If you’re a fan of the New York Mets, don’t read any further.
On July 30, 2004, the New York Mets dealt top pitching prospect Scott Kazmir and pitcher Joselo Diaz to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for starting pitcher Victor Zambrano and relief pitcher Bartolome Fortunato. The Mets found themselves 6 games out of a playoff spot at the trading deadline that year, and increased pressure from the Wilpons to win “now” was the cause of Jim Duquette (then General Manager of the NY Mets) to push the panic button…and push it hard.
Victor Zambrano appeared in 39 games as a member of the Mets (35 starts) from 2004-2006. Zambrano went 10-14 in that time, posting a marginal ERA of roughly 4.45. He was oft-injured, and never achieved success with the Mets’ ball-club.
Scott Kazmir, on the other hand, has become one of the brightest young starters in baseball. While he has issues at times finding the plate, Kazmir has become a strikeout machine for the Devil Rays. Since the trade, Kazmir has posted a 34-29 record for Tampa, with an ERA of 3.64. He has 617 strikeouts in 570 2/3 innings pitched. Oh, and he is also turning just 24 in January of 2008.
The NY media has thrown fuel on the fire, making reference to this fleece quite often over the last few years, and who can blame them? To this date, no one truly knows what went on in the Mets’ front office that season to make them pull the trigger on such a monumental fleece. Duquette fitted himself, and every New York Mets fan with a warm, fuzzy, size XXXL fleece for years to come. Regardless of Kazmir’s success in the coming years, Zambrano’s failures will cement this trade in “the Hall of Shame”, while Kazmir’s achievements will serve as a reminder to the Mets organization: Oh, what could have been?
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