I don't know about Villanueva, but I'll tell you guys the story of ex-Met Don (No relation to the Raptors Chris) Bosch, since all of you guys (except for SC, and maybe JL 'cuz he's such a big Mets fan) are too young to remember him.

He was a 5'10" 160 lb. centerfielder who the Mets acquired from the Pirates in a pre-1967 season trade for pitcher Dennis Ribant.

Ribant was 25 years old and coming off of a terrific 11-9, 3.20 E.R.A. season for the 9th place 66-95 NY Mets.

Bosch, meanwhile, was billed as "The next Richie Ashburn", a similarly built original 1962 Met who they picked up in the expansion draft after a great career with the Phillies, who were willing to let him go only because he was 35 - considered dangerously old and potentially over-the-hill for a baseball player back then.

Communications, scouting, media reports, etc. not being what they are today, few NY sportswriters had ever seen Bosch play, much less even heard of him, and were literally drooling all winter, writing articles and eagerly awaiting spring training and his first appearance in a Mets uniform.

When he finally got here it turned out that he was shorter than his listed 5'10", and he couldn't catch the ball because everything that was hit his way went over his head.

And because he wieghed far less than his supposed 160 lbs., he didn't have any power either, which wouldn't have been so bad if he could hit for average, except he couldn't do that, either.

Well, you may say to yourself.....5'10", at least he'll draw a lot of walks and make a good leadoff man.

Not exactly, I'm afraid. Despite his stature, guy almost never walked (once every 15 ABs or so).

Speed you say? He stole 4 bases in 146 major league games, but that's understandable of course, since he was almost never on base.

So basically he was useless, and how the writers screamed that the Mets were taken to the cleaners on the deal.

Bosch wound up playing small parts of two seasons for the Mets, 94 games, hitting .157 in 204 at bats beofre being shipped off, ironically enough, to the Canadien Expos for cash.

But there's a happy footnote to the story for Mets fans.

In the original deal, the Mets also acquired Don Cardwell from the Pirates, a 30-year old journeyman starting pitcher.

Cardwell pitched for the Mets for three seasons, and capped it off by playing a key role as 5th starter - in a day when the Mets were the first and just about only team to employ a five-man starting rotation - for the 1969 World Champion Mets, helping to keep the pressure off and the young arms of Seaver, Koosman, Gentry, and McAndrew, fresh.