Thanks to vagaries of interleague play, Baltimore’s Kris Benson (7-5, 4.63) faces the Mets today for the first time since being traded for Jorge Julio. Speaking with the Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker, Benson claims not to have a chip on his shoulder.
“It’s just going to be a regular game against a good team,” he said.
Benson said he wouldn’t be trying to show his former bosses that they made a mistake in dealing him.
“There’s nothing that I need to prove,” Benson said. “If anything, I’ll just try to go out there and pitch well against a pretty good team. They’ve got a good lineup, and I just look at it in that sense. I’ve been in the league too long to have to prove anything.”
The New York tabloids jumped on news that Benson and his wife were separating during spring training. But he downplayed that yesterday, saying every player should have the chance to play in New York at some point.
“I invested a lot of time and effort, and it was a lot of fun for the short term that it was,” he said. “And I have nothing but good things to say about the city and the fans and the stadium.”
Far be for it me to suggest that Benson is insincere, but if he has nothing but good things to say about Shea Stadium, he must’ve been very preoccupied during his Flushing tenure.