Master Index of Archived Threads


Leadership from Without and Within

G-Fafif Jan 28 2007 04:53 PM

Bringing this topic over from the recently baseball-passed out of respect for the thread. JD's identification of the approximately '68 through '79 epoch that was less than Devine in terms of player development brings to mind another question of staleness. The Mets hired Frank Cashen, total outsider, in 1980. We know the arc of his tenure, the great and the not so great. We know he was succeeded by one lieutenant (Harazin in '91) then another who was on track to succeed him in the first place (McIlvaine who had left in '90 out of impatience for Cashen stepping down). The next successor (Phillips '97) was in-house. So was the next (Duquette '03). The next (Minaya '04) was not but, like one of his predecessors (McIlvaine), certainly had been earlier in his career. Question: Is Omar at all analogous to Bing in terms of bringing the fresh blood, the fresh eye, the unencumbered viewpoint? Or is it telling that the Mets have only gone completely outside their organization (no Met pedigree) twice, with Devine then Cashen, to secure front office leadership? In more concrete terms, would have the Mets been better off circa 1991 to have skipped Harazin and made a move on, for example, Pat Gillick? To have not lured McIlvaine back in 1993 but instead thrown a lot of money at, say, John Schuerholz? To have decided at the end of 1998 (one year after Minaya's initial assistant GM hiring) that given the headline-grabbing sexcapades emanating from the GM suite that Steve Phillips was not the man for the job but available and previously successful Bob Watson was? I'm just throwing those names out there. Insert your own, well-known or lesser-known. More to the point, Can we pinpoint the Mets' lack of consistent success since the late '80s as a symptom of internal rot because Wilpon/Doubleday never wanted to trust anybody they hadn't employed earlier? While there is something to be said for Baseball the Oriole Way or the Dodger Way and so forth, is it likely (never mind possible) that Baseball the Met Way is what squelched this franchise's productivity for far too long?

Edgy DC Jan 28 2007 05:07 PM

I think, as you allude to, Minaya is very analogous to McIlvaine, in that he left the organization and then came back to replace the guy who seemingly passed him in his absence. I also think McIlvaine was sold short, the team having improved every year of his tenure, and him having assembled a successful pitching staff with seeming jokers while waiting for Generation K to (not) blossom. He also brought Bobby Valentine back into the system and appointed him manager Unlike Minaya, he never seemed to be considered a guy with a future or groomed for the job. He wasn't given a chance to hire his manager off the bat, enduring a high-profile manager who had been a GM and had his own attitude about development and roster building. The Olerud deal by itself should have bought him two years.

G-Fafif Jan 28 2007 07:31 PM

Ah, the skill sets... I was fine with McIlvaine and found it bizarre that he was dismissed in the midst of a renaissance year. Rescuing the rotation after the blowup of IPP was one of the most remarkable patch jobs in Mets history. What was supposed to be led by three young guns got by with one longtime organizational holdover, Jones, and several McIlvaine pickups: Mlicki, Clark, Reynoso and the gloriously unlikely Rick Reed. Got by and then some. The rap on Joe Mac was he wasn't comfortable with the pagers and cell phones that weren't yet ensconsed as tools of his trade, that he wanted to go scout high schoolers instead of report to higher-ups. I don't know how much of that was myth and how much of that was truth. I also don't know what turn the Mets would have made in the late '90s if he had hung around. Would have Joe Mac pulled the trigger (or had the trigger pulled for him by ownership) on the Piazza trade or the re-signing of Piazza? Would have he thrown $20-plus million at Ventura? Would have he pulled off the trade that brought in Benitez and Cedeno (back when they weren't double-edged swords to most fans)? For that matter would have he done some of the more objectionable deals his successor did? Or would have he done different things that would have worked as well if not better? I don't have an answer, but I didn't get the sense he deserved the boot, especially when he got it. One wonders as well if McIlvaine and Minaya succeeded to the degree they did/they have because they left town for a while. Their first jobs at the top were more like apprenticeships, Omar in Montreal, Joe in San Diego, than full-blown tenures. Neither stayed particularly long because neither had anything close to an ideal situation. And both came back to the Mets when the organization was in deep, deep trouble. Joe Mac's scenario was a lot deeper, it's fair to say (no Reyes, no Wright, middle of a miserable season, terrible veteran contracts that couldn't be offed so easily, ownership a decade away from ceding baseball control to the GM). Didn't hear it, but I know Lenny Dykstra was on the FAN a month or two ago ripping Joe Mac. Not sure if that should be treated as damning evidence against McIlvaine or a tacit endorsement of his judgment.

