—April 17, 2006

Jose Lima, 2006
That Lima’s a pistol, all right. His right arm may never genuinely emerge from quadruple-A purgatory, but he can put on the trappings of a show.
—May 8, 2006

Victor Diaz, 2004-2006
As for John Patterson, he only made one mistake, but it was a fairly dopey one — why anyone on God’s green Earth would throw Victor Diaz a fastball right now is beyond me.
—August 19, 2005

Kaz Matsui, 2004-2006
LAME OUT-OF-IT CO-WORKER: Kaz Matsui sucks. SMART IN-THE-KNOW YOU: Not when he was hitting that inside-the-park home run in his first at-bat, his third year in a row with a homer in just that situation.
—April 21, 2006

Xavier Nady, 2006
I’d like another look at Xavier Nady diving, grabbing and robbing in right field. Did we know he could do that?
—April 27, 2006

Darren Oliver, 2006
The series is even, and no matter what happens, the Mets are coming back to New York alive. You saw it. We all saw it. Really, this rebound began last night, when Darren Oliver saved the bullpen from having to put in overtime.
—October 16, 2006

Chad Bradford, 2006
Middle relief has been Amazin’ of late. Tom and Eddie C. explain over and over again what a job Chad Bradford did cleaning up Glavine’s mess. I’m more impressed with Bradford than I am concerned about Glavine.
—June 14, 2006

Roberto Hernandez, 2005; 2006
Hernandez strikes out Derrek Lee. He preserves the lead so Seo can still get the win. I take a few steps down from my seat so I can be parallel to the guy who was yelling at Willie and I start screaming “NICE CALL WILLIE!” Truly, I don’t do that sort of thing.
—August 6, 2005

Victor Zambrano, 2004-2006
After what seemed an eternity, Victor Zambrano has been revealed to be a good pitcher by throwing deep — carrying a shutout into the ninth inning before giving way to Braden Looper — in the Mets’ 2-1 win over Arizona at Shea Stadium Wednesday night. “I waited a long time, but I can wait no longer,” said self-confessed Deep Throat W. Mark Felt. “I have to say that Zambrano threw quite a game.”
—June 2, 2005

Chris Woodward, 2005-2006
Know why I’m particularly happy that it was Chris Woodward who walked us off into victory Tuesday night? Because every time he comes to bat, Shea’s P.A. plays a few notes from a Dire Straits song, usually 1979’s “Sultans of Swing”.
—July 21, 2005

Steve Trachsel, 2001-2006
Between Mark Mulder flinging ungodly curves and getting ground ball after ground ball and Steve Trachsel being possibly the most impressive I’ve ever seen him, this one had the look of one of those One Mistake games. Except Trachsel didn’t make a mistake.
—May 18, 2006

Cliff Floyd, 2003-2006
It’s Cliff Floyd’s world. We’re just living in it. Our left fielder, our cleanup hitter, our heart, our soul, our leader, our de facto captain, our barometer of what’s what, our very own Monsta took care of business that desperately needed attending to Saturday night. Cliff Floyd is in business…business of kicking Brendan Donnelly’s ass. And let me tell ya: Business is booming.
—June 12, 2005