We tend to have short attention spans in this new media digital age. We tweet, surf the web and instant message while texting all at once. We Hulu a show that we could’ve easily watched a few nights before but our DVR was already pushing it’s limits in capacity- full of television fodder most likely never to be viewed- exiled into digital purgatory. That’s who we are now. We are the collective products of our time.

I also love how many people seem to disregard history and it’s underlying teachings. Let me take you back to 1998. An All-Star and future Hall of Fame catcher, Mike Piazza of the Los Angeles Dodgers,was in the final year of his contract.

The Dodgers, in a move that will forever rank amongst the most insane in professional sports history, traded their prized backstop to the Florida Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Manuel Barrios.

To complete this cacophony of stupidity, the Marlins who at the time were in a “rebuilding” mode, within days traded Mike Piazza to the New York Mets for three cans of corn. Actually it turned out to be Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz.

Steve Phillips for all of his personal shortcomings – perhaps a bad choice of words on my part – should forever in Mets history be congratulated, thanked and dare I say honored for making such a bold move to acquire a player as Mike Piazza.

Least we not forget, if Steve Phillips had not traded for Piazza, the Mets would have had none other than Todd Hundley behind the dish. Yes you remember the guy that set the all time single season record for homeruns by a catcher with 41 in 1996, only to have that record eclipsed in 2003 when Javy Lopez hit 42.

Hundley’s career was never the same after elbow reconstructive surgery in 1998.

When he returned the Mets briefly experimented with Hundley in left field. Never returning to his previous star form, Hundley was eventually traded to ironically, the Dodgers and yet again ironically for Charles Johnson and Roger Cedeno. There’s that history thing always sneaking up on ya.

Recently I wrote a piece why Omar Minaya should make a real and concerted effort to land Cliff Lee of the Mariners. In recent posts surfacing around the web, it’s been noted that the New York Yankee’s have shown interest in acquiring Lee, and some have said almost with an odd certainty that a deal for Lee is set in stone. Hasn’t history taught us anything?

Steve Phillips didn’t HAVE to put his hat in the Mike Piazza sweepstakes. He could have rested on his laurels and remained satisfied with even a recovering Todd Hundley. He could have swung a deal for catcher, perhaps even Charles Johnson himself at the time using different bait. He didn’t. He thought BIG.

So many of us out here would be satisfied if the Mets were to acquire an innings eater type of pitcher. A Kevin Millwood, Jake Westbrook has been mentioned. Good guys but not game changers.

This is New York if you’re coming to play you bring your “A” game and you go BIG. The Yankee’s aren’t wringing their hands on the complexities of whether or not they SHOULD go after Lee. They instinctively know they should because the opportunity avails itself.

To those of you who argue that we can’t trade the farm my answer to you is historical, did Steve Phillips trade the farm for Piazza? No. Creativity in Major League Baseball trades is actually more common place than you think, it’s the moxie to pull them off that is what’s in question, especially for the Mets.

So before you put finger to keyboard just ask yourself this question, if you were Omar Minaya and you had an opportunity to land a Cy Young winner, would you go the easy and safe route of a lesser talent or would you go big and show not just the rest of Baseball but your fans, that winning it all is you’re ONLY goal?

In the words of the great Jake Taylor:

“I guess there’s only one thing left to do…win the whole @#$&^*! thing!”

The Mets need another pitcher for the starting rotation; there is no doubt about that.  It looks like if/when John Maine returns from the DL he’s going to be placed in the pen. Oliver Perez has lost his locker as he is now on the DL and who knows when we’ll see him again.  Takahashi did a great job but it looks like the league is starting to catch up to him, especially the 3^rd time facing the lineup.  That’s not a knock on him; if you look at his numbers the opposing team hit him better after the 5^th inning.  He excelled when he was in the pen as the long man and if you really think about it the bullpen has suffered a bit since he went into the rotation.

There are 3 pitchers that will be available: Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee and Kevin Millwood.  If you paid attention closely this season you can see the Mets have been busy building trade chips.  Once Daniel Murphy got injured and Ike Davis became the 1^st baseman the Mets decided they were going to make him a jack of all trades.  Murphy is a natural 3^rd baseman and he played a decent 1^st base last year.  The Mets also were going to have Murphy work on playing both the outfield and 2^nd base in the minors.  Unfortunately for the Mets Murphy was the victim of a cheap slide last week in Triple A and is out for the season.