Edgy DC Jan 28 2007 07:57 PM

]I was fine with McIlvaine and found it bizarre that he was dismissed in the midst of a renaissance year. Sounds like we have similar views. ]Rescuing the rotation after the blowup of IPP was one of the most remarkable patch jobs in Mets history. Another fine example was... the second half of 2006. ]I also don't know what turn the Mets would have made in the late '90s if he had hung around. Would have Joe Mac pulled the trigger (or had the trigger pulled for him by ownership) on the Piazza trade or the re-signing of Piazza? Would have he thrown $20-plus million at Ventura? Would have he pulled off the trade that brought in Benitez and Cedeno (back when they weren't double-edged swords to most fans)? For that matter would have he done some of the more objectionable deals his successor did? Certainly not all of them. And he may have, who knows, done brought in more productive players or players at the start of their peaks whod've lasted longer. Maybe he'd have brought in a different shortstop. Or maybe he'd have traded Fonzie before his power blossomed. I can credit him until the end of time for the Olerud deal, but he's got the Kent deal to answer for also. I think the Olerud deal might have been the type of deal he preferred --- it was a low-risk proposition trying to get a young talented vet on the cheap and turn his career around. But he might have changed gears when the Mets reached contender status. Clearly Minaya has shown some taste for that while contending. It'd be interesting in knowing what he would have done with the sort of free agent purse Phillps got.

