In the eyes of Mets fans aplenty, Paul Lo Duca and Guillermo Mota were two different people. As the Rolling Stones once said, "You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might just find that you get what you need."
Paul Lo Duca couldn’t wait to re-sign with the Mets. New York is his home, a true blue Brooklyn boy. However, Omar Minaya and the front office decided on September 30 that they didn’t want Lo Duca. No good-bye, no thanks for the memories. I, personally, wanted Crazy Eyes for another year because he gave the team a spark that Willie Randolph didn’t. On the other side of the spectrum, we had Guillermo Mota, who was locked with the Mets for another year. Nobody wanted him. At first, it was because of the happy pills. Then it was because he stunk up the field. One of Mota’s 2007 teammates even said that it wasn’t going to work out with him because the booing at home got to him.
Omar Minaya dealt with both his catching situation and his Mota situation in one trade. By acquiring Johnny Estrada from the Brewers, emotions of Mets fans everywhere reached an ultimate high and then fell back down. The fact that Mota is gone has us fans grinning from ear to ear. It also comes as a shock that the Brewers were actually stupid enough to take him. But once all the dust has settled, there is only one realization: Paul Lo Duca is gone for good. This time, it’s for real. At least the numbers of Estrada and Lo Duca are virtually the same, and Omar isn’t trying to downgrade like he did when we almost signed Torrealba. The acquisition of Johnny Estrada also gives us two Johns to go with our three Carlos-es and two Pedros.
You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might just find that you get what you need. Thanks for the memories, Paulie. We hope you continue onward in your quest to follow Mike Piazza.
