How One Cab Ride Changed the Mets Future

Duaner Sanchez had to have it. He just HAD to have it. One cab ride last year started the domino effect that changed the Mets future and is still having an effect on the team that leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Because of the cab accident, in which Sanchez craved late night food, he severely separated his pitching shoulder (which required surgery) and sent the Mets scrambling to try to salvage their brilliant 2006 season from which they STILL have not recovered.Domino 1. To replace Sanchez, the Mets traded starting rightfielder Xavier Nady (who was having a good season) to get geriatric Roberto Hernandez, whom the Mets let go at the end of the previous season, and throw-in Oliver Perez. Hernandez was so "good" down the stretch, he was rewarded by being left off the post season roster while Nady finished with 17 hrs, .280 BA.Domino 2. Because now they had no rightfielder, they traded for fellow geriatric Shawn Green, who once hit a lot of HRs like ten years ago. He played mediocre the rest of 2006 (.257 BA, 4 hrs) and was best known for not making the catch in Game 2 of the NLCS, which might have prevented the Mets from losing.Domino 3. Before playoffs start, Mets pick-up Guillermo Mota off waivers. He becomes a godsend and finishes with ERA of 1.00 in 18 innings of relief. Because he is so effective, the Mets will later re-sign him to strengthen bullpen, which makes other Mets expendable (see Dominos 4 & 6). No one knew that he would later test positive for performance-enhancing drugs.Domino 4. After the disappointing loss to the Cards in the NLCS, the dominos still continued to fall in the off-season. Thinking they had a gem in Mota, they traded relievers Heath Bell and Royce Ring to San Diego for OF Ben Johnson and P Jon Adkins. Bell and Ring were used primarily as mop-up men with the Mets, neither really getting a significate chance. "Bell is probably the one guy that we certainly feel that has tremendous upside," SD general manager Kevin Towers said. "The guy has always had really good strikeout-to-walk ratios in the minor leagues." Towers words ring true as Bell has gobbled up innings (80.1) and has a 2.24 ERA. Both Johnson and Adkins would not make the Mets in 2007.Domino 5. Falling in love with Perez and his 3-13 record, learning Mota was suspended for 50 games and seeing that Sanchez’ injury was worse than expected, they trade now-expendable(?) Brian Bannister (their sometime 5th starter), for fireballer reliever Ambiorix Burgos, who impressed the Mets with his 12 blown saves with the KC Royals. Bannister this year was 12-8 with a 3.46 in the AL and had been mentioned in Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. Burgos was brutal in '07 and eventually had season-ending surgery. Domino 6. Still in the off-season, the Mets parted ways with AWOL Steve Traschel and with Dave Williams (back surgery) and Pedro Martinez (rotator cuff surgery) hurt, realized they needed some starting pitchers to round out the rotation (Bannister?). With Burgos replacing Sanchez in the bullpen and Mota signing a contract despite being suspended, the Mets trade some promising relievers, Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to Florida for pitchers Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick. “We think Vargas and Bostick are two promising left-handed pitchers and are happy to have them in the organization,” said Mets GM Omar Minaya. Lindstrom (96 mph) and Owens (98 mph) are in the Marlins bullpen, while Vargas and Bostick were placed in the Mets minor league purgatory.Domino 7. Being so optimistic that Burgos could cut down his blown-saves by one or two and believing sidearm reliever Joe Smith could jump from college to the Pros, they let reliable Chad Bradford sign elsewhere siteing the large 3-year contract as the deterent. Months later, wanting to add another lefty to the bullpen, they signed Scott Schoeneweis, to the same 3-year contract as Bradford. Having pitched 18 scoreless innings to finish out the 2006 season to lower his era from 6.51 was something the Mets simply could not pass on.Domino 8. With El Duque and Tom Glavine a year older, Pedro Martinez out til September and John Maine and Oliver Perez inexperienced, GM Minaya realized that his starting rotation might break down during the year. Since trading away relievers Lindstrom, Bell, Ring and Owens, who might have made the team in 2007, the Mets elected to go with Aaron Sele to round out a bullpen that has been a merry-go-round ever since that fateful cab ride last year. Sele often dazzles his opponents with his 86 mph fastball and usually "holds" the other team down to another run or two, enough so the Mets rally falls just short.The Mets have now: Green- .278 BA, 8 hrs; Mota- 5.79 ERA; Schoeneweis- 5.08 ERA; Sele- 5.26 ERA; Burgos- Out for Year; Vargas- 4.97 ERA in minors; Bostick- 5.66 ERA in minors.What Mets could have been: Nady- .288 BA, 17 hrs; Bannistar- 12-8, 3.46 ERA; Bradford- 3.59 ERA; Owens- 1.96 ERA; Lindstrom- 3.41 ERA; Bell- 2.24 ERA; Sanchez- 5-1, 2.60 ERA before getting hurt.With the Mets current bullpen mess, we fans try to imagine how things would have turned out differently, and wonder “what if?" Sanchez just could have waited until breakfast. A World Series championship? Hey, if the 83-win Cardinals won the World Series, why not the Mets? And for 2007, most of these bad trades would never have happened.He just HAD to have it.