Edgy DC Jan 28 2007 08:22 PM

The transactions of McIllvaine (Source: UMDB): 1993: September 9, 1993: New York Mets released Darren Reed. September 17, 1993: New York Mets traded Frank Tanana to the New York Yankees for Kenny Greer. September 29, 1993: New York Mets released Mike Draper. October 4, 1993: New York Mets released Chico Walker. New York Mets released Ced Landrum. October 15, 1993: Jeff Kaiser granted free agency. Mickey Weston granted free agency. November 17, 1993: New York Mets signed free agent John Cangelosi. November 19, 1993: Colorado Rockies signed Howard Johnson of the New York Mets as a free agent. November 22, 1993: Baltimore Orioles signed Sid Fernandez of the New York Mets as a free agent. New York Mets signed free agent Mike Remlinger. November 24, 1993: New York Mets traded Dave Gallagher to the Atlanta Braves for Pete Smith. November 26, 1993: Atlanta Braves signed Charlie O'Brien of the New York Mets as a free agent. December 2, 1993: Cleveland Indians signed Eddie Murray of the New York Mets as a free agent. December 10, 1993: New York Mets traded Marc Kroon and Randy Curtis to the San Diego Padres for Frank Seminara, Pablo Martinez and Tracy Sanders. December 13, 1993: Mets drafted Charlie Greene from the San Diego Padres . Mets drafted Kelly Stinnett from the Cleveland Indians . December 16, 1993: New York Mets signed free agent Jim Lindeman. New York Mets signed free agent Rick Parker. New York Mets signed free agent Doug Linton. New York Mets signed free agent Jonathan Hurst. December 24, 1993: San Diego Padres signed Eric Gunderson of the New York Mets as a free agent. December 28, 1993: Chicago White Sox signed Darrin Jackson of the New York Mets as a free agent. 1994: January 5, 1994: New York Mets traded Vince Coleman to the Kansas City Royals for Kevin McReynolds. February 3, 1994: Minnesota Twins signed Jeff Innis of the New York Mets as a free agent. March 27, 1994: New York Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Baltimore Orioles for David Segui. March 30, 1994: New York Mets traded Steve Long to the Florida Marlins for Robert Person. New York Mets traded Anthony Young and Ottis Smith to the Chicago Cubs for José Vizcaino. March 31, 1994: New York Mets traded Alan Zinter to the Detroit Tigers for Rico Brogna. April 7, 1994: Cincinnati Reds claimed Pete Schourek of the New York Mets on waivers. May 5, 1994: New York Mets signed free agent Eric Gunderson. June 2, 1994: New York Mets selected Paul Wilson in first round (first pick overall) of free agent draft. New York Mets selected Terrence Long in first round (20th pick overall) of free agent draft. July 8, 1994: New York Mets released John Cangelosi. October 15, 1994: Eric Hillman granted free agency. Mauro Gozzo granted free agency. Jeff McKnight granted free agency. Jonathan Hurst granted free agency. Doug Linton granted free agency. October 25, 1994: New York Mets claimed Bill Spiers on waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. Kevin McReynolds granted free agency. November 16, 1994: New York Mets signed free agent Don Florence of the Boston Red Sox. November 18, 1994: New York Mets traded Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Roa to the Cleveland Indians for Dave Mlicki, Paul Byrd, Jerry Dipoto and Jesus Azuaje. November 23, 1994: Baltimore Orioles signed Frank Seminara of the New York Mets as a free agent. November 28, 1994: New York Mets traded Juan Castillo and Andy Beckerman to the Houston Astros for Pete Harnisch. November 29, 1994: New York Mets traded Quilvio Veras to the Florida Marlins for Carl Everett. San Francisco Giants signed Kenny Greer of the New York Mets as a free agent. November 30, 1994: New York Mets traded Fernando Vina and Javier Gonzales to the Milwaukee Brewers for Doug Henry. December 1, 1994: Cincinnati Reds signed Pete Smith of the New York Mets as a free agent. December 5, 1994: Mets drafted Jason Hardtke from the San Diego Padres. Mets drafted Shawn Hare from the San Diego Padres. December 7, 1994: New York Mets signed free agent Chris Jones of the Colorado Rockies. 1995: January 24, 1995: Texas Rangers signed Shawn Hare of the New York Mets as a free agent. April 10, 1995: Pittsburgh Pirates signed Mike Maddux of the New York Mets as a free agent. April 11, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Brett Butler. May 11, 1995: New York Mets traded Mike Remlinger to the Cincinnati Reds for Cobi Cradle. May 15, 1995: Cleveland Indians claimed Brook Fordyce of the New York Mets on waivers. June 1, 1995: New York Mets selected Dan Murray in 10th round of free agent draft. New York Mets selected Grant Roberts in 11th round of free agent draft. June 8, 1995: New York Mets traded David Segui to the Montreal Expos for Reid Cornelius. June 13, 1995: New York Mets released Mike Birkbeck. July 1, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Alex Escobar. July 28, 1995: New York Mets traded Bobby Bonilla and Jimmy Williams to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford. July 31, 1995: New York Mets traded Bret Saberhagen and David Swanson to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Acevedo and Arnold Gooch. August 4, 1995: Seattle Mariners claimed Eric Gunderson of the New York Mets on waivers. August 18, 1995: New York Mets traded Brett Butler to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Scott Hunter and Dwight Maness. October 16, 1995: Josias Manzanillo granted free agency. Don Florence granted free agency. November 7, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Rick Reed. December 4, 1995: Boston Red Sox drafted Joe Crawford from the Mets. December 5, 1995: Florida Marlins signed Joe Orsulak of the New York Mets as a free agent. December 14, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox. December 15, 1995: New York Mets traded Jeff Barry to the San Diego Padres for Pedro Martinez. December 19, 1995: New York Mets traded Al Shirley to the Kansas City Royals for Brent Mayne. 1996: January 10, 1996: Houston Astros signed Bill Spiers of the New York Mets as a free agent. January 13, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Rob MacDonald. January 17, 1996: New York Mets traded Kelly Stinnett to the Milwaukee Brewers for Cory Lidle. January 18, 1996: New York Mets traded Aaron Ledesma to the California Angels for Kevin Flora. January 22, 1996: New York Mets traded Yudith Ozorio, Erik Hiljus and Eric Ludwick to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bernard Gilkey. January 25, 1996: New York Mets traded Damon Buford to the Texas Rangers for Terrell Lowery. February 20, 1996: New York Yankees signed Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets as a free agent. March 17, 1996: New York Mets traded Pete Walker and Luis Arroyo to the San Diego Padres for Roberto Petagine and Scott Adair. March 26, 1996: New York Mets purchased Joe Crawford from the Boston Red Sox. March 31, 1996: New York Mets traded Ryan Thompson and Reid Cornelius to the Cleveland Indians for Mark Clark. April 8, 1996: New York Mets traded Chris DeWitt to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Franco. April 29, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Endy Chavez. June 4, 1996: New York Mets selected Dicky Gonzalez in 16th round of free agent draft. June 9, 1996: New York Mets traded Blas Minor to the Seattle Mariners for Randy Vickers. July 29, 1996: New York Mets traded Jeff Kent and José Vizcaino to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza. September 13, 1996: Cincinnati Reds claimed Pedro Martinez of the New York Mets on waivers. October 15, 1996: New York Mets released Rob MacDonald. November 4, 1996:San Diego Padres signed Chris Jones of the New York Mets as a free agent. November 21, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Steve Bieser of the Montreal Expos. November 25, 1996: New York Mets traded Paul Byrd to the Atlanta Braves for Greg McMichael. New York Mets released Doug Henry. November 27, 1996: New York Mets traded Jerry Dipoto to the Colorado Rockies for Armando Reynoso. New York Mets traded Rico Brogna to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ricardo Jordan and Toby Borland. December 18, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Brian Bohanon. December 20, 1996: New York Mets traded Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays for John Olerud. December 23, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Todd Pratt. 1997: January 19, 1997:Seattle Mariners signed Brent Mayne of the New York Mets as a free agent. February 10, 1997: New York Mets signed free agent Howard Johnson. March 22, 1997: New York Mets traded Hector Ramirez to the Baltimore Orioles for Manny Alexander and Scott McClain. March 26, 1997: Howard Johnson announced his retirement. New York Mets released Alvaro Espinoza. March 31, 1997: New York Mets claimed Yorkis Perez on waivers from the Atlanta Braves. New York Mets traded Tim Bogar to the Houston Astros for Luis Lopez. May 12, 1997: New York Mets traded Toby Borland to the Boston Red Sox for Rick Trlicek. June 3, 1997: New York Mets selected Tyler Walker in second round of free agent draft. New York Mets selected Eric Cammack in 13th round of free agent draft. New York Mets selected Jason Phillips in 24th round of free agent draft.

