Reese Kaplan - Maybe Thomas Wolfe Was Wrong

In 1940 Thomas Wolfe’s novel You Can’t Go Home Again was published posthumously. It detailed the life and times of his protagonist, George Webber, who wrote a novel about life in his hometown of Libya Hill. Apparently they were incensed with his memories and portrayal of them, hence the title of the book.

While trying to figure out how to solve the myriad of Mets roster problems for 2014, a number of people feel comfortable turning to the familiar – players who once had some time in the Shea/CitiField spotlights and whose exploits on the field probably seem a little shinier in retrospect than in reality. There is precedent for reunions. Rusty Staub had two stints with the Mets. So did Tom Seaver. Then there was Bobby Bonilla. There have been others, but none seemed to recapture whatever mojo people thought they had during their Mets sequel.

Towards that end, let’s take a look at some of the former Mets still plying their trade around the majors. They seem to fall into three broad categories:

The Ones That Got Away

Carlos Gomez – Truth be told, he was a solid defender with blazing speed but couldn’t buy a hit as he was starting his major league career. Minnesota soured on him as a poor return for Johan Santana, but he’s turned into one of the best all around players in the game for Milwaukee. He signed a big contract with the Brewers and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Joe Smith – Almost an afterthought in the massive 12 player, 3-team trade with Seattle and Cleveland, it brought the Mets an already injured J.J. Putz, ineffective reliever Sean Green and journeyman outfielder Jeremy Reed. Given the success the sidearmer has sustained in his big league career, the Mets wish they could have cut off Omar Minaya’s cell phone that day.
Darren O’Day – Another Omar snafu, he DFA’d O’Day to make room for the immortal Nelson Figueroa. All Darren has done is turn in a 2.66 ERA and a 1.056 WHIP for his career. Ugh!
Carlos Beltran – Given what Zack Wheeler has done for the past month or so, I don’t think there are too many feeling Sandy Alderson made a mistake dumping the expensive slugger for a top of the rotation starter. However, as the team struggles to score runs and in particular finds itself short of quality outfielders, rumors of a Beltran reunion keep surfacing.
Jose Reyes – In his best Jerry Maguire homage, Jose went to the south Florida sun because unlike the Mets, Jeffrey Loria indeed showed him the money. He’s still hitting well, but his game is his legs and his stolen base totals have been in decline since leaving (injuries notwithstanding). Getting nothing for him hurt, but perhaps not as much as paying $106 million for him. Then again, how many times watching Omar Quintanilla flail away helplessly have you wistfully thought of Reyes alongside a healthy David Wright?
Dale Thayer – Though a short timer with the Mets, much like Smith and O’Day, Thayer has put together a solid career as a bullpen setup guy. This year he’s pitching to a sub 3.00 ERA for the Padres.
Jeff Keppinger – Much like Daniel Murphy, Jeff was a player whose best position on the field was with a bat in his hand. He never had much power, wasn’t blessed with great baserunning ability and only has been able to start sporadically for a variety of teams. However, for his 9 year career with 7 teams he sports a career .282 batting average.
Marco Scutaro – Dismissed as a weak hitting middle infielder, Scutaro has been a World Series hero playing all over the infield and outfield. At age 37 he made the All Star team but his best days are probably behind him.

Meh – Don’t Care Either Way

J.J. Putz – Once he recovered from his injuries he was effective again
Matt Tuiasosopo – He’s showing the power everyone knew he had, but not enough to make you feel pangs of regret
Bruce Chen – A back of the rotation starter who was miscast though much of his career as a front of the rotation guy
Jason Vargas – A solid if unspectacular career, lefty Vargas is the type of innings eater Alderson craves.
Chris Capuano – Now healthy, Capuano is a slightly older version of Vargas
John Buck – He served his stopgap role well, then poorly…at a bargain price as a backup he’d be welcome back but he probably still thinks he’s a starter
Marlon Byrd – Articles I’ve seen are projecting him at 2 years/$12 million. For a guy turning 36 this month, that seems a little high but we’ll remember him fondly (and even more so if Vic Black or Dilson Herrera turn out to be solid major leaguers)
Angel Pagan – The whisper campaign about his work ethic seemed to work well enough that we’re seeing it again now about Ruben Tejada. He got his big contract with San Francisco and in 2012 it felt painful. Watching Juan Lagares patrol CF for minimum wage takes a lot of the sting out of this horrific trade
Henry Blanco – A career backup catcher, he served the Mets well in his brief tenure. It’s a shame he can’t hit a lick.
Endy Chavez – Yes, he’s famous for “The Catch” but he was also serviceable in small doses as a hitter, too.
Rob Johnson – Another in a long line of Travis d’Arnaud predecessors, he showed some pop on rare occasions
R.A. Dickey – A HUGE fan favorite, it was with mixed feelings many fans reacted to the trade to Toronto. However, now that d’Arnaud is here and Noah Syndergaard is blowing away people in AA, people seem to have come around on this deal – especially because the Cy Young pitcher is having more of an Anthony Young type season for the Blue Jays
Darren Oliver – He excelled as the last true long man out of the Mets bullpen, but he’s already old enough to call LaTroy Hawkins, “Kid”.


You Can Have ‘Em

There’s not much to say here with this group other than “Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out…”:

Collin McHugh
Collin Cowgill
Mike Pelfrey
Ronnie Cedeno
Andres Torres
Oliver Perez
Josh Thole
Joaquin Arias
Scott Hairston – He is the only real surprise on the list. It was surprising Alderson held onto him only to let him walk away, but equally surprising he’s fallen flat on his face for both the Cubs and Nationals.