Benson news

Today's Paul Meyer Q & A coaches the fans who are reluctant to part with players. Trade 'em all, that's my philosophy. When the team is in last place and would need to sweep a few series to get back to .500, everyone is available for the right price.

You never trade players just to get rid of them, but you can't be afraid to trade good players if you expect to get good players in return. Who knows what Craig Wilson might fetch? It could be worth a deal. One other thing: check out Meyer's rum-addled speculation about the Ruben Mateo trade. I hope he's right on that one. No hint of a source in that speculation so we'll have to wait and see. The Q & A closes with a full-on rant from Charlie Wilmoth worth beholding. I wish I could agree with him.

After overlooking Jason Bay as your 2004 National League Rookie of the Year, Peter Gammons has this about Kris:

"There is absolutely no pitching around right now except for Kris Benson," lamented one AL GM on Monday. "And Dave Littlefield knows what he's doing -- he has the one legitimate starting pitcher and he's going to hold out until he gets a position player who can step in soon." Thus teams like the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees who have chatted about Benson right now don't seem likely to get him.

For Gammons, the Twins appear to be the team with the depth to make a trade with Littlefield.

In Philadelphia, the players are whining to the media that they can't win a championship without help. That should put some pressure on the GM to make a deal.

The Mets want Kris Benson and insist cowardly they won't trade David Wright for him. Shit or get off the pot, Jim Duquette. Are you trying to win a championship this year, or are you just faking it, and hoping to satisfy the fans? If he wants to win now, he is compounding the error he made with Carlos Beltran. Any time you are contending and can trade some overhyped child for a Carlos Beltran or a Kris Benson, you do it. For all we know, Wright will hit like Jack Cust when he gets to the majors. Don't con yourself into thinking David Wright is the equal of Scott Rolen: he's never swung a bat in a major-league game. As we wrote yesterday, perhaps, if Duquette asks, the Pirates will throw in Abraham Nunez, who would immediately become the Mets' best pinch-hitter.

More and more I think Duquette is just faking it. He's too smart to not know the Mets could have anyone they wanted (Adrian Beltre, for example) starting at third next year if they make the playoffs this year. He's playing games with the fans, that's all.

The Yankees need a pitcher and the Unit is the talk of their clubhouse. They don't have much to trade so I doubt they can make a deal. Not unless they want to throw us a huge pile of money: "Here's $10 million for Kris Benson; go get yourself a third baseman."