seawolf17 Jan 28 2007 09:01 PM

The Good: March 30, 1994: New York Mets traded Steve Long to the Florida Marlins for Robert Person. John Olerud. March 30, 1994: New York Mets traded Anthony Young and Ottis Smith to the Chicago Cubs for José Vizcaino. March 31, 1994: New York Mets traded Alan Zinter to the Detroit Tigers for Rico Brogna. November 28, 1994: New York Mets traded Juan Castillo and Andy Beckerman to the Houston Astros for Pete Harnisch. One of my favorite Mets. November 7, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Rick Reed. Sure, he was a scab. Big whoop. December 14, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox. January 22, 1996: New York Mets traded Yudith Ozorio, Erik Hiljus and Eric Ludwick to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bernard Gilkey. Who? Nice deal. April 8, 1996: New York Mets traded Chris DeWitt to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Franco. Who, part II? December 20, 1996: New York Mets traded Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays for John Olerud. December 23, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Todd Pratt. The Bad: January 5, 1994: New York Mets traded Vince Coleman to the Kansas City Royals for Kevin McReynolds. As much as I'm the only K-Mac nutswinger in the pool, he was certainly done by this point. Not that I was sad to see V-Cole go. November 22, 1993: Baltimore Orioles signed Sid Fernandez of the New York Mets as a free agent. February 3, 1994: Minnesota Twins signed Jeff Innis of the New York Mets as a free agent. Sad to see two of my favorite Mets go, but neither one ever did anything of any real importance after they left. The Ugly: July 28, 1995: New York Mets traded Bobby Bonilla and Jimmy Williams to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford. Sigh. July 29, 1996: New York Mets traded Jeff Kent and José Vizcaino to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza. Sigh. The Funny: December 24, 1993: San Diego Padres signed Eric Gunderson of the New York Mets as a free agent. May 5, 1994: New York Mets signed free agent Eric Gunderson. Hey Eric, we changed our minds. Come on back. December 13, 1993: Mets drafted Charlie Greene from the San Diego Padres . December 5, 1994: Mets drafted Jason Hardtke from the San Diego Padres; Mets drafted Shawn Hare from the San Diego Padres. What was his obsession with San Diego?

cooby Jan 28 2007 09:06 PM

Depending on what exactly a "nutswinger" is, you may not be the only K-Mac one here. I was a fan of his too, though maybe not of the intensity of a "nutswinger".

