Matthew Cerrone

Health: Burgos makes Rehab Start
By Matthew Cerrone - Aug 6, 2008 2:08 pm

Mets RHP Ambiorix Burgos pitched to nine batters and allowed three hits and two runs while striking out four in two innings during his first minor-league rehab game for the GCL Mets in St. Lucie.

The Mets acquired Burgos in a trade with the Royals during 2006 for Brian Bannister, who is 7–10 with a 5.37 ERA this season.

In 17 appearances for the Mets in 2007, Burgos was 1–0 with a 3.42 ERA, during which he struck out 19 batters in 23 innings while batters hit just .200 against him.

89 Responses to “Health: Burgos makes Rehab Start”

  1. starz31 says:

    Sweet…we could use another pitcher to blow leads for us.

  2. Chan Ho Parking Lot says:

    So there is still a chance for this trade to turn out in favor of the Mets after all.

    • yagottabelieve says:

      I’ve been a huge supporter of this trade all along, even when Bannister was having his Jae Seo season last year. Anytime you can trade an unproven finesse pitcher with fringe stuff for a power pitcher with the potential to dominate, you have to do it. If you hated the Owens/Lindstrom/Bell trades (as I did), you have to respect it when the team does the opposite

  3. therealsince86 says:

    It already has. We have not had to see Bannister pitch anymore.

  4. grotesmask says:

    What’s the latest on CHurch?????

  5. MealTicket says:

    As I’ve said before, Burgos is young (younger than Joe Smith, for example.) His upside is great. Bannister is what he is, a so-so starter whose best days may well be behind him.

    • dwright012 says:

      he’s younger by a month.. for all arguements sake they’re the same age

      • MealTicket says:

        Sure. Point taken. Then he’s also the same age, roughly, as Robert Parnell, another prospect coming up through the ranks. And I can’t imagine anyone saying–as they did, repeatedly, about Burgos–that Parnell is worthless and a failure, based on what he’d done at age 22, 23 and 24.

        • mikepelfreyismyguy says:

          listen, mealticket, your clueless, arent you, bobby parnell is going to be a 3 starter or a dominant set up man, brian bannister and burgos are LIKE THE SAME AGE DAMN IT, and third, WOW FINESSE OVER POWER, your saying that your saying greg maddux, tom glavine, jamie moyer, and now mike mussina all suck, i dont think so. in the minors, he thought of as having the control of maddux. and get this, in his last three starts, 7 innings each, allowing 9 runs, and this is the royals, a team with a bad offense and record, if he was with the mets, there wouldnt be a problem, but i do think that burgos will be a great power arm, he can blow people, which is funny.

        • therealsince86 says:

          Before you start raising your voice again, exactly how are Burgos and Bannister the same age?
          Burgos is 24 and Bannister is 27.

        • MealTicket says:

          Whoa there, MikePelfreyismyguy. Deep breath, son.

          I was making a point about age and age alone. That some were too quick to dismiss Burgos, even though he was (and is) young.

          Never said anything about finesse vs. power pitching. And as therealsince86 points out, you might want to check you facts BEFORE typing..

        • mikepelfreyismyguy says:

          oh, i was gonna say joe smith, my bad. apologies.

          but yeah, i get what you are trying to say. you are stating the advantages of the trade, so ok. but i mean yeah, burgos, if healthy, could be a welcome addition

  6. mex84 says:

    Did he have “Tommy John” surgery?

  7. ToastyJoe says:

    The Amburglar Returns!

  8. gowrightgo says:

    Bannister had a big year last year and Burgos, was actually sent down last year to improve his game in the minors then he got hurt.

    Last year it was a complete homerun for the Royals. This year, Bannister is reverting to the number 5 pitcher he actually is and Burgos is recovering from tommy john surgery…so it seems like we may have the edge possibly returning since Burgos still has fire in that arm.

    If Burgos becomes a servicable 7th or 8th inning reliever for the next few years after he gets back, and Bannister remains the number 5 type pitcher he appears to be…the trade will be even.

    Only if burgos becomes the top set up man or future closer does it make the trade favor the mets.

