Pedro Astacio is on the DL again

After Astacio's last start, I said the Mets needed to get him out of the starting rotation and give Aaron Heilman a shot. Well, part one accomplished, but as for part two, not so fast. Heilman started for Norfolk on Sunday, suffering his third loss of the season, so he couldn't take Astacio's spot in the rotation on Tuesday. Heilman went five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks while striking out four. Not a great start, but Mike Bacsik, the man who will be taking Astacio's place tomorrow, is on a whole different planet. I liked what I saw from him last year, but this year in Norfolk, he's 0-6 with a 6.00 ERA. He also gave up nine runs in three innings on opening day for the Mets, putting his major league ERA at 27.00 for the season. Presumably he'll lower that a bit on Tuesday, but I still hope to see Heilman in the majors in the very near future.

In other interesting news, Gary Sheffield, who's tearing up the league in an Atlanta uniform right now (.349/.430.646) told the New York Daily News that he's always wanted to come to New York, and would still be interested after this season.

"I was trying to come here for years," Sheffield told the Daily News.
"I can only ask so many times. The way it worked out, the Braves are the perfect place for me. I really think we've got something special going here this season."

And as for his thoughts on his upcoming free agency...

"I'll be looking for a team that's going to pay me what I'm worth," he said. "I always wanted to come to New York, it's a way of challenging yourself. You see what you're made of, what you can handle."

An outfield featuring Sheffield in right, the current incarnation of Jeromy Burnitz in center and Cliff Floyd in left could be a lot of fun. Who needs Vlad or Beltran with a lineup like that? Of course it remains to be seen if Burnitz can keep up this pace, or if Floyd can finish the season without his legs falling off, but Burnitz figures to be cheaper next year than he has been the last couple of years, and even a crippled Floyd would be pretty useful as the third or four most important bat in the lineup behind Sheffield, Burnitz and Mike Piazza. I can dream, can't I?  ¶ joe | 3:31 PM |