What's On The Farm

So, I am left wondering what the Mets have down in their farm system. As we ended the baseball season, I thought they looked pretty good. Carlos Gomez proved he could play at the major league level and he showed he could hit and play defense. Lastings Milledge put up some strong numbers late in the year and was one of the clubs best clutch hitters in the last month or two of the season.

I didn’t think Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey looked great when they pitched this season, but I did not think they devalued themselves either. I thought this was, in large part, a problem of rushing them to the majors because they didn’t have the pitching the needed. In addition, I hear great things about Kevin Mulvey and I believe Carlos Muniz is supposed to be the real deal.

There is also Rueben Gotay who struggled against lefties but hit .318 against righties, certainly some impressive numbers. He seemed to play the game with a lot of flair and excitement. Once, however, the Mets picked up Luis Castillo, Gotay’s time was seriously reduced.

Still, I am clearly missing something. No one seems interested in trading with the Mets when it comes to get a pitcher. Yes, the Mets are looking at getting a special pitcher, still it seems to me they have some chips, but nothing is happening.

The Mets traded Milledge for a lot less than what they should have, as far as I am concerned. The Mets have not been able to land a pitcher either. No one seems interested in what they have to offer. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know Omar needs to do something. This is a franchise that has been known for its pitching.

There were, of course, Seaver and Koosman. You can certainly through Nolan Ryan into that group as well, although he never put up strong numbers in New York. There was Jon Matlock and even in the terrible years of the late 70’s (and early 80’s) there was Craig Swann (not a household name but good enough to lead the league in lowest ERA for a season or two—and be in the running for a number of other ones). Of course there were Doc and Ron and Sid, Bobby O and David Cone. The history of the Mets is rich with pitching and now we cannot seem to land one.

It is ironic and more importantly, it is frustrating.