First of all, I continue to be tied up with work stuff, so apologies if blogging has been a bit light around here . . . I was going to blog on the Kris Benson for Mike MacDougal and Jeremy Affeldt rumor, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside now.
Still, I wouldn’t be heartbroken to see Benson go:
1. Pedro-Glavine-Heilman-Trachsel-Seo, possibly with Zambrano as a long man/emergency starter, sounds fine to me. They can afford to part with Benson for help elsewhere, say in the bullpen (presumably, they can’t find anyone dumb enough to take Benson with one of the Mets’ other starters for a better starter).
2. Benson’s K/9 rates by month, 2004-05 (Sept. 04 includes one October start, and he missed April 05):
| Month | K/9 |
|---|---|
| Apr 04 | 6.16 |
| May 04 | 6.00 |
| June 04 | 5.86 |
| Jul 04 | 5.01 |
| Aug 04 | 4.80 |
| Sept 04 | 8.45 |
| May 05 | 7.68 |
| Jun 05 | 1.97 |
| Jul 05 | 6.69 |
| Aug 05 | 4.33 |
| Sept 05 | 3.26 |
Call me paranoid, but especially with Benson’s poor durability record, that severe dropoff the last two months of 2005 scares me. I’m concerned that Benson is a ticking time bomb, and an expensive one.
The newest rumor mill has Benson going to the Rangers for Lance Nix and change.
https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmets1208,0,3083812.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines
Pull the trigger on that one Omar. The article also mentions that Zito “welcomes” a trade to New York. Perhaps an all-star break addition for the stretch run….
That K/9 ratio is really a strange one. I’m not sure what it reflects unless perhaps its that Benson is a pitcher of unpredictable streaks. Since momentum is only as good as your next starting pitcher, it’s far better to know who is coming every 5 days, instead of wondering if Sandy Koufax or Rich Rodriguez is your next starter.