FanHouse AmbiorixBurgos

Ambiorix Burgos, the Mets reliever accused in a hit-and-run that killed two women in his native Dominican Republic, turned himself in on Wednesday. He better get used to the idea of wearing stripes -- whether he's eventually found guilty or not, a judge has confined him to jail for three months while awaiting trial.

Oddly enough, Burgos has deluded himself into thinking this ordeal won't derail his big league career, which was already interrupted by missing all of the 2008 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. From the AP:

"I am going to come out of this fine because my conscience is clear, and I'm not worried this will affect my career because I haven't done anything," he said in the jailhouse interview.

Burgos apparently doesn't believe he'll be confined the entire three months. For one, he's already banking on being back in New York by Oct. 23 when he's scheduled to be in a courtroom to defend himself against charges that he punched, slapped and bit his girlfriend last month. We'll have to wait and see.

The last time we heard from Mets reliever Ambiorix Burgos he was being charged with punching, biting and slapping his girlfriend. Sadly, less than a month later, he's allegedly graduated from domestic violence and moved on to manslaughter.

Burgos is accused of killing two women in a hit-and-run accident near his hometown in the Dominican Republic earlier this week. Witnesses told police that he was driving the SUV involved in the accident, which took place Tuesday night. He eventually turned himself in for questioning. On Wednesday, the Mets released the following statement:

"We are extremely disturbed by the reports regarding the player's potential involvement in the hit and run accident that unfortunately killed two women in the Dominican Republic," the Mets said Wednesday in a statement. "We take this matter very seriously and have begun an internal investigation to ascertain the facts. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families of the victims."

Burgos missed the entire 2008 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was originally thought to be on track to make at least a handful of appearances late in September, but his arrest early in the month likely scuttled those plans.

Professional teams of all sports are notourious for letting talent trump legal transgressions, so if Burgos somehow avoids jailtime (it seems unlikely at this point, but you never know), I have a hard time believing the Mets won't give him another chance, especially given the state of their bullpen. Here's to the Mets proving me wrong.

Mets reliever Ambiorix Burgos was arrested and charged last night for beating up his girlfriend. From the New York Daily News:

The 6'3", 244-pound pitcher was arrested around 11 p.m. Monday after allegedly slamming his girlfriend up against the wall at the Holiday Inn on 114th St. and 37th Ave. He repeatedly punched her on the back, bit her and slapped her, prosecutors said.

Burgos hasn't appeared in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year but was considered a likely candidate for an eventual call-up this month. After last night's altercation, you have to wonder if the team will even bother.

I'm not naive enough to think that a big league team won't turn a blind eye to domestic violence when they think a player can help their team, but Burgos has turned in mixed results at best during his minor league rehab stints, and with only 1 1/2 games separating them from the Phillies, it's just not worth the media distraction to bring him into the clubhouse.

I get that professional athletes own expensive things, I really do, but this just boggles my mind: Ambiorix Burgos had more than a quarter of a million dollars worth of jewelry stolen from his hotel room on Thursday:

The Mets' young relief pitcher had $270,000 in jewelry stolen from his hotel room here Tuesday after leaving it in a shaving bag, Port St. Lucie police said.

Most of the bling was recovered last night, according to a police spokesman, but Burgos went to the police station today after the Mets' full-squad workout and discovered four to five pieces worth $20,000-$30,000 were still missing. ... Police spokesman Robert Vega said cops believe someone interviewed the night before tipped off the thief and told him to return the bag.

Okay, let me try to wrap my head around this: the guy lost the equivalent of a Bentley and is still short a Volvo. All because someone took off with his shaving bag. His shaving bag! Apparently the place he was staying doesn't have a hotel safe, but seriously, if you're going to be carrying that kind of bling around, why not just bring your own safe? Heck, why not just buy your own condo to put your safe in?

Here's another odd twist: Burgos only made $415,000 last year. Some people believe in stocks and bonds; other people, just a boring, old savings account. But Burgos decided to carry around 65% of last year's salary in a little bag along with his tooth paste, razor and shaving cream. Because that couldn't possibly go wrong, right? Whoops.