The Mets over the weekend cut ties with Garry Matthews Jr.  They also put 2^nd baseman Luis Castillo on the DL.  They called up Ruben Tejada from Triple A and the plan is for Tejada to get most of the playing time while in the majors.  Just to remind you guys Tejada made the team out of camp and was very impressive in the field but his bat needed work.  Tejada went down, worked hard and improved his offense.  He had some good hits over the weekend.  What some may not know is that the Mets have another 2^nd baseman in the minors who is tearing it up and is projected to be the future 2^nd baseman of the team, Reese Havens.  I’ve read online over the last few weeks that he could be ready for 2011.  The Mets don’t need 2 futures at 2^nd base and I think that the Mets are showcasing Tejada to trade him at the deadline.

As of this writing there is speculation that the Mets are going to call up 31 year old outfielder Jesus Feliciano.  Feliciano is a career minor leaguer who has never really gotten a chance.  As he has gotten older he has dominated Triple A pitching.  He has been hitting close to .400 this year in Buffalo.  The Mets do plan on Carlos Beltran coming back and Angel Pagan has more than earned his spot on this roster, so once Beltran comes back they won’t need an outfielder.  If I had to guess I’m guessing that like Tejada Feliciano is trade bait.

The Mets need pitching and if these guys are packaged in a trade for a pitcher then so be it.  Now I would guess F-Mart and perhaps another minor leaguer will have to be part of a package for Cliff Lee.  Lee would be great to have on this team.  This guy wants to stick it to the Phillies.  If it wasn’t for him it’s a good chance the Phillies would have been swept by the Yankees in the World Series.  He has proved that he can pitch in New York and think of a front 3 with Santana, Pelfrey and Lee.  Add Dickey and Niese into the equation and you have a pretty formidable rotation.  I know that he will be a one year rental and that’s why the Mets cannot trade Mejia for him.  If the Mets cannot sign him next year then they can get the draft picks from the team that signs him and rebuild what they lost in the trade.

I don’t want Oswalt on this team.  He’s had back injuries and he’s owed a lot of money.  I would rather the Mets go after Millwood.  I think Millwood on a good team can help a rotation.  He might not be in Lee’s league but I believe that he would be more beneficial than Oswalt.

Overall the Mets are in a good position.  The Mariners wouldn’t mind cutting salary as I’m sure the same can be said about Baltimore.  Barring injury, the Mets can add a good to great pitcher at the trade deadline and they won’t have to sell the farm to get him.

Martin says that despite his 0-5 record, the 35-year-old Millwood has pitched well in his first season with Baltimore. He currently has a 3.89 ERA this season with a 1.27 WHIP and 58 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched.

“I wouldn’t mind pitching in New York,” Kevin Millwood said before Baltimore lost 3-1 to the Yankees last night in the Bronx. “It’s a great city. But it’s not really up to me whether I do or don’t.”

Millwood also had a solid season last season, going 13–10 with a 3.67 ERA in 31 starts for the Texas Rangers.

As for Wigginton, he has played some first and third base, but has spent most of the season playing second base, a position the Mets could certainly upgrade with his bat.

Wigginton is making just $3.5MM this season in the final year of his contract and is having another solid season batting .282 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI.

“I absolutely loved playing there,” Wigginton said of his time with the Mets, where he came up in 2002. “But I really don’t think about what’s going to happen with trades and all that.”

Obviously, both Wiggy and Millwood would be solid additions to a team that lacks depth on the bench and in the rotation. They may be easier to acquire than Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee of the Mariners.

Will put up links in morning, but learned Mets are talking to Brewers about a Maine-Corey Hart swap, and also with Rangers about Kevin Millwood.

While I don’t really understand the reasoning behind trading Maine for Hart, I am intrigued about Kevin Millwood who won 13 games last season and posted a 3.67 ERA while pitching in a real hitters haven.

Hart batted.260 last season with 12 homeruns and 48 RBIs and missed a large portion of the season due to an appendectomy. Like Maine, he is eligible for arbitration in the next two years.

I’m not a big fan of Corey Hart and I admit he had a solid season in 2007, but he has declined offensively two straight seasons since then. Slg Pct .539 – .459 – .419  Bat Avg .295 – .268 – .260 

I do like Kevin Millwood, but of course that also depends on the price.

Millwood is in the final year of his contract that will pay him $12 million this season.