Iggy To Mets: I Want To Stay

Along with Francisco Rodriguez and Tim Byrdak, Jason Isringhausen's name has come up in possible trade talks.

Izzy, who came up with the Mets in 1995 as part of Generation K, returned to the Mets this year as a free agent signing. Isringhausen has had a respectable career, but was derailed a few times due to elbow and shoulder issues. The Mets sent Isringhausen to the A's in 1999. He, along with Paul Wilson and Bill Pulsipher, was to be the next generation of Seaver, Ryan, and Koosman. It never happened. All three studs wound up with bad arm problems adn it destroyed the careers of Wilson and Pulsipher.

Izzy went on to become a star closer for the A's and Cardinals, culminating with the unexpected World Series upset of the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

New assistant GM, JP Ricciardi, spoke with Isringhausen during the spring this year, and Izzy impressed Ricciardi, who had Elvis take a look. The Mets signed Isringhausen, and in a MacArthur sort of way, Izzy did return.

With all the trade speculation surrounding the Mets and their players, Isringhausen hear that his name was on the list. This is what the Mets reliever had to say:

"I have two places in my heart. St. Louis, because I'm from there, and New York, because this is where I started. Those are my two favorite spots, and I don't think I'm going back to St. Louis anytime soon. And I love it here."

Not only does he love being in Flushing, he likes what he sees:

"To be able to get close, or maybe even make the playoffs, coming from a team that wasn't supposed to do anything, that's fun," he said. "If there is a chance that we can do that, I want to be a part of it."

At 38 Isringhausen knows the end is near, and he believes he needs to spend more time with his wife and children. Izzy is home here in Flushing on the baseball field, and once this magic carpet ride is over, he will go back to his other home:

"It's hard on us, being gone, and having a 2-year-old and and 8-year-old, one in school. I don't get to see them much. But like my wife says, 'You're only going to play baseball for so long. You have the rest of your life to come home to our so-called boring life' - that's what she calls it."

Hopefully Izzy will be given the opportunity to end his career where it started; in a NY Mets uniform.

Sources: NY Daily News, Baseball Reference