Sanchez Hails Cab, Mets Driven Downtown
Duaner Sanchez caught a cab on Sunday night which changed the course of the non-waiver trade deadline for the Mets and changed the way manager Willie Randolph will manage his bullpen and outfield for the rest of the season.While GM Omar Minaya was working on potential deals to bring in Roy Oswalt and/or Jason Schmidt to bolster the starting rotation Sanchez, the stud right handed setup man, separated his shoulder while riding in a cab in Miami, where the Mets had flown on Sunday night in preperation for their 3 game set with the Marlins starting tonight. If Sanchez needs surgery he will be done for the year.
This turn of events put the Mets in a very bad situation. Although the Oswalt and Schmidt deals were already dead by the time Minaya got the news about Sanchez Minaya had to change strategy dramatically and deal for need as opposed to dealing to bolster a strength. On deadline day you want to be acting as opposed to reacting and Minaya was forced to react. In doing so Minaya traded Xavier Nady to the Pirates for our old friend Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. Minaya then almost turned Perez and Heath Bell to San Diego for right handed setup man Scott Linebrink but the Padres backed out at the last minute.
The injury to Sanchez and the resulting deal with Pittsburgh changes the bullpen and outfield rotations significantly. Aaron Heilman will take over the 8th inning setup spot previously owned by Sanchez while Hernandez will take over Heilman’s 7th inning spot. Heilman must be able to put an end to his season long struggles in this spot or he could be rotated back to his old spot pretty quickly.
With Nady gone to the Pirates the Mets will call upon Endy Chavez and Lastings Milledge to platoon in right field. Milledge will have to learn quick. In his first stint with the Mets there was no pressure on him. All he had to do was come to the park ready to play. This time he’s going to be depended on by his teammates and the fans. Don’t let the 14 game lead fool you. The lead gives you time to learn but you need to learn quick if you want to give your team the best shot possible come October.
In the end I think the Mets did the best they could in the situation. Though Nady over achieved (based on my expectations) the Mets had other parts that could produce numbers no worse than his. So they essentially gave up nothing and got bullpen help to cover for an injury in Hernandez and a starter reclamation project in Perez. Perez is really the wildcard here. If pitching coach Rick Peterson can help him find his rookie stuff the Mets would have gotten a steal here. But that’s a big if.
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