How Come We Can't Trade the Players We Hate?

I liked Jeff Francoeur. He had a cannon of an arm. I'm pretty sure he led the majors in outfield assists. Sure, he didn't hit the ball very well this season, but when Frenchy did hit the ball, it mattered. Six of the 11 home runs he has hit either tied the game or put the Mets in the lead. I'll be honest, I was hoping we'd keep Jeff Francoeur around. He seems like such a refreshing clubhouse personality and always has a good demeanor about him.

Frenchy's all-around good persona made him an instant fan-favorite, despite his career low .234 average or whatever it is. I stopped looking at stats about two months ago (save for the strikeout counter, which is sadly bookmarked on my laptop).

Now, Frenchy isn't the only fan-favorite to either not come back next season or get traded mid-season. Most naotably, there is Tom Seaver and the Midnight Massacre. Although it's hard to say who was more upset: the fans or Seaver himself. We got rid of Nolan Ryan; however, Ryan had requested the trade and is now El Presidente of the Texas Rangers, where Frenchy will soon be landing.

More recently, I cried when I found out that Edgardo Alfonzo was going to the Giants. I was upset when Mike Piazza didn't get another year with the Mets. And although I liked Carlos Gomez and was sad when he left, we got Johan Santana in return so we really couldn't mourn that loss for long.

Thinking about how some of these players left and thinking about hasty trading just because we didn't really need Jeff Francoeur anymore (and because he was on Jerry's $#*! list) makes me think that nobody in that Mets front office is thinking about the bottom line. They're not thinking about which players really draw fans to the ballpark. Jeff Francoeur was a player that I would want to sit in right field for. Now I have to retreat back to my usual seat of choice...along the third base line.

I also want to know why we can't trade away the players that we hate. It's not like Luis Castillo is hitting any better than Jeff Francoeur; it's just no team was stupid enough to claim him when he was placed on waivers. I don't anybody, the Mets included, wants to touch Oliver Perez with a 10-foot pole. But at the same time, who wants to pay Oliver Perez $12 million for doing nothing? I wish I could get paid $12 million for doing nothing. Oh wait, that's called hitting the lotto, which is exactly what Oliver Perez did, contractually speaking.

So basically, I'm blaming Omar Minaya for everything. Again. Even with ticket prices slashed down to $11, you're still gonna have the fan base that is pissed off at you...which is basically the whole fan base.

Au revoir, Frenchy. You'll be missed.

David Wright Strikeout Counter: $13.80