SaberMets.com

The Fallout

I'd like to make it clear again: I have no problem with what the Mets got. I love the fact that these two will be locked up and will be pitching for this team for years to come. They both have solid arms at this point and a few obvious factors will definitely increase their rate of success.

But of course, it's the price the Mets pay.

In ten years it will be, where were you on the day the Mets traded the future?

Well, I'll start. I was on I95, on my way back from Washington D.C. when Ed Coleman got on the air. I'll never forget it.

After making that last post I looked at today's traffic and realized there are a lot of people stopping by today. Either you're a Mets fan who needs to go somewhere where your pain is understood, or you're a baseball fan equivalent of a rubbernecker, stopping by to stare at the carnage. Either way, I'm sorry for taking the easy way out and not offering commentary, but I, along with like thinking fans, realized yesterday that nothing has changed for our beloved Mets; we were taken for a ride and promptly sold down the river.

Today, I -- or rather -- we, are powerless, which is a state of being everyone is introduced to or even accustomed to at some point in their lives, be it with their governments, a loved one, theirs Gods, or even themselves. Yesterday, and today, and tomorrow, we'll continue to feel powerless.

I actually feel betrayed right now. We were all led to believe that Jim Duquette was the anti-Phillips, but that's clearly not the case. If I were given to conspiracy theories, I would probably say that Duquette is trying to sabotage the Mets organization from the inside.

I can't think of a single good thing to say about either of these deals, and I really don't know what else to say on the matter.

Shame on you, Duke.

Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano are the newest additions to Metsland and if the instantaneous reaction of internet-based observers is any guide, they may be sorry they came. In exchange for these two highly regarded righties at or entering their prime years, the Mets gave up scrappy jack-of-all-trades Ty Wigginton and most of the starting rotation of AA Binghamton - Matt Peterson, Scott Kazmir and Jose(lo) Diaz. Oh, and the kicker is they also dealt Aussie backstop Justin Huber off of AAA Norfolk just before he was about to represent his country in the Athens Olympics. That's a lot of unfulfilled potential being sent away.

Simply put, the Mets got hosed. And even worse, they got hosed when their shot of making the postseason is virtually nil, falling seven games back with a loss to Atlanta last night. They had no reason to make these trades at this time and they gave up Scott Kazmir, someone who has more potential than almost any pitching prospect in baseball, someone who could have become a bona fide #1 ace or a lights-out, wham-bam, thank-ya-ma'am closer.

Maybe this will end up being a great series of trades. Maybe the Mets will end up smelling like roses if Kazmir, Matt Peterson, and Justin Huber all flame out in the majors. But the bottom line is that this is one of the riskiest gambles the Mets have ever made and the Devil Rays have to be feeling pretty good right now.

Kris Benson, Victor Zambrano, welcome to New York. You're the future of this organization now, let's hope you succeed. No pressure.

We were betrayed. We actually believed management had changed, that it knew what it was doing. The "only make trades if they benefit now and the future without giving up the future" mantra that was bandied about after Phillips got fired... Lie. Big fat stinking lie. It's like watching a trainwreck. You know its coming, yet you watch, hoping that it doesn't happen, that the bad stays away, that it is averted by some miracle. But it never does and they never learn. Never.

I'm way too incensed to form a coherent thought about what just happened tonight. Nice fucking "plan" Duquette you little worm. My gut reaction is that the Wilpon's desire for "meaningful" games in September (read, ticket sales) just trumped the long term success of this team. Maybe I was being naive, but I bought into this new direction the team was going - getting younger with an emphasis on replenishing the farm system in order to pour a foundation for a solid future. Yeah, I bought into it hook, line an sinker. What a dope I am.

Right now I think the Mets got fleeced. However, if Benson is signed for three years at reasonable money (not the 3/27 that has been bandied about), and the Wilpons give Duquette the go-ahead to make some big moves in the offseason, and if some of our prospects don't pan out, well, I'll still be pretty upset.

Bottom line is that all this talk in the blogosphere about betrayal may be melodramatic, but it's also one hundred percent correct. This doesn't doom the team for sure, but it kills my faith in the front office. And I did have faith in them. It could certainly be worse -- Duquette could be Bavasi -- but I'm left with the glum question of how I can enjoy the rest of the season's games. I was looking at them as a harmless step to something better, but now they just got a lot more meaningful. I guess Wilpon got his wish, after all.