Izzy a Ray

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Former Generation K hopeful Jason Isringhausen has signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, after a decade as one of baseball's most consistent closers with the Athletics and the Cardinals. He suffered through his worst season in a 2008 campaign that was marred by stints on the disabled list.

For those of you too young to remember Generation K, that was the nickname given to three young pitchers in the Mets' farm system who were supposed to lead them out of the doldrums back to pennant contention: Izzy, Paul Wilson, and Bill Pulsipher. Mainly because of injuries, that never happened. Here are the career totals with the Mets for each of the Generation K pitchers for W-L and ERA:

Izzy: ..18-21 4.67
Wilson: .5-12 5.38
Pulse: ..5-.9 4.63

Jason Isringhausen was the most successful of the three, both in terms of overall career and in impact on the Mets. When Jason first arrived in the majors, he immediately rang up a 9-2 record and a 2.81 ERA as a starter. But he struggled for the next three years before being traded to Oakland and finding his niche in the bullpen.

In other ex-Mets news, Kris Benson has signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers. Kris is 34 years old now, and hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2006. But if any team is likely to offer him a few more major-league innings, it's the traditionally pitching-starved Rangers.