The Big Three of 1996, that is.
Long, long ago, the New York Mets had three brilliant pitching prospects that everyone figured couldn't miss. They were to challenge Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz of the Braves for starting superiority within a few years. Guaranteed.
Except it didn't happen. All three had major arm issues -- possibly brought on by throwing too many innings at too young an age (which was allegedly manager Dallas Green's idea), possibly not. In any case, Bill Pulsipher washed out of the major leagues altogether, Paul Wilson put together a few so-so years with Cincinnati, and Jason Isringhausen was turned into a reliever -- and was traded to Oakland for Billy Taylor during the 1999 stretch run. Which turned out to be a big mistake, as Isringhausen became a star closer for the Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals.
Now Isringhausen is back in the Mets' camp and looking to latch on as a bullpen guy. He likely wouldn't be a closer (although he might be used as such to keep Francisco Rodriguez's option year from vesting -- if Frankie closes 54 games this year, it happens), but he'd be a veteran arm. It might happen.
I've written before about the Mets picking up players past their prime and expecting great things. No one is expecting great things from Jason Isringhausen at this point. He's not going to save 30 games. He won't be on the mound at the end of October when the Mets win the World Series. It's not going to happen.
But it would be nice to see him make a small comeback with the team that got him started, and for the Mets to get a small return on a long-ago (but not forgotten) investment.
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