    • Gasface77 says:

      I completely disagree. Generally, I will take the average 7th or 8th inning guy over the average 5th starter every day. How many games have we lost this year because of our “5th starter?” How many games have we lost because of our “7th or 8th inning guy?”

      Everything else even, I take the late inning relief pitcher over the 5th starter.

  9. bigchart333 says:

    im so happy to see that people aren’t blinded by this trade anymore. Someone said it above, you have to make this trade every time, a finesse fringe starter for a young fire baller.

    lets not forget we traded from strength to add to weakness that year..

    I still think that Burgos is going to wind up setting up for Eddie Kunz come 2010, and it’s going to be a VERY dominant tandem for years to come

    • mouserdz says:

      I too am surprised. When I opened up the comments section, I was expecting a lot ‘who cares about this bum’ comments. Although I’m sure a lot has to do with Bannister’s recent struggles.

      • starz31 says:

        no question. The true fans of this deal will support it while Bannister is thriving and Burgos is struggling.

        Right now, it is very easy to be pro Burgos on this one.

        But for real, this was a good trade. No matter if Burgos doesn’t pitch another inning. The potential for this deal to be successful outweighed what we would have gained by keeping Bannister.

        • therealsince86 says:

          Agreed and said so at the time. You don’t turn down the chance to get a guy who throws triple digits for a #5-6 starter.

  10. therealsince86 says:

    What we also don’t think about is that if Bannister is here then Pelfrey is most likely traded or still in the minors.

    • starz31 says:

      We still had Humber at the time also.

    • dwright012 says:

      Yeah I think that’s a huge leap in logic you can’t make.

      I still think Bannister in 07 might of given us the 1 game we fell short

      • hjhjhjhjhj says:

        Now ive heard it all….Brian Bannister would have saved the mets season last year!!!! Wow, that might have been the most ludicrous statement ever made here…and thats saying a lot…..

        • dwright012 says:

          You don’t think 168 innings of 3.87 ERA and a 1.2 WHIP would of had the chance to make up 1 game???

          When we let Jose Lima and Jason Vargas take starts last year?

          It is completely possible

        • therealsince86 says:

          Or it’s completely possible that in a pennant race he would have pitched just like he is now.

        • dwright012 says:

          He faced much tougher lineups then the washington nationals….look at his game logs from last year

          And all I said was there is a chance… we were one game short.. we let much much worse pitchers then him start games… and were ONE GAME short.. we had Phil Humber make his ML Debut against the Nats last year and he couldn’t even go 5 innings when we desperately needed a win…

          Say whatever you want, but its very possible he could of helped us over the hump last year

        • therealsince86 says:

          It’s possible that I could have helped us last year by throwing all ephus pitches.

          Like I said, it’s also possible that he would have never been good in NY.

          To say that he would have saved the season is idiotic. That’s like saying Steve Trax would have saved the season.

        • wrightstuff08 says:

          no way, i agree with dwright012 on this one. Bannister in the NL would be a huge upgrade over some of the trash we had pitching last year. He couldve easily made up the 1 game that was needed.

        • therealsince86 says:

          In that nature, like I said, so could have Steve Trax.

        • dwright012 says:

          I never said he could of saved the season.. my exact quote was

          “I still think Bannister in 07 might of given us the 1 game we fell short”

          168 quality innings of a pitcher to make up 1 measley game? Topped by the fact we entrusted games to Jose Lima and Jason Vargas that were over by the 3rd inning?

          My personal opinion (yes its amazing that some of us can think without repeating what the sports papers print)

          is that over that many quality innings, one game we lost we MIGHT have won…

          That’s all I said…

        • therealsince86 says:

          And all I am saying is that is a high risk thinking that he could have put up those numbers in NY during a pennant race. What’s to say he did not put up his real numbers?

        • dwright012 says:

          Forget the penant race, how about:

          July 3rd - Jason Vargas at the Colorado Rockies:

          3.1IP 11 hits, 9 runs

          Mets loose 11-3

          July 7th - Jose Lima home vs the Marlins:

          3.0 IP 7 Runs, 7 Hits

          Mets loose 7-3

          May 7th at the braves

          5 Innings 7 hits 5 runs

          Mets loose 13-3

          May 12th and 18th at the Brewers and Cards

          A combined 9.1 innings, 10 earned runs, mets loose both games

          That’s just 4 examples of non penant race games that we wasted last year.

          I never said it was a sure thing, but there is no doubt its a possibility he could of made up 1 game.

        • therealsince86 says:

          Or maybe Bannister would have pitched like these
          Sept 8th vs Yankee’s 5 innings, 7 hits, 7 runs, 3 BB and 3 HR.
          or maybe
          Sept 19 vs Wsox 5 innings 8 hits 6 runs 1 BB and 3 HR.
          or maybe
          Sept 25 and his Glavine start vs Wsox
          Ready
          0.2 innings 4 hits 5 runs 1 BB.

        • dwright012 says:

          He could of pitched just like that in September had he pitched better then Vargas or Lima in June or July.. and we still would of won the divsion…

        • MealTicket says:

          And had Burgos stayed healthy, he might’ve provided just the spark the bullpen needed to hold onto a lead in a half-dozen blown saves down the stretch.

          But I can’t be sure. Baseball’s funny that way.

        • therealsince86 says:

          +1

        • Or maybe you could get your fats right and realize that Lima pitched for the Mets in2006, not 2007.

        • that’s facts, no fats…

          and obviously this was for dwright012

        • therealsince86 says:

          That is a good damn question. How did Lima hurt the 2007 Mets?

      • mikepelfreyismyguy says:

        i agree, guys like el duque were dominant till they got injured. and look at these losses. brian lawrence, chan ho park, dave williams, and aaron sele. dont you think bannister takes the pressure off a bit.

  11. Prince Ollie says:

    it’s obvious Omar’s preppin ABX to take the spot Xavier Nady vacated in ‘06. DX, designated X. research shows the peculiarity of a player’s name is positively correlated to his success on a baseball field.

  12. nickc75 says:

    I was definitely in favor of this trade when I happened. I didnt see Bannister as having great stuff, he was just a serviceable pitcher. Ive seen Burgos pitch against the Yankees a couple years ago and he was throwing 100mph. I also saw him give up a lot of home runs but he is young and still learning to pitch. I hope they call him up in September and hope he blows away some hitters. I think he might be a future closer for us, that is if we dont sign KROD which I would do in a minute. Have Burgos pitch the 8th and KROD close for us. NICE!

    • Jaded1983 says:

      i dont want krod closing for us, he is a DL nightmare in the making.

      he is being over taxed this year and will most likely end the year with 60 saves.

      his delivery and motion are very violent, i can just see a myriad of injuries happening to not only his arm, but core, back, and legs as he gets older.

      ive very curious to see if he can hold up next year after all of the work from this year

      • therealsince86 says:

        Have you seen him pitch lately? He has really changed things this season. He even made mention of the fact of wanting to change his delivery.

        • Jaded1983 says:

          well if he can make changes that improve his delivery then that definitely changes things

        • therealsince86 says:

          This is from MLB.com in April of this season.

          MINNEAPOLIS — There is something subtly different in Francisco Rodriguez’s delivery. It’s no longer rated “V” for violent.
          Acknowledging that too much movement is never a good thing for a pitcher, K-Rod has taken steps to alleviate stress on his body by adopting a more compact delivery. The primary focus is on keeping his left leg tighter and softening his landing on his left ankle, which has recently given him problems at times.

      • starz31 says:

        Not only will he have 60 saves in the reg season, but potentially another 5-10 in the playoffs. That is alot of innings to overcome next spring.

        With regards to his delivery, Lincecum has a very similar “violent” delivery, and while it may seem violent, it may actually be more fluid than many prototypical pitchers.

        FYI, I can’t believe Lincecum doesn’t ice after games..ever. Thats crazy. His dad guarantees his son will never be on the DL in his career. All due to his “easy” delivery. interesting.

      • BillyDeeWilliams says:

        having 60 saves doesn’t mean anything if you do it in 60 innings of work. right now, he has 45 saves in 48 2/3 innings pitched. I understand part of your concern was about his delivery, but he’s not exactly being overtaxed regarding innings.

