Memories of Paul Blackburn

[Cowtipper]

Signed August 21 by the Yankees.

[Gwreck]

A poor trade by Stearns. I wanted to trade for Flaherty at the deadline last year (and the prospect cost for him was pretty low).

Stearns instead traded for Blackburn who hadn’t ever been good and…shockingly was not good for the Mets either.

[Edgy MD]

Kade Morris (the player traded for Paul) started well in AA this year (2-3, 2.79) before going to AAA Las Vegas* and getting battered (4-6, 6.17).

A lot of players get knocked around on their first trip (and subsequent ones) to the PCL, but that ain't getting it done anywhere.

As for specific memories, the main ones are the lawn gnome-like beard he showed up to camp with, which got immortalized on picture day**, and winning his first two starts on a western swing as the Mets clawed their way back into the race***.

* It is still weird that players are playing in AAA Las Vegas hoping for a promotion to MLB Sacramento so they can be established with that team when it comes time for them to move to the big time and relocate to Las Vegas.

** If Johnny Lunchbucket was here, he'd say that Blackburn hadn't earned the right to express himself so flamboyantly and ostentatiously. So, presumably, would Crash Davis.

*** Those wins were against Anaheim and Colorado, but still, the Mets kinda looked smart for a week there.

[Lefty Specialist]

I'm guessing the Yankee fans will be doing a 'Memories of Paul Blackburn' thread soon.....

[MFS62]

I'm guessing the Yankee fans will be doing a 'Memories of Paul Blackburn' thread soon.....

 

If the Bleacher Creatures have their way, Blackburn's next stop might be under the end zone in the Meadowlands.

Later

[Centerfield]

I remember trading for him in 2024 and wondering what Stearns saw in this guy. And then he sucked and got hurt and you figure that's the last we'll see of him. And then his spine starts leaking fluid and I was sure that's the last we'll ever see of him. And then astonishingly he's tendered a contract by Stearns. $4M that could have gone to re-sign Jose Quintana.

And then he finally came off the IL and pitched one good game against LA, then absolutely sucked every time he pitched after that. He was the one that started the avalanche in that June 13 game against Tampa. He started three games in that miserable losing streak in June and sucked in all of them. You wonder how many of those games the Mets might have won if he simply didn't exist. Even Austin Warren or Chris Devenski would have given us a better chance.

I'm shocked that the Yankees signed him and ran him out there. I don't see how this guy has a job.