On the Mets beat

Hernandez cannot do any worse than Lima and Gonzalez. It's doubtful that he will lock-up a regular spot in the rotation but he's great insurance until Maine or Bannister get back. After that use him in long relief or as a spot starter.I could care less about him being an ex-Yankee, and Kris Benson being traded was pretty painless.

Effectivly trading Benson for Hernandez. Trading Benson for Julio is worse.
Hernandez will hopefully be the #4 starter, Julio was nothing better than the 4th best reliever. And right now the Mets need more help with starting pitching than with the bullpen. I think Heath Bell, if given the chance, will do as good a job as Julio.

i have no problem with this trade. after lima and gonzalez torture these past couple of weeks, el duque calms my fears more than those guys do. the trade was a must-do since the payoff wasn't sacrificial (i.e., julio). in other words, there was nothing to lose in this scenario. in my opinion, the pen doesn't become downgraded from the trade so it's not really questionable. too may unreliable starts can wreak havoc on the bullpen down the stretch. if omar has more trade tricks up his sleeve until the deadline, great...just as long as el duque can give the mets some decent innings in the meantime. again, it can't be much worst than it already is w/ lima and gonzalez and with julio gone from the pen. as for benson, i'm not at all regretful for his departure and with duque and maine as a result. maine has some upside, esp. if billy beane coveted him. benson's payroll was not worth the output allowing possible salary flexibility for a future rotation. el duque as a former yankee bears no harsh feelings. if he shows the slightest success and is able to keep the mets into contention, it would be the best of both worlds: more wins towards october and sticking it to yankeeland for a change. even leiter's defection (despite minimal success in pinstripes) is annoying to watch.

I do not mind the trade, and do think that it makes the Mets a better team, but probably only over the next few weeks. When Maine and Bannister return, if Soler shows he's as capable as he seemed a couple days ago, we'll still have several #4 or 5 pitchers, all of which have good reason to remain in the rotation (perhaps Maine being the easy one out). Perhaps Trachsel will pitch a little more like he did in the past, and El Duque will be rejuvenated at Shea. I also like the upside of Bannister, Soler, and Pelfrey. I still worry that neither of the 5 will be feasible options (this year) for the #3 slot come playoff time. Because of this, I see a bigger trade coming before the deadline. Still, I am really glad that it is a #3 pitcher and not an ace that is needed, thanks to our two aces in Pedro and Glavine. I couldn't be more impressed in their performances, and appreciate them a great deal. If a trade does not take place, and those two pitch like they have, the Mets may have enough to pull it off.

Well, this is my thought on the matter. Thanks for asking us, and for these great blog entries.

It would be poetic justice if El Duque beats the Yankees in a Subway World Series !

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it the other way around? Al Leiter was a Yankee before he became a Met.

But frankly, if El Duque can pitch well enough for the offense to back him up, I think he'll do fine. He said he wants to be a regular part of the rotation and pitch every 5 days - if he does well enough, that's exactly what he'll be.

As The Great One used to say, it doesn't matter what team he used to play for.
In this day of free agents and GMs making moves with nothing but money as a motive, the only thing that matters is will Hernandez make a difference in the rotation?
I may be far away from Shea, but even I can see that El Duque is a great No. 4/5 and I'm with Omar. If you said Benson for a prospect and a proven playoff pitcher in the offseason, I would have jumped...

Well this trade is what it is... I don't think we can say no to good ballplayers because they played for the Yankees.. After all I think most Met fans hate Yankee fans, more then the actual Yankees themselves.. I mean the team just goes out there and plays baseball like evryone else in the league. If Hernandez can get the job done, then I welcome him with open arms.

Re: El Duque, let's hope Omar considers him a stop gap. He's listed as age 36 but is likely around 53 or 54 years-old. Give Heilman his shot and put the Duke in the pen for now.
Last night, I watched MLB.com's replay of HazMat Sui killing the Mets again, whiffing at another low and away pitch using his patented two handed tennis backstroke. He looks like Bobby Riggs up there, fer cryin' out loud. O for 4, 4 LOB's, and that crucial K with 2 out and runner in scoring position.
It's time for 'The Mannequin Manager' to pull the trigger.
Hey Willie,enough with the Joe Torre pensive, expressionless, botox-laden, frozen face look...do something and pull this guy from the lineup before he costs you any more games. Put in Woodward, Keppinger, Anderson, Anderson Cooper, bring back Ken Boswell...anyone.
Please. I'm beggin' ya.

im telling you, the duque and lastings for barry zito. lets do it. its another ace, plus lastings sucks.

Well...can't be much worse than Jose Lima. I think it's going to be a temporary thing, while we see when Bannister returns and whether Soler remains with the squad. It certainly can't hurt...as far as him being a former Yankee, that does not bother me one bit.

As a Met fan I think it is a bad sign that the team is relying on Hernandez as a starter. This is a good club and there is a lot to be excited about, especially given the teams they have fielded in the past few years. I can't say I'm happy they got rid of Benson, but the much bigger mistake that jumps to mind is the awful Kazmir deal, which may end up haunting the team for years. With this rotation they will not get far should they make the playoffs.

The premise behind the Kris Benson trade has bothered me since the deal was consumated in January. Kris is having a fine season in the hitter friendly American League and Camden Yards. If Kris was still in New York at a reasonable $15M over the next two years as the third starter behind Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine, the Mets would not have been in such a difficut situation with their starting pitching. It seems Mets management makes business decisions not based on baseball reasons, and that is what concerns me. How can we be sure El Duque will be the same pitcher he was during his first stint with the Yankees. He has not pitched well with Arizona, yet Omar wants us to believe this was a good trade. It may be after all, since his decision to trade for Jorge Julio was ill advised to begin with. Omar and the Wilpons were intimidated by Anna Benson and that has placed their baseball team in potential perile.

I think this is a great move. We suddenly have some semblance of depth again. If Bannister can return to form and be a no.4, and Soler and El Duque battle for the fifth than this could spell great things for the Mets. I think Heilman should start next year, but for now our pen stays intact. And we didn't panic selling off Milledge or Pelfry. Well done, Omar!

There is no downside to this trade. Jorge Julio was the guy that made you grunt every time he popped his over-sized head out of the bullpen. And while El Duque has gotten off to a troubling start this season, he's a vast improvement over Jeremi Gonzalez, who should be pitching in AA, and Jose Lima, who often acts like he should be attending AA.

The Mets really went against their typical trading techniques that fans have grown to hate over the years. In trading Julio, Omar Minaya, admitted defeat in the Kris Benson swap, something the organization was never able to do with the Victor Zambrano for (I can barely saw his name) Scott Kazmir debacle. They are also on the acquiring end of a trade the sent a beloved figure in the New York baseball landscape to the other borough. After years of seeing garbage like Doc Gooden and David Cone being carried off the field at Yankee Stadium, I am looking forward to nothing more than El Duque making Mets magic in October.

El Duque will be a good pickup. I didn't see Yankees on El duque's uniform, I saw "Big Game Winner". I don't think Kris Benson will ever be more than a .500 pitcher.

No problem with Benson for El Duque theory. As long as management spends the money saved on Benson by signing Zito. Benson was not irreplaceable.

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