It didn't get as much hype as Omar Minaya's sealing the deal on Francisco Rodriguez, or the trade for J.J. Putz, but the Mets General Manager made another move over the weekend to continue Operation: Bullpen Not Suck. He exorcised the ghost of terrible lefty-relievers past by trading away Scott Schoeneweis, one of the demons of 2008.
The Mets got a no-name farmhand Connor Robertson back in the deal, thereby putting the trade squarely in the Jeff Wilpon approved addition-by-subtraction category. Fixing an unfortunate situation that was more about the alchemy of Schoeneweis and Mets fans, more than the player himself. Unfortunately for Scott, there are just too many bad memories associated with his jersey; even his wikipedia entry makes sure to point out he lost both the final home opener and the final home game at Shea Stadium. As the kids say: Schoeneweis didn't have to go home, he just had to get up out of Shea (now Citi Field).
As currently constituted this trade does leave the Mets bullpen imbalanced; Pedro Feliciano is the only healthy left-handed reliever with experience remaining. Even worse for Omar, while he was focusing on the closers other teams were snatching up lefty relievers like hot cakes; the remaining pool is thin.
On the flip side, since Minaya left the back-end of the bullpen so formidable it may be easier to tackle the other spots in the bullpen through volume; with the 8th and 9th covered, he can just just throw a lot of low-cost options at the 6th and 7th and see who sticks. Even if those guys pull a Schoeneweis, at least their ineptitude won't remind fans of the nightmares from the past couple seasons. Giving everyone a chance to breathe before the booing begins in earnest once more.
