Here is the lineup the Mets will send to the plate against Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo: Angel Pagan – CF Justin Turner – 2B David Wright – 3B Lucas Duda – 1B Jason Bay – LF Josh Thole – C Jason Pridie – RF Ruben Tejada – SS R.A. Dickey – P What to say … Read more
This was a difficult game to watch, particularly after waiting through almost three hours of a rain delay. There was a point — after four innings — when I thought the Mets had a chance, but after the fifth, it seemed like everyone was just waiting for the game to end.
Prior to being traded, Francisco Rodriguez made it known to Terry Collins that he wanted to eliminate the $17.5 vesting option in his contract. Rodriguez, according to the NY Times, felt it was interfering with how the Mets were using him as a closer. In a non save situation a few weeks prior to the … Read more
NOTE: This is a post by new MetsToday contributor Dan Capwell. Please direct your comments to him. -Joe
The last time the Mets traded an overpriced closer to a contending team for 2 PTBNL, they ended up getting Chris Carter and Eddie Lora from Boston for Billy Wagner. That deal failed on several levels, which is another blog post in itself. Suffice to say however that the K-Rod to Milwaukee deal stirred those memories and evoked thoughts of “here we go again” among many of the Met faithful.
Then Sandy Alderson ended an interview the WFAN’s Joe and Evan with a cryptic comment that one of the two PTBNLs had already been successful at the major league level but was currently back in Milwaukee’s farm system. So, who might this player be? Well, a quick glance at the roster of the Nashville Sounds (The Brewer’s AAA team) provides several names that might fit the description:
Though we really shouldn’t care about K-Rod now that he’s left the Mets, it’s interesting — to me, anyway — that he is going to a below-the-radar team that already has a closer, but a “no-name” one at that.
I imagined that K-Rod would wind up with someone like the Yankees — who have Mariano Rivera — or the Red Sox (Jon Papelbon), and he’d have no choice but to be happy in a setup role. On a big-market team with a well-known closer, K-Rod wouldn’t really have the option of demanding to close.
But now that he’s a Brewer, K-Rod and his new agent Scott Boras may do just that.
My ESPN SweetSpot colleague Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker had this immediate reaction to the trade:
For a moment, it appeared as though it would, for once, be the Mets who come from behind after the seventh inning to win a ballgame.
Because they did come from behind, and went ahead comfortably, in the 8th. Then, the bullpen let a four-run lead disappear as if it weren’t there at all.
This was an old-fashioned pitching duel, pitting two savvy starters who kept batters off-balance and pitched to contact. In the end, the Mets prevailed.
