On January 21. 2006 the Mets traded their #3 starter for Jorge Julio and John Maine, many forget how unpopular that trade was at the time, because Benson's career has been injury plagued while John Maine turned into a solid middle of the rotation contributor. At the time many felt Benson was being traded because his lovely wife made some derogatory remarks towards newly acquired Carlos Delgado's refusal to stand for "God Bless America" in protest, over test bombing in Puerto Rico. What compounded the trade was that the Mets received a struggling Hispanic closer in Jorge Julio, Maine was perceived as nothing more then a throw-in. Omar went on the talk radio circuit to defend himself, refuting the claim that he was attempting to build an all Hispanic team or that Benson was traded for PR purposes. Omar defended himself by saying he didn't see Benson in the rotation come playoff time, so when he saw he had value he traded him. What we didn't realize at the t...
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