Cedeno '99? Meet Gomez '07.

I'll never forget that night. It was December 23, 1999. I was sitting on my grandmother's recliner at her house in Boca watching SportsCenter when the news crawl at the bottom of the screen caught my attention in a way that only Jennifer Love-Hewitt could do in the late 90's.

The Mets had traded Octavio Dotel and Roger Cedeno to the Houston Astros for Mike Hampton and Mr. April 2000 himself, Derek Bell.

My emotions were immediately mixed. I didn't quite grasp what we were getting in Hampton -- nasty stuff, bulldog, ace who I would hope would step on glass about 12 months later. But I did know what we were giving up.

Octavio Dotel was our stud. He carried us through my fondest baseball memory, pitching what I think was 5 innings in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, the 15 inning marathon against the Braves. Giving up Dotel hurt. But it was the other guy that killed me.

Do you guys remember Roger Cedeno's 1999? It was never the prettiest, but he was about the most exciting Met I had seen in my lifetime. He stole 66 bases that season. He was a threat to bunt at all times. All he did was run and wiggle his tongue. He never looked like a baseball player, but his impact almost transcended the game.

He was baseball's biggest distraction. Pitchers were so upset that they let a man on base with such a crazy swing only to be scared shitless at what came next. Losing Cedeno '99 killed me. We don't need to talk about Cedeno '02---SALT.

Where am I going with all of this? I think it is relatively obvious. I think we are slowly discovering Cedeno '99 PLUS in the making... Carlos Gomez.

He is one of the few guys in a long time that I find myself extra glued to the television for on every at bat. I find myself even more tuned in the second he reaches first base. His bunt singles are the most exciting play a Met can produce -- at least in the mind of this soon to be insane blogger.

But it is his speed that really makes my jaw drop. Everyone says he is faster than Reyes. At least from Arizona, this appears to be the case. This kid just flies. VROOM!!!!

Like Cedeno this kid looks a little quirky at times. But Gomez has two things going for him that Cedeno did not. He is 21 to Cedeno '99's 25. And he is supposed to have some legitimate 20 homerun pop.

He is one of those guys that I'll need to believe it to see it. I don't see his swing translating to power as much as others seem to, but then again, what the hell do I know?

What I do know is that we have a real gem here. The kid is a real stud. His speed at the bottom of the lineup will do exactly what Cedeno's did out of the 7 spot in 1999. It will balance the lineup. If the power comes then we have a perennial All Star on our hands.

It is still way too early to tell. For now, just soak in the speed. This lineup could break records.

Vaya,

Sip

(Images courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk and nydailynews.com)