SteveJRogers Jan 28 2007 09:28 PM

G-Fafif wrote: Didn't hear it, but I know Lenny Dykstra was on the FAN a month or two ago ripping Joe Mac. Not sure if that should be treated as damning evidence against McIlvaine or a tacit endorsement of his judgment. Like most people are it seems these days with the Kazmir deal, they decide it wasn't the main guy pulling the trigger (Duquette and Cashen) but blame an underling or someone who you think has more influence over certain things than they should While Joe Mac was Cashen's talent guy, he wasn't the ultimate decision maker

Frayed Knot Jan 28 2007 09:30 PM

Davey Johnson was also very much behind that deal. Not that he had the power to make it, but stories at the time had him very much pushing fot it or at least for some version of it.

Edgy DC Jan 28 2007 09:46 PM

I seem to remember Cashen running that deal by Johnson on the team bus or something, and him approving it.

Johnny Dickshot Jan 28 2007 09:57 PM

]What was his obsession with San Diego? He worked there and would have known those guys. The hard thing about assessing the Met general managers is that their missions can be dictated by the ownership. Phillips couldn't have been all that more creative than Joe Mac had management not said, "OK, you go go buy Mike Piazza now." That called for a whole different approach. Likewise, I think the Mets could have been more ambitious in hiring outsiders and/or devoting resources to a "Met way" when it came to youngsters in the post-Devine era. But it doesn't appear there was much fighting Grant and the whole "sportsmen" feel of the group when it came to matters such as free agency (which had the Mets adopted, coulda saved Seaver and had us better much sooner). I think the Mets were run very much by Grant the whole time and so he was probably much more comfortable getting "organization men" to fill the top role. I think Grant's main mission was to make/protect Payson;'s $$.

Edgy DC Jan 28 2007 10:19 PM

You certainly have to look over McIllvaine's shoulder when you review his era and see the highest-profile free agent he signed (or even re-signed, I think) being Brett Butler, followed by John Freakin' Cangelosi.

Johnny Dickshot Jan 28 2007 10:58 PM

The Mets have never been consistent embracing free agency, falling in and out of love with the idea abruptly over the years. Another thread connecting the Mets leadership has been poor sucession planning: While Devine was brought in to one day replace Weiss, I don;t think they had a candidate lined up when Casey became disabled (I assume they wanted Hodges but he wasn't ready for them at that point). When Hodges died they quickly and probably foolishly named Berra. They didn't have a replacement for Devine at the ready and so used Murphy; when Murphy dropped dead on the job they turned to Sheffing, who by then was hardly an up-and-comer, etc etc

Edgy DC Jan 29 2007 12:09 AM

The exception who did institute a solid succession plan? Why Joe Fuckin' McIllvaine, that's who, reviving Bobby Valentine's career and parking him in Norfolk until Green played himself out. Harrelson was likely a planned successor to Johnson, even if they had no idea how or when to end Johnson's tenure. Harrelson is remembered as a failure, and he may have been,. but it's hard to look at his team's peformance now and not see it as being in line with where the Mets were going.

