A "Best On The Worst" Side Story: The Donne Wall For Johnny Damon Non-Trade

Every year, I write a 13-part weekly series that spotlights former Mets players who are connected via the theme of the series.  This year's theme, "The Best On The Worst", focuses on Mets players who experienced their best seasons on some rather lackluster Mets teams.

This past week, I turned the focus of the series over to Steve Trachsel, a pitcher who won 66 games as a Met, with 50 games of those victories coming between 2001 and 2004, a four-year period in which the team was nearly 60 games under .500.  While doing research for the piece, I came across a news article that caught me by surprise.  It was so shocking that I felt the need to write a side story to the Trachsel post.  And it's all because of a certain relief pitcher on the Mets who could have been traded for a dynamic leadoff hitter in his prime, but wasn't - the Donne-for-Johnny trade that never was.

Back in December 2000, the New York Times published an article by Murray Chass on the signing of Steve Trachsel.   Chass discussed the flurry of activity by Mets' general manager Steve Phillips, which included the free agent signings of starting pitchers Kevin Appier and Trachsel, as well as a trade for relief pitcher Donne Wall.  At the time, the Mets had a strong bullpen with right-handers Turk Wendell and Armando Benitez and left-handers Dennis Cook and John Franco.  Chass noted that because of the Mets' bullpen depth, Wall could have been flipped to Kansas City as part of a deal that would have brought 27-year-old Johnny Damon to Flushing.

Wall had pitched beautifully for San Diego prior to his acquisition by the Mets, posting a 2.92 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in three years with the Padres.  Meanwhile, Damon had come off a season in which he hit .327 with a league-leading 136 runs scored and 46 stolen bases.  But Damon was a center fielder, and the Mets already had one of those in Jay Payton, who had just finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote.  Damon was also a Scott Boras client, which posed a problem for the Mets for two reasons.

• Damon was about to become a free agent, and Boras had made it clear that Damon would not sign an extension with any team under he first dipped his feet in the free-agent waters.

• A month prior to the acquisition of Donne Wall, the Mets had strained their relationship with Boras because of a botched attempt by Phillips to sign another of Boras' clients - free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

Eventually, the Royals did trade Damon to Oakland, as part of a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  The Mets were left with Payton in center and Wall in the bullpen.  Payton failed to approach his 2000 numbers again as a Met, and within two years, he had been traded to Colorado, where he had a tremendous season (.302, 28 HR, 89 RBI) for the Rockies in 2003.

Wall, on the other hand, was horrible in his one season in New York, losing all four of his decisions and posting a 4.85 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.  Wall allowed multiple runs in a quarter of his 32 appearances and became a part of major league history on August 23, when he allowed a home run to Rockies' starting pitcher Jason Jennings in the ninth inning of a 10-0 loss.  Jennings was making his major league debut in the game, making him the first pitcher in modern major league history (since 1900) to pitch a complete-game shutout and hit a home run in his first big league appearance.

It's no wonder a certain Mets blogger who attended that game will never forget what he witnessed on that infamous night at Shea Stadium when Jennings took Donne "over the" Wall.

Jason Jennings - #NeverForget

Like Donne Wall, Johnny Damon also had an off-year for his new team in 2001.  But for Damon, his off-year in Oakland still produced 108 runs scored and 27 stolen bases, even though his batting average dropped to .256.  However, unlike the Mets, Oakland reached the postseason in 2001, and Damon was outstanding in his first playoff experience (.409 batting average, .591 slugging percentage).  Damon parlayed his October brilliance into a free-agent contract with the Red Sox and became a legend in Boston.  Wall became an ex-Met following the 2001 season and an ex-baseball player by June 2002.

Imagine how things could have turned out different for the Mets had they actually acquired Johnny Damon for Donne Wall and friends.  Steve Trachsel might never have been a candidate for "The Best On The Worst" because the Mets might never have become a last-place team.  It's a non-trade Mets fans will never forget.
 

