Done a bad, bad thing

Scott Kazmir takes the mound tonight for the Tampa Rays to open up the 2008 World Series, reopening a wound for Mets fans that runs pretty deep — Kazmir was supposed to take the hill for the Mets under the big lights.

I hope Kazmir does well. The kid has nasty stuff, even if his durability remains a question mark.

That said, the Kazmir trade ranks among the worst ever made by the organization. Where? I’m not sure. But it appears to be rather high — at least on a par with most of these awful transactions:

• Tom Seaver to the Reds for Pat Zachary, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Doug Flynn. Seaver was “The Franchise” and still in his prime. Just awful.
• Nolan Ryan and a bit player to the Angels for Jim Fregosi. Fregosi was a decent shortstop on the decline that the Mets converted into a terrible third-baseman. Ryan got his chance in the rotation and became a force on the mound (if a bit overrated).
• A young and unheralded Amos Otis to the Royals for third-baseman Joe Foy. One in a long line of bad trades for bad third-basemen.
• Jeff Kent and Jose Viscaino to the Indians for Carlos Baerga. (The Indians then turned around and moved Kent for Matt Williams, who bolted for Arizona.)
• Rusty Staub to the Tigers for an over-the-hill Mickey Lolich.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet