Thursday Trade Tracker: Colorado Rockies. Sabes, The Other Matsui, and a Playoff Game 1 Pitcher.

Coming off a lost weekend to the Colorado Rockies, when we look back at the trade history between these two National League teams, we see a history of indirect consequences. The largest deal was another huge three team trade that will be examined in a future piece about mega-deals.

The most famous intersection of these teams was a trade that NEVER really happened. Following the 2000 season, NLCS MVP Mike Hampton famously departed for free agency as his family fell in love with the Colorado School System. That was the reason he chose Denver over Queens. Teacher says, "Baloney!" With his salary, his children would have always been in the best private schools money could buy. I don't blame anyone for going with the money (I'm talking to you, Mr. Soto), but don't lie about it.

The compensatory draft pick the Mets received for losing Hampton turned into David Wright, the greatest third baseman in Mets history. Wright, his Number 5 in the rafters, could still make the Hall of Fame one day. Right, (or Wright), Mr. Kent? This "non-trade" remains the most impactful transaction between the two clubs.

July 31, 1995. Mets get RHP Juan Acevedo for RHP Bret Saberhagen.

The first ever trade between the teams was more of a dump than a blockbuster. Saberhagen was a two-time Cy Young winner and a World Series MVP with the Royals. When he arrived at Shea to help lead the Mets to the promised land, he became one of the members of the "Worst Team Money Could Buy". Injuries, Bobby Bo, Jeff Torborg, and Vince Coleman added to the mess of the time. After two injury-plagued years, Saberhagen found his old self during the strike shortened 1994 season. The All-Star finished third in the Cy Young balloting, going 14-4 with a 2.74 ERA. In 177 innings, he only walked 13 batters....the same number of homers he gave up all year!

Saberhagen eventually wound up with the Red Sox, where he had a 15 game winning season. For the most part, the pattern of All-Stars forgetting how to play when they wear the Orange and Blue continued. Right, Mr. Bichette?

Acevedo pitched 47 non-descript innings with the 1997 Mets.

TEACHER SAYS D. You'd think Saberhagen might have had a little more value.

January 14, 2000. Mets get LHP Bobby Jones (not that one) for RHP Masato Yoshii.

When the Mets finally made the playoffs in 1999 after 11 years, you would think the Game 1 starter to go against the Big Unit Randy Johnson in Arizona might have been Al Leiter or Rick Reed. Instead, it was Yoshii. How many of you remember that the game started at 11:00 pm New York time? The first playoff in all these years and we had to stay up until 11! Thank goodness our time wasn't wasted. After Johnson went 8.1 innings, leaving in a tie game, Edgardo Alfonzo's Grand Slam in the ninth off Bobby Chouinard gave the Mets a victory in a series they would capture.

Yoshii didn't pitch very well, giving up 4 runs in 5.1 innings. The scoreless bullpen work of Dennis Cook, Turk Wendell, and Armando Benitez (I hope you weren't eating while reading his name) gave up only one hit in 3.2 innings. Yoshii did win 12 games in 1999, but with a 4.40 ERA. That Met team of Rickey, Alfonzo, Piazza, and Ventura was one of the best offensive teams in Mets history. How did the 1999 team or 2006 team fail to win it all? What's your opinion? Write it in the comments.

Yoshii lost 15 games in his only "Rockie" season. Jones pitched rarely for the Mets. He was no relation to the All-Star right-handed Bobby Jones, who pitched a one-hitter in the playoffs vs San Francisco and won 74 games in a Mets uniform.

TEACHER SAYS C. Meh. Met fans didn't shed any tears when Yoshii left.

June 9, 2006 Mets get C Eli Marrero for 2b Kaz Matsui.

There were grumblings for a long time that the Mets were going to get Japanese star Matsui, a 9 year veteran gold glove type shortstop who hit around .330 every year. Well sign me up! Sounds like a no brainer. Other than hitting a home run in his first major league at-bat, the cracks started to show. Strangely, he hit homers in his first at bat three seasons in a row! One of them was an inside-the-park homer. But that was Kaz's highlight. He rarely hit the ball hard and showed little power (seems like a 2026 Met). His arm was clearly not the arm of a shortstop. As hard as it is to believe today, the Mets actually moved young Jose Reyes to second base to accommodate Matsui! Thankfully, that didn't last too long (about 40 games) before the Mets gave Reyes his position back for the long haul.

Matsui (no relation to Yankee slugger Hideki) wound up playing only 239 games in less than three years as a Met, hitting .256 with only 11 homers. Are you surprised to hear he hit .345 after going to Denver? Do you remember he led the Rockies to their only World Series appearance? He hit .304 in 46 post season at bats. What is it with our uniform?

Marrero had some decent backup years during his 10 year career. His highlight was an 18 homer, 66 RBI year in 2002 in St. Louis. As a Met, he hit .182. Anyone else see a pattern? Is it only the Math Teacher ?

TEACHER SAYS F. Matsui had little value, but Colorado made a World Series with him!

July 31, 2002. Mets get OF Mark Little and RHP John Thomson for OFs Jay Payton and Rob Stratton and pitcher Mark Corey.

Payton was a star at Georgia Tech, where his teammates included Nomar Garciaparra (for you young folks, Nomar is his father's name Ramon spelled backwards) and recently demoted Red Sox coach Jason Varitek. My son Hctim wishes I didn't copy that way of naming a child.

Payton, no relation to Joan, spent the first five years of his professional career going through surgeries, including two Tommy Johns. He finally made it to the Mets in 1998. He was the starting centerfielder for the Mets in the World Series in 2000. Payton finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Rafael Furcal and future Met Rick Ankiel.

Payton hit .291 in his rookie year, with 17 homers and 62 RBI. He had some key hits in the post season, including a clutch hit to drive in the go ahead run in the tenth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS in San Francisco after a blown save by our friend Armando. Jay also hit a 3 run shot off Mariano Rivera in the World Series. Alas, it was not enough. Interestingly, it was the second and last homer Rivera would give up in 141 post season innings (after Sandy Alomar, Jr). Two homers in 141 post season innings. That's about four batters worth for Kodai Senga. (Ghost Fork on the Phantom IL).

Can you guess the kind of success Payton had when he left the Mets? After hitting .332 in half a season in Denver (I know, thin air), he had his best year in 2003 with career highs with 181 hits, 28 homers, and 89 RBI. I remember Payton as being a line drive machine with A+ speed, although he rarely stole bases. What are your memories of Jay?

Little did little as a Met, going 0-3. Thomson only won 2 games in 9 starts as a Met, and later, OF COURSE, won 13 and 14 games in consecutive seasons with Texas and Atlanta. Pattern, anyone?

TEACHER SAYS F. Jay had talent and was an exciting player! We got literally little for him!

July 31, 1999. Mets get OF Darryl Hamilton and LHP Chuck McElroy for LHP Rigo Beltran and OF Brian McRae.

McRae, son of Royals legend Hal McRae, had a clutch year with the Mets of 1998, when they went down to the final weekend still in the post season race. He hit 21 homers and 79 RBI while playing an excellent centerfield. By the next year, he was in the .220s and the Mets were looking to get help in another post season push. Hamilton proved to be quite a pick up. He hit .339 in the 55 games for the Mets (breaking the pattern!) driving in 19. He also hit .353 in the 1999 NLCS vs Atlanta. Is that why Darryl 18 is hanging up at Citifield?

Sadly, Hamilton was murdered by the mother of his 14-month child in 2015. He had been a broadcaster on the MLB Network.

McElroy was one of those lefties that pitched forever. He only pitched 15 out of his career 654 games as a Met. In the days that a lefty could face one batter, McElroy was in the pantheon of LOOGY. Lefty only one guy. Or Left-handed one out guy. Who was your favorite LOOGY? Jesse Orosco, Mike Myers (not Austin Powers), Will Ohman, Randy Choate, Javier Lopez (not the catcher) and later Dan Plesac come to mind. I didn't forget Perpetual Pedro Feliciano!

TEACHER SAYS A. Hamilton helped the Mets get to the post season in back to back years for the first time (out of 2) in their history. Hmmm...maybe Mike Piazza had more to do with that?

Other names you might remember in this trade tracker: Eric Young Jr., Collin McHugh, Kane Davis, Benny Agbayani, Todd Zeile, Carlos Mendoza (not the one you're thinking about!), Armando Reynoso, and present Mariner GM Jerry DiPoto.