If there were one thing I could take back from the magical 2006 season, it would be Darren Oliver. He pitched extremely well during that season, posting a 4-1 record with a 3.44 ERA in 81.0 innings. Bringing Oliver back on a two-year deal after 2006 was one move that Omar couldn’t make, but should have in hindsight.

Over the past one and a half seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Oliver has posted a 7-2 record with a 3.60 ERA in 110.0 innings pitched.

During his tenure here with the Mets, he showed unbelievable pitching in the clutch, with one instance that I remember real well during Game 4 of the NLCS in 2006. After starter Steve Trachsel was pulled in the second inning after giving up five earned runs, Oliver went on to pitch six scoreless innings against the Cardinals. Despite the damage already being done and the Mets inability to produce any offense, it was still a great clutch performance.

I truly believe the Mets really miss the job he did for them and have been desperately trying to seek the same type of player since he left in the 2006-2007 offseason. The Mets have tried a number of players in the long relief role that included Jorge Sosa, Carlos Muniz, Aaron Sele, among others.

If the Mets want to compete and make a run in the playoffs, they need someone who could take a game for 4-5 innings if need be. Granted this is far from the Mets top priority, it still should not be overlooked. The Mets have attempted to use plenty of players this year in the same role, but they have failed to strike gold on each try.

Talk to KC: As most Mets fans have heard over the past week, management is shaky on Duaner Sanchez’s recent struggles and would likely want to grab another bullpen arm. It seems as if Kansas City relief pitcher Ron Mahay could be an option on the trade market. I was begging for the Mets to take a shot on Mahay this past winter, but nothing came of it.

Right now, Mahay is 5-0 with a 1.81 ERA in 54.2 innings pitched for the Royals this season. The 37-year old reliever is due $8 million through 2009.

Getting Mahay could open up the opportunity for the Mets to send Scott Schoeneweis elsewhere. The Tigers were reportedly interested. If the Mets could acquire a right-handed hitting corner outfielder such as Marcus Thames for Schoeneweis, then it would all make sense. Thames gives you the power that the Mets could certainly use in the middle of the lineup. He is currently hitting .262 with 20 home runs and 44 RBIs. The Mets would also control him through the 2010 season. If you think beyond this season, he could be a nice stop gap if Fernando Martinez needs more time. Even if the Mets have to give up a small A-level type prospect in addition to Schoeneweis, it would be worth it. Getting Schoeneweis’ $7.2 million off of your shoulders over this season and next would be a job well done.

Admit your mistake: Utilityman Marlon Anderson has been hitting .207 with one home run and 10 RBIs this season. The Mets signed him to a two-year, $2.2 million deal prior to this season. He is becoming a liability off the bench with the bat and even at times defensively…and the Mets need to admit to their mistake and part ways with him. The only thing that is keeping him here is his track record for pinch hitting and even that has not been that great this season.

As our pitching questions continue throughout the spring, what better time than a slow weekend to take a look at how some of our former pitching Mets are doing so far.  All stats are courtesy of mlb.com.

In Baltimore, Chad Bradford is struggling. In his appearance Friday vs the Twins, he hit three batters and gave up a homerun, and a total of 7 earned runs.  The loss for the day however, was credited to former Met Steve Traschel, who has a 8.18 ERA for spring. Kris Benson as mentioned earlier in the week, is mostly out for the season.

Over with the Royals, Brian Bannister has been able to start strong, but then struggles late. In his last appearance he went two scoreless innings and still gave up 6 earned runs for the day.

Darren Oliver on the other hand, is doing well in Anaheim (or Los Angelos of Anaheim I guess), throwing 2 scoreless innings earlier today, walking one and striking out one.

I know there's been a lot of talk lately about some of the pitching decisions made so far, but with the exception of Oliver for the most part would we really be better off had we held on to Bannister or Bradford? So far Omar's move that brought in John Maine and move out Kris Benson seems to have been incredible smart. And while some of the more recent pitching aquisitions, such as Chan Ho Park, have not yet proved similiar results it looks like we'd be in the same boat we are now if we'd held on to some of the players we lost this offseason.

According to Jerry Crasnick at ESPN, Free-agent reliever Darren Oliver has reached preliminary agreement with the Los Angeles Angels on a one-year contract with an option for 2008. The deal is believed to be worth about $3.5 million if the option year vests. The deal will be official pending a physical.

Oliver, 36, went 4-1 with a 3.44 ERA as the Mets long man in the bullpen last year.

Wow. Its been a long time since I felt this bad after a Mets loss. Its been a season of mostly good times and happy recaps but tonight felt like a punch in the gut. I am of the belief that you need to prove yourself against a team like the Red Sox. I know this is a short series, and its tough to judge this over a small sample but the Mets just looked outclassed over these past two games and I would be lying if I didn't say I was worried. Lets hope this is an abberation, and they can make the proper adjustments to prepare themselves next time they're put in the position where they need to step up and beat upper level competition. Its only the end of June but if the Mets plan on taking this season as far as it can go, they're gonna have to show they can hang with the big boys. Lets go over a few things…

Milledge. Maybe its a little overwhelming to throw a guy just out of AAA into a situation like this. I have to say though, I didn't really like his body language when Beltran saved his ass and nearly hurt himself diving for a ball Milledge should have caught. I might have misread it but it looked like he was uneffected. Carlos looked annoyed.

Pedro might have been a little too emotional, I hope thats the case and not something more. The only way to tell is to see how things go next time around. He didn't have it from the second pitch of the game on. It was really sad to watch, in a game where he could have made a nice statement.

Oliver continues to do a great job in long relief. Hats off to him for doing a great job at keeping the pen fresh as he eats up innings.

Mets get a F for their first big test against the Varsity. Heres to hoping they do better next time around. Theres plenty more games to play, plenty of time to learn from the lessons and make the changes necessary. It would be huge to see Glavine step up and stop this from being a real mess. Its tough to call it a must win tomorrow in the middle of the season with a huge lead, but it kind of is. For the sake of showing they're worth their salt and with the Highlanders on deck, this is a big game for keeping our pride.