Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Six innings, three hits, three walks, zero runs, nine strikeouts
That's Scott "four years away" Kazmir's line from his start tonight against the Boston Red Sox. That's right, the guy who the Mets traded because they didn't want to wait for him to fulfill his potential and be as good as Victor Zambrano followed up a solid relief outing against the Yankees by outpitching Pedro Martinez on his way to a victory over the fearsome Boston offense. Kazmir certainly hasn't been perfect since he's been called up, as he's had a couple of rough outings and has walked sixteen batters in twenty-two innings. But given that the guy the Mets received in exchange for him a month and a half ago is still leading the American League in walks despite being both in the National League and on the disabled list, it's hard to fault the twenty year-old Kazmir for his wildness. When Kazmir was traded, there was some legitimate debate about whether or not he'd ever be as valuable as Zambrano. But at this point there can be no debate about which pitcher is more useful to his team at this very moment. On September 14th, 2004, any sane person would rather have Kazmir under contract than Zambrano. If the Mets had never traded him, I doubt I'd be calling for them to promote him to the majors this early, but it turns out, even that risky move would have left the Mets' starting rotation in better shape than it's in now. As every week goes by, this is looking more and more like a trade that's going to hurt for years to come.
And speaking of questionable trades, Kris Benson pitched for the Mets tonight, and finally had the kind of start Met fans had to expect from him, given the post-trade hyping of his potential, shutting the first place Braves out for a meaningless nine innings, striking out seven and walking none while allowing four hits. Benson's last time out he pitched six scoreless innings and tonight's performance is more good news, or would be if the Mets had Benson locked up for more than the next three weeks. The man who's supposed to help the Mets' rotation get younger and more consistent has had two straight very good starts against good teams. Perhaps mad scientist Rick Peterson has actually had some success with his latest "project" and this portends well for next year, assuming that Benson pitches for the Mets next year. Benson was full of hype and promise, signifying not a whole hell of a lot when the Mets acquired him. His figuring out how to be a dominant starting pitcher on a consistent basis is key to turning the July 30th trades and, oh yeah, the Mets' 2005 season into something other than an utter disaster.
Meanwhile, David "Last Man Standing" Wright hit another home run tonight, his twelfth in 199 at bats. The twenty-one year-old heart of the Mets' offense is hitting .312/.343/.573 and providing just about all of the evidence there is right now that the Mets will score any runs next year. Lay all your hopes at this guy's feet, Met fans. He's all we've got. ¶ joe | 1:50 AM |
That's Scott "four years away" Kazmir's line from his start tonight against the Boston Red Sox. That's right, the guy who the Mets traded because they didn't want to wait for him to fulfill his potential and be as good as Victor Zambrano followed up a solid relief outing against the Yankees by outpitching Pedro Martinez on his way to a victory over the fearsome Boston offense. Kazmir certainly hasn't been perfect since he's been called up, as he's had a couple of rough outings and has walked sixteen batters in twenty-two innings. But given that the guy the Mets received in exchange for him a month and a half ago is still leading the American League in walks despite being both in the National League and on the disabled list, it's hard to fault the twenty year-old Kazmir for his wildness. When Kazmir was traded, there was some legitimate debate about whether or not he'd ever be as valuable as Zambrano. But at this point there can be no debate about which pitcher is more useful to his team at this very moment. On September 14th, 2004, any sane person would rather have Kazmir under contract than Zambrano. If the Mets had never traded him, I doubt I'd be calling for them to promote him to the majors this early, but it turns out, even that risky move would have left the Mets' starting rotation in better shape than it's in now. As every week goes by, this is looking more and more like a trade that's going to hurt for years to come.
And speaking of questionable trades, Kris Benson pitched for the Mets tonight, and finally had the kind of start Met fans had to expect from him, given the post-trade hyping of his potential, shutting the first place Braves out for a meaningless nine innings, striking out seven and walking none while allowing four hits. Benson's last time out he pitched six scoreless innings and tonight's performance is more good news, or would be if the Mets had Benson locked up for more than the next three weeks. The man who's supposed to help the Mets' rotation get younger and more consistent has had two straight very good starts against good teams. Perhaps mad scientist Rick Peterson has actually had some success with his latest "project" and this portends well for next year, assuming that Benson pitches for the Mets next year. Benson was full of hype and promise, signifying not a whole hell of a lot when the Mets acquired him. His figuring out how to be a dominant starting pitcher on a consistent basis is key to turning the July 30th trades and, oh yeah, the Mets' 2005 season into something other than an utter disaster.
Meanwhile, David "Last Man Standing" Wright hit another home run tonight, his twelfth in 199 at bats. The twenty-one year-old heart of the Mets' offense is hitting .312/.343/.573 and providing just about all of the evidence there is right now that the Mets will score any runs next year. Lay all your hopes at this guy's feet, Met fans. He's all we've got. ¶ joe | 1:50 AM |
