Recipient of the 2002 ESN Jason Isringhausen Award

JASON ISRINGHAUSEN AWARD (to the longtime Met prospect who finally reaches his potential as soon as he's traded by the Mets): We were going to call this the Nolan Ryan Award, but that would mean Jay Payton would have thrown a no- hitter for the Rockies. Instead, the long-time five-tool prospect and Valentine whipping boy finally displayed most of those talents as he hit a blistering .335 for Colorado with eight homers and 28 RBI in just 170 at-bats following his July 31 trade from the Mets.

And it could have been even more embarrassing for the Mets. Payton missed several games in September with a strained oblique (sound familiar?), which meant he fell short of the plate appearances necessary to qualify for the batting title, and he was just 1-for-24 in the final week of the season, during which time his overall batting average fell from .318 to .303. Had Payton remained healthy and productive in the final month, he almost certainly would have finished among the NL's top ten in batting.

Told this, a Met executive said "Just remember who liked him and who didn't." Point taken.