July 30, 2004... A day that most Mets fans recognize as the day our "illustrious" General Manager Jim Duquette orchestrated one of the worst trades in Mets History. The Mets had a record of 49-53, and were in fourth place in the NL East, sitting 7 games behind the division leading Atlanta Braves. At this year's trading deadline, the Mets thought that they were still contenders in what was an already disappointing season. It was announced that day, that the Mets had traded highly touted prospect Scott Kazmir and minor leaguer Jose Diaz to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the injury prone and ineffective Victor Zambrano. And the rest is history... Zambrano continued to be mediocre at best, and couldn't stay healthy enough to pitch very many games, while Kazmir went on to flourish into a top pitcher for the Devil Rays.

It was a day that I myself hate reliving, but even I had to chuckle when today I had discovered that Jim Duquette, now the Assistant General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles, has once again acquired Victor Zambrano from the Pittsburgh Pirates for CASH...

Will September 9, 2007 be remembered as the day Orioles fans wish they had their cash back? Probably not, but they will regret ever hiring Jim Duquette as their Assistant General Manager. What the hell does this guy see in Victor Zambrano? Zambrano wasn't good enough to pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates who are arguably the worst team in baseball. Last season, Zambrano had an ERA of 6.57 for the Mets, which is absolutely horrendous. But Zambrano wanted to prove he was even worse than that... This season, his ERA with the Blue Jays was 10.97.

Certainly, Zambrano must have pitched better in the minors this season right??? WRONG... Zambrano started the season with a 4.50 ERA in single A ball, and followed that up with a 6.00 ERA in double A. not to be outdone, Zambrano continued his mediocrity with a 7.46 ERA in triple A, before finally being released by the Blue Jays. He then had a brief stint in the Pirates minor league organization before Jim Duquette came calling for his favorite player of all time.

The only winner here is the Pirates, who at least got some compensation for their Victor Zambrano experiment. But hey, good luck to you Victor, I'm sure your luck will change with the Orioles. As for you Jim Duquette... get ready to find a new job.
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When I write my article next Thursday all the MLB trade rumors will be over and done with, due to the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline passing this upcoming Tuesday. This means no more thinking that the Mets will acquire Dontrelle Willis for Scott Schoeneweis (hahahaha); or something else wild that we can only dream about. Of course with the trade deadline coming, the debate of "Do we trade prospects for ballplayers that are established?" will come into play. Will players like Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Fernando Martinez be a Met after July 31st? I most certainly hope so.

While thinking of what to write about before the deadline, I came across a great article on the SNY website; written by Ted Berg. It's almost like we share a brain, because I agree 110% with what he is saying. While we have our share of veterans like Delgado, Green, and Lo Duca, we also have a lot of up-and-coming players that have already contributed. Players like Gotay, Gomez, Reyes, Milledge, Maine, and Perez--all of which are between the ages of 22 and 26--could help out the Mets for a while to come. In addition to these ballplayers who have contributed, we also have Mike Pelfrey, and Mike Carp waiting in the wings.

Why trade any of these ballplayers for a guy who might only be here for 3 months, and then go back to his old team (Mike Bordick anyone)? Of course it's hard to tell if Gotay will pan out to be a great, like Wally Backman; or a dud, like Carlos Baerga. Will Lastings Milledge be the next Dave Kingman, or the next Alex Ochoa? Let's not make the same mistake that Jim Duquette did in 2004, by trading our stud Scott Kazmir for a broken Victor Zambrano. Let's make it so that we are not just contenders in 2007, but contenders for years to come.

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Now that the all star game is over, the Mets can settle into playing everyday again after their layoff. With the season more than half over, here begins the stretch run towards the playoffs. That first step in the stretch run is the trading deadline where teams can wheel and deal in attempts to make their team better, without having players pass through the waiver wire. Mets fans can remember numerous deadline deals made over the last several years including the infamous Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano deal (Kazmir is free in 2011 and a Boras client for those of you wondering.).

The most important thing for any team this time of year is to figure out whether or not you want to be a buyer or a seller. Obviously, the Mets are in a position to be a buyer whether that means acquiring a starting pitcher, reliever, or corner outfielder. This trading deadline is trickier than normal though. First off, we have several ballplayers that are coming back momentarily in the pitching and outfield department. For example, even though we were in a pinch for starting pitching before the all star break, Oliver Perez and Jorge Sosa are due to be activated shortly after the all star break. With Pedro Martinez starting his rehab assignment shortly, that will be adding a boost to the rotation. Hopefully, since Martinez is coming back that means that Scott Schoenweis is shown the door.

The outfield is another tough area right now to decide upon. Gomez, Alou, Chavez, and Milledge are all in the wings. Gomez is the farthest off as he probably won’t be seen until the early part of September. However, Alou and Milledge should be back shortly with Chavez coming back within the next few weeks. Do we continue to wait around? It’s inevitable that the surplus of outfielders and pitchers will happen, but how patient can we be?

So what is the answer to these questions? Nobody really knows but the Mets general manager Omar Minaya. I am positive that Omar is on the phone seeing who is available with regards to keeping Pelfrey and Humber. It should be an interesting next 3 weeks for Mets fans, especially if we become consistent.


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