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From David Lennon...
]METS INSIDER
Benson just glad he's here
BY DAVID LENNON
STAFF WRITER
July 29, 2005
It was right around this time last year that Mets general manager Jim Duquette was preparing to make a pair of bold trades for Victor Zambrano and Kris Benson, a last-ditch push to get his fading club into the playoffs.
Even under the worst-case scenario, which eventually happened as the Mets took a swan dive in the standings, the rotation would be solidified for years to come, pending Benson's signing with his new team.
The Mets were criticized in some circles for the Benson deal, with the detractors claiming they could have just waited to sign him at the end of the season. But the Mets - and Duquette in particular - realized the need to not only get Benson for the final two months, but keep him away from the Braves, who also had been in discussions with the Pirates in the days leading up to the deadline.
Pirates GM Dave Littlefield made big demands of the Braves, asking for third-base prospect Andy Marte, and Atlanta GM John Schuerholz probably believed that his club, poised for a 13th straight division title, didn't need Benson that badly to repeat as NL East champs.
Turns out, Schuerholz, as he often is, was right. But the Mets were winners last November when they signed Benson to a three-year, $22.5-million contract, and there is no doubt now that deadline deal helped make his signing a foregone conclusion.
If the Braves had landed Benson, who went to Sprayberry High in Marietta, Ga., and now lives in Atlanta, there's a strong chance the Mets could have watched him go 7-3 with a 3.14 ERA for the Braves.
"Easily, yeah," Benson said this week. "Everybody wants to play in their hometown and especially where you've grown up. I always said, from Day 1 when I was going to become a free agent, I wanted to stay close to Atlanta if I didn't sign there."
Sticking it to the Braves was as much the Mets' motivation as adding Benson to their rotation for the remainder of the 2004 season, which didn't measure up to Duquette's ambitious dreams at the trade deadline. And consider what it cost the Mets. Ty Wigginton is now in the minors and highly touted pitcher Matt Peterson is laboring alongside him at Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Mets also sent Justin Huber to Kansas City for infielder Jose Bautista - the third player in the Benson package - and that, a year later, is the only regrettable loss. Huber was a promising catcher in the Mets' system, but the Royals have converted him to first base, and he had 12 at-bats with Kansas City in June.
From the moment Benson joined the Mets, his agent, Greg Clifton, jumped into talks about a contract extension. But with the organization in upheaval - manager Art Howe learned he was going to be fired with two weeks left in the season and Duquette was replaced by Omar Minaya - Benson had to wait in line.
Even then, he didn't mind. His wife, Anna, desired the New York stage to advance her acting/modeling career and Benson quickly got comfortable with the Mets. In two months, he was sold, and never entertained offers from other clubs once the season was over.
"It's an individual thing," Benson said. "I mean, you hear stories about guys that don't like to play here for some reason. For me, I was just looking forward to coming here. The times I did visit here, I liked playing at Shea, playing in New York.
"I didn't really listen to anyone else. I was looking to form my own opinion, and I got it the easy way by having those two months of the regular season. It was pretty much a trial period before I had to make the ultimate decision. I have no reservations about not seeing what the Braves would have offered. From Day 1, everything here has been great."
THE WEEK AHEAD
Mets want Overbay, but he's not available yet
If anyone in the Brewers' front office is to be believed, then Lyle Overbay will be visiting Shea Stadium when Milwaukee begins a three-game series against the Mets Tuesday.
If the Mets had their way, Overbay already would be wearing their uniform, but both Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and team owner Mark Attanasio repeated this week that the talented first baseman will not be traded by Sunday's 4 p.m. non-waiver deadline.
"I've told clubs we're not moving him," Melvin said.
Attanasio repeated Melvin's stance later, saying, "I think a lot of people would like to have Overbay, but they're not going to get him."
Still, the Brewers are expected to shop the 28-year-old this winter, and the possibility of getting Overbay during the offseason should make the Mets reluctant to part with too much young talent in any trade scenarios this week.
Milwaukee is anxious to clear first base for Cecil Fielder's son, Prince, and that makes the lefthanded-hitting Overbay (.292, 16 homers, 52 RBIs entering last night) an attractive trade chip for the winter meetings in December.
FARM REPORT
Scobie just winning at Norfolk
Jason Scobie continues to pile up the wins for Triple-A Norfolk, earning his league-leading 13th victory in yesterday's 4-0 win over Akron.
But just who is Scobie and where does he stand in the Mets' universe? While Jae Seo remains at the top of the reinforcement list, Scobie can't be far behind, and pitching coach Rick Peterson attributes his breakout season to buying into the system imported from the Athletics' organization.
Peterson compared his progress to where Heath Bell was at the end of spring training in 2004: on the verge of making the majors but still perhaps another year away.
In the meantime, Scobie is two wins short of tying the Tides' single-season record shared by Mike Fyhrie (1996) and Jim Bibby (1971). Scobie, a 15th-round pick out of LSU in 2001, allowed four hits in 6 2/3 innings to move past Zach Duke, recently promoted by the Pirates, for the league lead in wins.
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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spminside294362550jul29,0,234677.story?coll=ny-baseball-headlines
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