The Mets acquired Seattle closer J.J. Putz, presumably to serve as K-Rod's set-up man, in a three team deal with the Mariners and the Indians. The Amazins parted with Endy Chavez, Joe Smith...and AARON HEILMAN!
Yes friends, ding dong, the witch is dead. No longer will the first strains of "London Calling" cause a Pavlovian tightening of Mets fans' sphincters; no longer will we have to see that dead-eyed look in our reliever's eyes as a lead-blowing three run homer sails over the wall. There is no doubt that Heilman was the most hated current Met, a status I ascribe to a) the fact that he sucks, b) all we would hear about was how much he wanted to be a starter (which seemed ludicrous given his inability to routinely get through one inning, and stoked suspicions that he wasn't giving his all because he was unhappy), and c) that Yankee fan-esque complaint that the fact that Heilman sucked didn't seem to bother Heilman all that much (no punching of the water cooler). Simply by offloading him, let alone drastically upgrading their bullpen by adding both Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz inside a 48 hour span, the Mets have radically improved their relations with this particular fan - a tall order considering the Grand Guignol finale to the 2008 season.
On a lighter, sadder note, we would be remiss not to pay tribute to Endy Chavez, the bench player responsible for the greatest Mets moment of the past decade. So here's a warm-up:
And here's the main course:
