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He Walks Off, We Make Out

Dear No. 18 and No. 33,

On Thursday, whatever your names are, we welcome you to the New York Mets organization. You are ours because he (who shall go unnamed) is theirs (who shall go unnamed). Apparently, the way that this thing works is that when he (who shall go unnamed) bolted southbound not long after flushing our season down the toilet, we get what is called compensation.

The last time this happened, it worked out pretty well. After taking us to the World Series, another lefthander bolted, in this case westward. Something about the educational benefits of living in the Mountain Time Zone. He eventually ended up southbound as well. We ended up with a third baseman and a setup man. By the time you end up with us, one of those men will be your captain, and one almost surely won't be here.

Even if you don't stick around, chances are you have some value to us. A quarter-century ago, we lost another southpaw to the South, and for some reason still unbeknownst to us, were rewarded with compensation. We parlayed a piece of that compensation into a necessary piece towards winning a championship.

Anyway, Mr. 18 and Mr. 33, I just wanted to let you know that you will be appreciated for whatever skill-sets you bring to the table, as you make your way to the big leagues. I will promise you right now that if either of you earn your way into our uniform, you shall immediately be granted honorary "favorite player" status in my book (or blog). Hopefully, you will be devastating opponents for many years to come.

Best of luck in your futures. May all your recaps be happy ones.
- Mets Walk-Offs.


True Metsdraftees know...That just in case you needed a transation: The Mets got the 18th and 33rd picks in the MLB Draft as compensation for the Braves signing of Tom Glavine. The last time they got compensatory picks (when Mike Hampton signed with the Rockies after the 2000 season), they drafted David Wright and Aaron Heilman with them. They also had success with compensatory picks in 1983, selecting Calvin Schiraldi (traded for Bob Ojeda) and Stan Jefferson after the Braves signed away Pete Falcone.

The Mets also did ok in the compensatory selection department after losing Darryl Strawberry, selecting "Righty" Bobby Jones with the pick they received in exchange.

Cap tip to Toasty Joe for a recent Glavine piece that inspired the 3rd-to-last sentence in my letter.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well one thing is for sure...the Mets have a large number of needs down on the farm.

One thing not yet known, do the Mets play by the slotting system or not?

Hope Not.
12:54 PM
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