G-Fafif Jan 29 2007 07:07 AM

="Edgy DC"]The transactions of McIllvaine (Source: UMDB): 1996: November 27, 1996: New York Mets traded Rico Brogna to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ricardo Jordan and Toby Borland. December 20, 1996: New York Mets traded Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays for John Olerud. The first was idiotic. The second was sublime. I wonder if the second was in the works when the first was consummated. My eternal anger over Rico Brogna being sent away has always been tempered by my eternal gratitude over John Olerud being acquired. That's a mighty big wash on McIlvaine's blotter. G-Fafif Jan 29 2007 07:18 AM Edgy DC wrote: You certainly have to look over McIllvaine's shoulder when you review his era and see the highest-profile free agent he signed (or even re-signed, I think) being Brett Butler, followed by John Freakin' Cangelosi. Somewhere Lance Johnson questions if he's chopped liver. The Mets' 31-year history with free agents (documented within) has cycled in hesitation, binge, regret -- rinse and repeat. Joe Mac came home with ownership in full regret mode. Hesitation was still the order of the day when he departed. The current regime may be taking a more realpolitik view of the whole thing. Omar went for it big-time when it made sense and backed off this winter when the stakes grew ridiculously high. It wasn't the Harazin/Phillips school of let's spend our way to a brighter future just as it wasn't the McDonald/Cashen school of musn't play with the filthy money nor the (most distressing) McIlvaine/Duquette let's not ever do that again school. Perhaps Omar has gone to school on what has come before. Vic Sage Jan 29 2007 12:55 PM I've evaluated his trades based on my judgment as to whether: - a player obtained either contributed meaningfully for the Mets, and at what cost, and/or - value-for-value talent evaluation (degree to which players obtained had significant remaining value, relative to what was given up for them (if anything), and vice versa (for players given up). on the whole, i'd say his moves were a net positive for the Mets. GOOD -November 22, 1993:New York Mets signed free agent Mike Remlinger. (he had a substantial career) -Mets drafted Kelly Stinnett from the Cleveland Indians (ML contributor) -March 27, 1994: New York Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Baltimore Orioles for David Segui. (gave up nothing for player with significant career) -New York Mets traded Anthony Young and Ottis Smith to the Chicago Cubs for José Vizcaino. (gave up nothing for solid contributor) -March 31, 1994: New York Mets traded Alan Zinter to the Detroit Tigers for Rico Brogna. (gave up nothing for significant - if shorterm- career) -November 28, 1994: New York Mets traded Juan Castillo and Andy Beckerman to the Houston Astros for Pete Harnisch. (gave up nothing for contribution to Mets season) -November 29, 1994: New York Mets traded Quilvio Veras to the Florida Marlins for Carl Everett. (borderline player for significant career) -April 11, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Brett Butler. (solid contribution to that Mets season) -November 7, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Rick Reed. (significant career) -December 14, 1995: New York Mets signed free agent Lance Johnson of the Chicago White Sox. (huge contribution for that season) -December 19, 1995: New York Mets traded Al Shirley to the Kansas City Royals for Brent Mayne.(nothing for a solid backup catcher) -January 17, 1996: New York Mets traded Kelly Stinnett to the Milwaukee Brewers for Cory Lidle. (backup catcher for a solid SP) -January 22, 1996: New York Mets traded Yudith Ozorio, Erik Hiljus and Eric Ludwick to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bernard Gilkey. (nothing for one of the best mets seasons ever) -March 31, 1996: New York Mets traded Ryan Thompson and Reid Cornelius to the Cleveland Indians for Mark Clark. (He made a contribution that season) -April 8, 1996: New York Mets traded Chris DeWitt to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Franco. (solid backup) -April 29, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Endy Chavez.(turned out to be a solid backup) -December 20, 1996: New York Mets traded Robert Person to the Toronto Blue Jays for John Olerud. (best trade) -December 23, 1996: New York Mets signed free agent Todd Pratt. (solid backup catcher) BAD -April 7, 1994: Cincinnati Reds claimed Pete Schourek of the New York Mets on waivers (young pitcher played well for a few years). -June 2, 1994: New York Mets selected Paul Wilson in first round (first pick overall) of free agent draft. (bust) -New York Mets selected Terrence Long in first round (20th pick overall) of free agent draft. (bust) -November 18, 1994: New York Mets traded Jeromy Burnitz and Joe Roa to the Cleveland Indians for Dave Mlicki, Paul Byrd, Jerry Dipoto and Jesus Azuaje. (Burnitz went on to a much bigger career than any of the players given up for him) -November 30, 1994: New York Mets traded Fernando Vina and Javier Gonzales to the Milwaukee Brewers for Doug Henry. (Vina had a decent career; Henry didn't do much) -May 11, 1995: New York Mets traded Mike Remlinger to the Cincinnati Reds for Cobi Cradle. (Remlinger ended up a solid RP) -June 8, 1995: New York Mets traded David Segui to the Montreal Expos for Reid Cornelius. (Segui had some good years for other teams) -July 28, 1995: New York Mets traded Bobby Bonilla and Jimmy Williams to the Baltimore Orioles for Alex Ochoa and Damon Buford. (Bonilla had solid years left, and the 2 prospects were busts) -July 31, 1995: New York Mets traded Bret Saberhagen and David Swanson to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Acevedo and Arnold Gooch.(Saberhagen had a few good years left; we got nothing) -July 29, 1996: New York Mets traded Jeff Kent and José Vizcaino to the Cleveland Indians for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinoza. (worst trade he ever made for Mets) -November 25, 1996: New York Mets traded Paul Byrd to the Atlanta Braves for Greg McMichael. (Byrd went on to solid career) -New York Mets traded Rico Brogna to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ricardo Jordan and Toby Borland. (Brogna had strong years for Philly)