We are back with Five-Thought Friday:
1. If Guillermo Mota pitches well and Joe Smith continues to pitch well could the Mets finally feel comfortable trading Aaron Heilman in July. It could be, though, that as Heilmanâs salary climbs and his effectiveness teeters, his value drops. It is possible, therefore, that the Mets already have missed the best window to trade the righty.
2. One storyline that was persistent just a few weeks ago was worry about the Yankees monitoring Phil Hughesâ workload, hoping to keep him at about 175 innings despite the needs of the big club for him to pitch a lot and pitch well. Now, the Yanks have the worst of all worlds, Hughes had first a hamstring injury and now a severe ankle sprain and will be fortunate to get to even 100 innings this year. Which means the Yankees have the concern again next year about raising Hughesâ innings too dramatically in one year.
3. Billy Donovan is the latest person who swore he wasnât leaving, he wasnât chasing the money, he was happy exactly where he was; and then left for the money. So, please, this is another call to the naïve to stop listening when Alex Rodriguez says he is going to stay. He will stay if the Yanks fork up a five- or six-year extension at between $25 million to $30 million annually. Or else he is leaving for more money, and not â NOT â because his personal life was revealed in the newspaper. Everything else is superfluous, it is always about the money.
4. You know the Mets wish there was a way just to put Moises Alou and Orlando Hernandez on ice until Oct. 1. Instead, they will spend a season holding their breath that two older, brittle guys with clutch pedigrees can make it through a year to help the organization make it through October.
5. Who knows what will happen in a short playoff series, but over 162 games, the Mets are 7-10 games better than everyone else in the National League. You know it. I know it. But, most important, the Mets know it and the rest of the NL knows it.