As teams finalize their rosters in preparation for Opening Day, here's a quick look around the division to see what i's have been dotted and what t's have been crossed today:

Mets:
In addition to Chan Ho Park being happily sent to the minors, they've given Lastings Milledge another shot with the big club to start 2007. The combination of Milledge maturing over the off-season and Shawn Green's batting woes made this happen. Reliever Ambiorix Burgos also makes the team as a result of Park going down, which means I'm going to have to commit the spelling of "Ambiorix" to memory.

Braves:
Kyle Davies and Martin Prado have been sent down to Richmond. Davies has shown some inconsistency while the Braves have enough confidence that Lance Cormier's shoulder has improved to the point where he could be the fifth starter. Prado had a good spring, but the second base job has always been Kelly Johnson's to lose, and the Braves have Pete Orr and Chris Woodward to back up.

Marlins:
Sergio Mitre, after missing most of the '06 season, will start the Marlins home opener while Ricky Nolasco will start the season in the bullpen. It's a temporary arrangement, but the original plan was reversed to start the season ... both will eventually be starters. Also, 37-year-old Jason Wood, with 81 career major league at bats (as opposed to 6,434 minor league at-bats), has made the team as a utility infielder.

Chan Ho Park battled for a job this spring training and now he's got one. However, it's not the one he really wanted. Mets brass came up with the decision on Friday night, but failed to tell Park about it until after his performance on Saturday. It was a performance, by the way, that Park had expected would go five innings, but instead he was pulled after three to start to get him used to relief work. Park's surprise turned to disappointment:

"I came here looking for a job as a starter, that's for sure," said Park, who agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract with the Mets in the offseason. "They asked me to be a reliever, and obviously I'm unhappy. I have to figure out what's best for the team."

It's simple, really. What's best for the team is to have right handed relievers that aren't complete dog meat. And right now Park, who pitched effectively in relief at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, is a better bet to come out of the pen from the right side than say, Ambiorix Burgos (an 8.76 ERA in the spring), Jon Adkins (8.10 ERA) or Jorge Sosa (who's one good season came with Leo Mazzone as his pitching coach). Park is needed in the pen until guys like Duaner Sanchez and Guillermo Mota return from injury and suspension.

And also what's best for the team is Park (and Aaron Sele, who has also won a job with the Mets ... most likely in the bullpen) to be around as insurance for Tom Glavine (age 41) and Orlando Hernandez (age 37 or 41 depending on who you believe). El Duque has torn a calf while running, cramped up while running, and developed arthritis in his neck ... all in the last six months. Mike Pelfrey will most likely already be in the rotation, and nobody knows when/if Philip Humber will be ready this season. So Park is needed to be on the same page with the Mets' line of thinking. Hopefully after the surprise wears off, he will be.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
El Duque is old
Mike Pelfrey is young
Duaner Sanchez's suspension begins
Duaner Sanchez's suspension ends

Aaron Heilman is a reliever. His home run to Yadier Molina in Game 7 of last season's NLCS not withstanding, he's a damn fine reliever to boot. But Heilman wants to return to what got him drafted in the first place, and that's starting.

He is stuck, mired in the bullpen with no way out. And no amount of talk from the team or teammates will convince him that he wouldn't trade all of the success in the bullpen for the freedom to do what he wants.

"I can understand the argument both ways," Heilman said. "I'm not saying it's a bad argument, but there's a point when that feeling is there that you know what you want to do and you know you can succeed at it. Until I feel I can't be successful doing it, then I'm still going to feel this way. Nothing is going to change my mind until I come to a conclusion that I'm not able to be successful in that role."

He clings to the successes he had as a starter -- going 15-0 in 15 starts as a senior at Notre Dame or the complete game one-hitter he tossed with the Mets in 2005 just before he was sent to the bullpen.

The facts of the matter are these: Duaner Sanchez isn't going to be ready for the start of the season. Guillermo Mota is down for a 50 game suspension. Ambiorix Burgos is struggling out of the gate for the spring. The Mets need an eighth inning guy, a role that Heilman flourished in last year after Sanchez's season was ended in a taxi cab by Cecil Wiggins. Also, Heilman is still under the Mets control until 2010. So there really isn't anything he can do, right? If Heilman can be passed over for a starting spot by guys like Geremi Gonzalez and Jose Lima, then Aaron is going to have to poison a lot of food to be considered for a starting spot.