For a long time Scott Kazmir looked back on that July day in 2004 and considered it the worst of his professional career. No more. The day the Mets dealt him to Tampa Bay now ranks as one of his best.

"It turned out to be a blessing," said Kazmir, the first-round pick from 2002. "If that doesn't happen, I don't pitch in the majors as soon as I did. If that doesn't happen I'm not on this team, sitting in first place and hoping for October."

Kazmir's rapid ascent through the Mets' farm system ended on July 30, 2004, as he was stretching to make one of his first starts for Double-A Binghamton. Summoned to the office of then-manager Ken Oberkfell, he learned about the ill-fated trading deadline deal for righthander Victor Zambrano.

"I started laughing at the beginning because in our relationship we joked around a lot," Kazmir said of Oberkfell. "He looked at me with a straight face and said 'this is serious.' I didn't know what to think.

"It was the last thing I thought would really happen. It was a huge shock. I felt heartbroken. I really didn't get to prove I was worth the investment. I wanted to show them it was worth it to take that chance on me. I never got the chance."

Even though Tampa Bay averaged 97losses the past three years, Kazmir had a winning record in each and made the All-Star team in 2006. He is 7-3 with a 2.28 ERA as he faces the Red Sox tonight at Tropicana Field in a big AL East showdown.

The other thing everyone now knows is that Zambrano was anything but a savior. His failures contrast starkly with Kazmir's successes. Injuries limited Zambrano to just three more games in 2004 and he went 7-12 in 2005. His injury-plagued 2006 was his last with the Mets.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/07/01/2008-07-01_with_rays_on_top_scott_kazmir_now_consid.html