Jorge Julio traded for El Duque

[Vic Sage]

so its el duque and soler, until Bannister gets back.

Not that Bannister is any great shakes, but if Soler is doing the job and Ducky isn't, and if WWSB keeps running Ducky out there at that point (assuming the Duckinator continues to pitch like the broken-down 40 year old he is), then it'll be willy pulling the Cairo thing all over again.

I don't think any of them is as good as Heilman is at this point.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

] fukk

I like that spelling. I think we as an internet overdo Suxx, and F'in, and Fu(k and a$$, but it's rare to see 'fukk'

Excellent job.

[Vic Sage]

it was a typo...

[metirish]

Olny on the trade from ESPN insider.

] The best possible situation you can have with Orlando Hernandez at this stage in his career, a high-ranking American League executive said last night, is when you don't have to count on him. "The White Sox played it exactly right last year," the exec said, "because they brought him along and he was kind of the extra guy in the rotation -- they didn't absolutely need him to win. They went into the postseason, and he wasn't filling a crucial role; he was just another guy on their pitching staff. And then, in the playoff series against Boston, they brought him [in] when it wasn't make or break, and he was tremendous." The Arizona Diamondbacks wanted to use him in a non-pressure support role -- the fifth starter, a spot which is sometimes skipped, especially when your ace is Cy Young candidate Brandon Webb -- and El Duque was unhappy. So it came to pass that the Diamondbacks, a team in need of starting pitching, dealt a starting pitcher to the New York Mets for reliever Jorge Julio. I like this trade for the Diamondbacks a lot, because they get a guy who throws 96 mph and can slot him into middle relief, a place where he could thrive; there aren't many guys throwing the sixth or seventh inning firing at 96 mph. Julio was getting better for the Mets, as his April/May splits show. Now you can look for Arizona to promote Dustin Nippert or Enrique Gonzalez -- whose minor league numbers are good -- into their big league rotation in place of El Duque. And I like this trade for the Mets if they find a way to not have to rely on El Duque. He is actually 40 years old going on 41 in October (not 36, as the press guides would have you believe), and so far this year, he has thrown 45.2 innings in nine starts. Five innings per start. If that average holds, then Hernandez will leave 12 outs on the table for the Mets' bullpen, which has borne an incredible workload this year, between all the extra-inning games and the struggles of the No. 4 and No. 5 starters. Going into Wednesday's afternoon action, four Mets relievers ranked among the top 15 in all of baseball for total pitches thrown -- and now one of them, Julio, has been traded. The Mets need to think of Hernandez as their No. 5 starter and be prepared for the strong possibility he will get hurt. They need to develop other options at No. 4 and No. 5. If Alay Soler throws the way he did last night, they'll be fine -- after walking the bases loaded in the first inning, with 15 of his first 22 pitches thrown for balls, he threw 54 of his last 80 pitches for strikes and looked good. Brian Bannister will come back at some point, and Mets general manager Omar Minaya will continue to monitor the trade market. The Mets must somehow find a way to reduce the pressure on Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner, who have started this season like marathoners going out a little too fast. They can't keep up this workload pace without facing the possibility of August and September burnout. There will be issues with El Duque: He gets hurt a lot, he is temperamental and he is high-maintenance. But if the Mets make the playoffs and face a big moment in October, there is nobody stronger mentally than Hernandez.

But we are going to rely on El Duque...at least for a while.

[Vic Sage]

i'm so glad Ducky is mentally strong.

Maybe he can develop his psi powers, so then he can WILL the ball to home plate after his arm has fallen totally off.

Julio has more upside than Bell, and Ducky boy gives us nothing more than we'd get from the recently released Jeremi gonzalez.

i don't hate the trade, but i don't seeing it helping us much.

[Guest ABG]

The best situation to have a player in is one where you have better players than him already? Thanks.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The best situation for anybody is to not have to rely on them too much. (On edit: Bart beat me.)

But to suggest that Hernandez thrives in that situation... Well, the Sox downgraded his role last year, and he came through for them, and the Diamondbacks (he points out) didn't have much to ask of him this year, and he didn't come through.

We'll see.

(Further edit: Gonzalez wasn't quite released. Just DFA'd. We may retain him yet.)

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

If he's so strong mentally you'd figure hee'd bee better everyday.

Prolly more accurate, if that's true, to say he's "mentally weak enough to give his best effort only where there's something riding on the outcome."

[metirish]

] The Mets must somehow find a way to reduce the pressure on Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner, who have started this season like marathoners going out a little too fast. They can't keep up this workload pace without facing the possibility of August and September burnout.

Olny is right about that though and with Feliciano getting more inings and Willims probably coming soon I think the Mets are doing just that.

[Vic Sage]

i have an idea for reducing the burden on Heilman... put him in the fukking rotation you assclowns!

you win by giving your GOOD pitchers more IPs than your NOT GOOD pitchers. I know it seems complicated, but my degree in rocket science gives me the confidence to make this categorical assertion!

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Vic Sage wrote: i have an idea for reducing the burden on Heilman... put him in the fukking rotation you assclowns! you win by giving your GOOD pitchers more IPs than your NOT GOOD pitchers. I know it seems complicated, but my degree in rocket science gives me the confidence to make this categorical assertion!

I agree with Vic wholeheartedly.







OE: Admins:
Since he called the Mets "assclowns" first, and implied that they and anyone who who supports their Heilman decision is kinda stoopid first, does that mean this won't get sent to the RLF? If my presence alone means RLF banishment, I withdraw my agreement--Vic is TOTALLY WRONG!!!-- and please delete post. Thank you.

Don't mean to create a ruckus, or disturb anyone, or, you know, say anything.

[Vic Sage]

disclaimer:

My "assclowns" comment was directed at Mets management, not anybody here. We're allowed (i think) to cuss out non-Forumites on baseball-related matters... especially when its a cuss popularized on the CPF to begin with.

And i did not say, imply or think loudly that anybody HERE who disagrees with me on this issue is stoopid, or even stupid. Just WWSB and Omar...