Missing Trachs

I noted last month that the Mets would find Steve Trachsel hard to replace, given how well he’d pitched from June 2001 (when he returned from a brief trip to Norfolk) through the end of 2004, a period of more than three and a half years. Well, David Pinto’s Day by Day Database gives us a chance to revisit Trachsel’s numbers and compare him to others for that period. See if you can guess, before you click the link, which of the following pitchers is Trachsel, and which are Leiter, Glavine, Clemens, Mussina, Maddux and Mulder:

Of course, some of those guys pitched in the AL, and Trachsel himself, much like Leiter and Glavine, may find it hard to return to that level. But it’s still an impressive run.
Speaking of returns from injury, one of the hot issues right now is what to do with Mike Cameron, specifically whether the Mets are likely to be able at some point to get good value if they trade him. I was thinking that one of the teams that could actually use Cameron is the Hated Yankees, who (1) with the Sierra injury are down to at most 9 guys on the roster you could write into the starting lineup on consecutive days with a straight face and (2) could desperately use a defensive upgrade from Bernie in center field. But aside from the difficulties in doing a Mets-Yankees deal, there’s another problem that points to a bigger issue with the Yanks: for all their money, aside from the core players they won’t part with, they’ve got nothing left worth trading for. That’s one reason for Yankee fans to worry: while the current roster is still the strongest in the game, I have trouble seeing how they can make a significant deal in season this year. They’re thin on prospects, they won’t and shouldn’t part with their surplus in middle relief, and you can’t sign free agents in July. That will mostly leave them picking over guys whose teams will dump them for a song just to get rid of their contracts. For once, George may have to dance with the roster that brung him.