My question is really simple: what has Aybar done to be given any preference over Wood?

Looking at the play of Erick Aybar and Brandon Wood in the majors and minors over the last four or five years is illuminating, but at no time in their careers has Aybar been considered the "better" prospect of the two. Now, Aybar was AHEAD of Wood because of age, but Wood has always put up better numbers...

Aybar's big season in High-A was great... 20 years old, .370 OBP and .485 SLG. 50 extra base hits and 51 steals (with 36 caught stealing!!!).  

Even that season - the gold standard for Aybar and his best possible performance is dwarfed by Wood's High-A season.. 

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Met's manager, Jerry Manuel said this to the press after the press conference where K-Rod was introduced as a Met:

"I do think that if we are to be where we expect to be, we'll have to have more than one guy save games."

He went on to say that Putz would be available when K-Rod had been over used, but also said the following:

[K-Rod] doesn't have to save, say, 75 games. The other guy [Putz] can save 35, whatever. That's big for us."

Anyone think that K-Rod's feathers will get ruffled a bit if this becomes a situation where there isn't a set-in-stone closer and Putz blows a save when K-Rod is totally healthy?

Anyway, I immediately thought this was a stupid thing to SAY publicly, but probably a pretty good idea in practice.  

Here is the link to the article: K-Rod and Putz: Co-Closers!!!

(Hat Tip to BBTF)