The Mets have announced that RHP Nelson Figueroa and reliever Jorge Sosa have been designated for assignment. Claudio Vargas has been called up from New Orleans and reliever Matt Wise has been activated from the Disabled List.
They have also placed outfielder Angel Pagan on the 15-day disabled list with an injured shoulder and called up Fernando Tatis who was tearing it up in New Orleans.
Maybe it was a fear of public fan backlash…
Maybe it was a momentary lapse of bad judgement…
Maybe it was the fear of Billy Wagner’s comments going public…
Whatever the reason was, we may never really know, but somehow common sense prevailed and Joe Smith will remain with the Mets for the time being. While many sites already reported the decision to send Joe Smith down had already been made, we held out hope at Mets Merized and put up a convincing case for keeping the young right hander right where he was. The hell with all the economic ramifications, this was the right move.
Last night Billy Wagner echoed our sentiments when he said, "Does he deserve to get sent down? No. With a bullpen like ours, you need arms and he’s been throwing the ball fantastic. He’s throwing the ball as well as anyone in here. It would be a shot to our bullpen if he got sent down. He is probably the best pitcher in our bullpen right now."
Bravo Billy! Tell it like it is… We’re sick of management blowing smoke up our ass.
Last night during the loss to the Nationals, Joe Smith showed why he deserved to stay when he struck out Austin Kearns, Rob Mackowiak and Jesus Flores in the eighth inning. It was like a giant exclamation point!
I don’t know if we ultimately lose Figueroa and Sosa to other teams, but quite frankly I don’t really care. As I wrote early this morning, Figgy needed to be removed from the rotation and Claudio Vargas needed to show us what he can do. Maybe he’s the answer, maybe he’s not, but we needed to find out.
I’m feeling good about today’s announcements. I think we made all the right moves.
