BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

It looks like Aaron Heilman is going to finally have his chance to really stick it to the Mets. Today the Mariners dealt him to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Garret Olson.

This wasn’t the best return for the Mariners, as the smarter move would’ve been for them to let Heilman either start or close and rebuild his value. Olson is a decent pitching prospect, but he is not ready for the big leagues yet, and Cedeno is a glorified utility player.

For all of the abuse Heilman took while he was in New York, he was a serviceable pitcher out of the bullpen. In fact, he was better than serviceable. In his three years as a reliever,

Heilman was 16-15 and he had ERAs of 3.17, 3.62 and 3.03. He also only allowed 19 home runs in three years. In 2008, he allowed 10. His ERA was 5.21 and his walks were way up. He also had a problem with getting down on himself, and in a market like New York City, that makes it virtually impossible for him to succeed.

I am happy with the trade to get J.J. Putz, but I am thankful for the good seasons Heilman gave the Mets. I really think the Yadier Molina home run in the playoffs really got to his head. The conversion from reliever to starter may work well for him in Chicago, because he is only 30-years old. He will likely compete with Sean Marshall for a starting spot, with Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster and Harden guaranteed other spots.

I hope he cracks the rotation, because you know there is going to be a big game as Citifield this season in which Heilman will face off with the Mets, and the usual ending for that kind of story is that Heilman will shut the Mets down.

I can root for him, but not in that scenario. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Cubs take the central, but I would mind it if it is at the Mets expense.

Let’s see if Aaron is as good as he thinks he is.