        • therealsince86 says:

          A lot depends on how much he is warming up and how many nights he goes back to back. Innings wise he is fine. He has pitched less than Homerun Heilman and the same as Wagner, Smith and Show.

        • starz31 says:

          But he has pitched in games for less than 1 inning. There was one game they brought him just for the final out so he could get the save. So for that example, he obviously had to warm up.

          Overall, I see your point. But what I am saying is, He is being used very frequently. I know this b/c he’s on my fantasy team, and for the most part has had multiple save weeks.

        • therealsince86 says:

          He has pitched in 8 more games than Wagner. That may seem like a lot but Wagner has missed a few because of injury already.

      • MetsFan1989 says:

        u blogers coulndt stand him. he gives up his nomral 2-3 hits with the run and u guys r screaming get him out.

    • mikepelfreyismyguy says:

      how many times do i have to say. krod is a timebomb for the dl, got it, one great year, cuz the angels have close games, any closer could have as many saves as him if they were on the angels, the he will get 20+ million per for a carlos beltran esque contract.

      • therealsince86 says:

        Ummm, you do realize that he has pitched the same amount of innings as Wagner this season right?

        How does that make him a timebomb?

        Also he won’t make more than Rivera per season.
        He will get 12-15 thats not that much more than Billy.
        I am guessing something like 5/65.

  13. stumped1 says:

    fans had the same reaction when pederson and wiggy were sent for benson. right now wiggy would be the prize of that deal, nobody saw that commin. agin when benson went for julio and maine. trading will never be an exact science. the only trades that can be truly judges fairly quick are the ones where a rental player is involved, otherwise it takes years.

  14. MealTicket says:

    Just a reminder: Omar was SLAMMED for this deal. Many on this site foresaw a disaster of Kazmirian proportions. It was the one trade the Omar-haters always returned to as the ultimate proof his his incompetence–or of his unsavory preference for Latino players.

    When a few of us cautioned that the jury was still out on the deal, there was invariably a deluge of derisive responses–”Minaya really screwed the pooch on this one!”–that made clear that no matter how well Burgos acquitted himself at some future time, the trade was irreparably damaging to the Mets’ prospects.

    Times change, apparently.

  15. Darth Manuel says:

    Mets should look into Joe Borowski. I haven’t heard his name brought up once. And with all the issues in our pen you would think he would all ready be a Metropolitan.

    • therealsince86 says:

      It would have to be a major league deal because the Rsox offered him a minor league deal.

  16. iamatwork says:

    kros has bs saves. he never comes in with anyone on base or in the 8th inning. tony larussa specials.

  17. Darth Manuel says:

    This is totally off topic but does anyone have problems viewing Metsblog on their PDA/Phone.. I have blackjack 2 windows mobile and every time I access metsblog it crashes my browser

  18. therealsince86 says:

    I have a blackberry and it’s very difficult to access and you can’t post anything. Help Matt, please.

    • Jaded1983 says:

      it is annoying trying to view on a blackberry. the way the site is constructed, the frames on the left side of the page load first, and then the comment section. so i have to scroll past ALL the archived topic titles before i get to see the posts.

  19. therealsince86 says:

    Yup, although lately it has listed the most recent post on the top some how.

  20. krispy644 says:

    hey smart people…K-rod’s career numbers…

    22-16, 432 IP, 284 Hits, 191 saves, 2.38 .era

    you wouldnt take that? K-Rod gets the job done. enough said.

    • Jaded1983 says:

      how old is he?

      • therealsince86 says:

        26 baby, he is what we need for the next 5 years.

        • Jaded1983 says:

          o wow! i knew he was on the younger side, but i didnt know he was that young!

          that would be a pretty excellent move if omar could get that done.

        • therealsince86 says:

          No doubt, just gotta get Wagner to either agree to be a setup man (not likely as he wants to break the closer record) or agree to give up his no trade clause.

  21. Gina says:

    I really don’t like the idea of throwing Burgos back into the rotation. He has a lot to learn about actually pitching, but with his velocity if they can teach him how to actually use his stuff he could be a dominant bullpen arm, if not our future closer.