Burrell was hitting just .202/.292/.333 this year and had fallen out of favor with the organization and the fans.

But what is most important to note is that the Rays, a low market revenue team, also bit the bullet on the remaining $9 million dollars of Pat Burell’s salary.

Could you even imagine the Mets ever doing something so bold, even if it meant improving the team?

Knowing how the Mets operate of late, rather than considering the possibility of parting ways with Gary Matthews Jr. or (cover your ears) Oliver Perez, I’m sure they are instead now looking at the .202 hitting Burrell and wondering if he would be a good bargain for the bench at a substantial savings. Oh boy… 

And so it goes…

Had the deal of went through here is how things would have panned out:

New York Mets Trade: Luis Castillo
Tampa Bay Rays Trade: Pat Burrell
Chicago Cubs Trade: Milton Bradley
Los Angeles Angels Trade: Gary Matthews Jr.

New York Mets Receive: Gary Matthews Jr.
Tampa Bay Rays Receive: Milton Bradley
Chicago Cubs Receive: Luis Castillo
Los Angeles Angels Receive (Presumably): Pat Burrell

However, as Stark points out the deal fell threw for an unknown reason. I’m merely speculating here, but when dealing with such large and huge contracts it probably came down to money.

Last season with the Angels, Matthews hit .250 with only four home runs and 50 RBIs in 316 at-bats. Those numbers are rather unimpressive to say the least and to be honest I think the Mets are better off holding onto Castillo.

I just confirmed that the Mets did not make any deal involving Pat Burrell, but they do have a passing interest. You can all exhale now.

Original Post 11:15 AM

According to a post on Philly Burbs, the Mets may have acquired Pat Burrell from the Cubs after they acquired him from the Rays.

Former Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell has reportedly been swapped twice this morning, eventually landing with Phils division rival the New York Mets.

The Tampa Bay Rays traded the slugging left fielder to the Chicago Cubs then the Cubs dealt Burrell to the Mets. Names of other players involved in the deals were not immediately available.

Don’t know if this is entirely accurate, but I’m currently trying to confirm this with someone on the Mets or at the Post. As soon as I get a second confirmation, I will update this post.

So far I spoke to one contact who told me that he doubted the accuracy, and didn’t believe Burrell could be flipped in a second trade without the first trade being made public first or at least leaked by what he called “some overly ambitious” Rays beat writers.

Don’t hang your hat on this one just yet as it wreaks of some Philly shenanigans to me. It may eventually happen, but for now this report is entirely premature.

Stay tuned…

Says who?

I don’t know who concocted this crazy rumor, but it’s about as nuts as the one that had us going after Milton Bradley. Actually, I’d rather have Bradley than Burrell, at least Bradley can field his position and he still has a potent bat.

The only reason the Mets are trading Luis Castillo is not because of his offense (which is still pretty solid), but it’s because of his limited range at second base. He sucks defensively on so many levels except for turning the double play. I absolutely hope we do trade him and bring in Orlando Hudson on a reasonable deal, but no way would I ever trade him for Pat Burrell.

Why on earth would we want Burrell who is not only terrible offensively (.221/.315/.367),  but he has the worst range among left fielders in the game.

He’s literally a slug out there and would even make Daniel Murphy look like Carl Crawford in left. Can you even imagine the horror of seeing Burrell patrolling one of the largest left field territories in the league?

And for those who see him as a solution at first base (either part time or full time) give me a freaking break. He was so bad at first base when he first came up in 2000, that he was banished to leftfield where the Phillies thought he would do the least amount of damage. He hasn’t even picked up a first baseman’s glove in almost 10 years.

Castillo’s .732 OPS blows Burrell’s .682 out of the water, and Burrell struck out 119 times in 412 at-bats - that’s twice as many strikeouts as Castillo had (58).

I can almost here the snickers coming from Philadelphia, and see the sight of Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino giving us the universal choke sign.

One more thing, can we please stop referring to Burrell as a Met Killer, because those days ended long ago.

However, if you really want to resurrect his status as a Mets Killer, than go ahead and make the trade. He’ll kill us alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Mets have 53 home runs, worst in the majors.  The Phillies have 126 and the Yankees 136.  Gary Sheffield leads the team with 10 homers, and David Wright still only has 5.  FIVE. 

Speaking of Wright, while he’s batting a respectable .322, his 5 homers and 44 RBI puts him in the company of guys like Jacoby Ellsbury (5, 29), Freddy Sanchez (6, 34) or Pat Burrell (5, 32).  Those are decent players, but Wright is supposed to be more in the company of guys like Ryan Braun (16, 58) or Albert Pujols (34, 90).  In fact, Wright has similar power numbers to teammate Daniel Murphy (5, 29).  What the hell is that?

The Mets have 814 hits and 362 RBI.  The Phillies have 804 hits and 457 RBI.  Think about that….less hits, but almost 100 more runs batted in? 

The Mets have one complete game, and it’s not by Johan…it’s by Livan.  The Giants and Royals each have 8 complete games to lead the majors.  The GIANTS and ROYALS.

Mets’ pitchers have given up 361 walks, trailing only Washington (365) for worst in the majors.  And of course, their 10 balks leads the majors by far, thanks mostly to Pelfrey’s “yips.” 

The Mets could have had Raul Ibanez, who has 24 homers, 65 RBI and is batting .316 for you-know-who.  

The Phillies’ notable rookie this year is pitcher JA Happ, who is 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 65 strikeouts.  The Mets’ notable rookie is F-Mart, who is batting .176 with one homer and 8 RBI. 

Amazingly, the Mets’ hitters have only struck out 501 times, which is best in the majors.  But I guess power hitters strike out more, and the Mets have almost no power, so in that context it makes sense. 

The Phillies’ top home run hitters are Ibanez (24), Ryan Howard (23), Chase Utley (21) and Jayson Werth (20).  The Mets’ top home run hitters are Sheffield (10), Carlos Beltran (8), and Wright (5).  Oh, and Jeff Francoeur also has 5, but he hit most of those with the Braves. 

I probably just made you all sick, and I’m right there with you.  I can’t wait for this season to be over so we can move on!