What Might Have Been

Making a play on Jae Seo's name is like eating the apple in the Garden of Eden...you know it's bad for you, but you just can't resist. And since I've never been one for willpower...

What took the Mets "Seo" long?

Today's performance by Seo was amazing when you consider that he's probably mentally rusty pitching (wasted) in the minors for the better part of the season. Add that to the whirlwind surrounding his call up and the fact his wife was expecting and you have some interesting circumstances. Jae responded by throwing shutout ball for 7 and 1/3 innings, only giving up four hits (this on the heels of his last start, a one hitter through seven against the Phillies.

But in between, there was a 3-9 debacle by Kaz Ishii while Seo was toiling in Norfolk. Does Willie Randolph have any regrets?

"I never second-guess myself."

Guess not.

But imagine Seo in place of Ishii...now imagine the Mets two or three games closer to the Braves.

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Apparently the Mets were thinking of promoting Seo and replacing Ishii since the break. I ask again (without the play on words): What took them so long?

It's not like they had to justify trading Scott Kazmir. All they had to justify was trading Goggles Pisano.

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Meanwhile...Seo's eventual replacement, Steve Trachsel, went all the way in a 3-1 Binghamton victory in game one of a doubleheader today. Trachsel went 7 innings (yeah, for some reason, game one was only a seven inning affair), giving up four hits and an early run.

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How about Jose Reyes: He extended his hit streak to 19 games, tagged from first to second on a fly ball to center, stole third, and scored on a bloop by Carlos Beltran.

He may not be walking with any more frequency than earlier in the season. But he's only agressive with the pitches he can hit, and his average is going up as a result. And however he gets on base, the fun begins when he's on base.

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See what a day of rest can do for Roberto Hernandez? That wasn't chopped liver he struck out in the eighth.

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Pedro Martinez (along with Cliff Floyd) missed the Mets' team picture day. Coverage of that fact did not go past a blurb in the game notes. Now imagine had Pedro missed the Red Sox team picture day.

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The Mets are 4-0 in Kaz Ishii no decisions. They're 1-6 in Pedro Martinez no-decisions. And in that one victory, the Mets bullpen blew his lead.

Could it be that Pedro leaving the game is a let down, and that Kaz leaving the game is a pick-me-up? Or am I trying to re-invent the wheel?

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Intervention alert:

If you have the time, visit the other side of the blogoshphere and tell this Yankee fan to get back on his meds, stop his delusions of world domination, and get some help.