Free Agent Season Has Begun; Shop Early, Shop Often

Attention, GM shoppers! The Free Agent Warehouse is officially open for business. Throughout our store, you will find everything to help fix your team. From starting pitchers to power hitters. From bullpen help to role players. Everything is here to satisfy your needs. Please be aware that there are no rain checks in case we are sold out of the players you’re looking for. Also, we do not accept coupons. Yes, we’re talking to you, Daddy Less-bucks and Little Orphan Jeffy, so stop asking us if we have any “buy one, get one free” deals. It doesn’t work that way at the Free Agent Warehouse.

We hope you brought your checkbooks. We will have many registers open to help speed up your free agent shopping and numerous player agents will be on hand to assist you. If you have any questions, please direct them to our manager, Mr. Bora$. Now let’s take you on a tour of our store.

First, we have our electronics department. Here is where you will find all the gamers, such as John Lackey. His tenacity, determination and consistency will help your team fill a very important spot in the starting rotation. If you do not find John Lackey on the shelves, perhaps we can interest you in a different pitcher. We always have Joel Piñeiro and Jason Marquis in stock. They’re not the hot item of the week, but they can provide a cheaper alternative to John Lackey. For those inquiring about when Roy Halladay will be in stock, we were told that he will not be available at the Free Agent Warehouse for another year. If you are here for Halladay and only Halladay, please report to the corner pawn shop, where trading is encouraged.

You will also find batteries in our electronics department. A good battery consists of a pitcher who can throw any pitch and spot it exactly where his catcher wants. We just received a new shipment of Bengie Molina for any team who needs a replacement battery. Brian Schneider is somewhere on the battery wall, but he’s in need of some recharging.

From here, we take you to our lighting department. Without proper lighting, your home stadium will suffer from a lack of power. We have multiple items that may be to your liking. We have received many requests for Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. As you all know, without our customers we have nothing. Therefore, we are proud to announce that both Holliday and Bay are available. Power is not cheap, so we hope you came prepared to spend if you choose to brighten your stadium with those bulbs. If you have dark corners in your home stadium, we have Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan and Hank Blalock, all of which can provide temporary power help. Of course, we still have our older models like Carlos Delgado, but we cannot guarantee that he will be bright for an entire season.

Over here, we have our hardware section. These players have the tools to bring a team together. They might not light up the scoreboard, but they provide the glue that solidifies the team. Orlando Hudson and Chone Figgins are our most requested items. Another item that may intrigue you is Mark DeRosa. He is one of our most versatile tools, providing assistance in your infield and outfield.

Our toddler section is under renovation, so you will not find any players there at the moment. We hope to reopen it by next year at the earliest, or perhaps in two seasons. By then, we’ll have Manny Ramirez and Milton Bradley as the toddler section’s main attractions.

Although you have all winter to buy the free agents we have in stock, please remember that all purchases are final. Also, we are not responsible for damaged goods. We are not forcing you to buy anything in our store. You’re making that decision on your own. If you make a poor purchase, it’s on your hands. However, if you find free agent gold, your fans will be dancing in the streets.

That’ll end the tour of the Free Agent Warehouse. We hope you found something of interest for your team. For those of you who need to use the rest room before leaving, please be careful when you flush so that your wallets don’t accidentally fall in. Yes, Mr. Minaya. I’m talking to you. We don’t want you to come up with a convenient excuse if someone else comes in and scoops up one of the players on your shopping list.

Don’t forget to come again soon. We’ll be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the winter to serve all of your shopping needs. We’re the Free Agent Warehouse, where no one has to go home empty-handed.

Note: The photo of the $100 bills at the top of this blog has a hidden meaning behind it. Besides the obvious reminder to Omar Minaya to use some of those bills this off-season, the #100 is special because this is the 100th Studious Metsimus blog. On behalf of Joey, I would like to thank all of our loyal readers for making the first 100 blogs a blast. Time to get started on the next 100!