The Mets 2010 Starting Rotation
NY Sports Day reported this from the “21 Days of Clemente”, where Omar Minaya was a special guest:
The GM was asked his opinion of the 2010 Mets starting rotation. He quickly answered, “[Johan] Santana, [Mike] Pelfrey, [John] Maine, [Oliver] Perez , [Jonathon] Niese and possibly a free agent.”
Though it wasn’t an official press event, and there is still time for the Mets to upgrade their rotation, seeing that in print is something of a splash of cold water in the face.
Think about it: the Mets’ starting rotation currently consists of four pitchers coming off injuries and/or surgery. One of their backup plans — Fernando Nieve — is also recovering from a major injury and surgery.
This may not seem like a big deal until you look back to the past few years, and remember the pitchers coming off injury that the Mets counted on. For example: Duaner Sanchez, John Maine, Orlando Hernandez, Scott Schoeneweis, Dave Williams, and Pedro Martinez. In fact, the only pitcher that comes to mind who had “minor surgery” and pitched effectively the next season was Aaron Heilman (elbow scoped after the 2006 season). Not a good history, and history is supposed to shed light on the future.
Keeping a rotation intact through an MLB season is enough of a crapshoot when you begin with relatively healthy arms, but in the Mets case, they’re counting on 4 or 5 men to a) come back from surgery on schedule; b) come back at 100%; c) return to their form prior to the injury; d) avoid any setbacks; and e) keep their stamina through a 162-game schedule.
Anyone else have doubts?
The Price for Roy Halladay
According to a “high-ranking official” cited in an article by The National Post, the Toronto Blue Jays will take as much time as needed to trade Roy Halladay — if they trade him at all.
Would they actually keep Halladay through 2010 and allow him to leave via free agency next winter? Read more
2009 Analysis: Darren O’Day
Hey! Darren O’Day wasn’t on the team by Game 162 — in fact he was gone before the end of April. So what the heck is he doing as part of the 2009 analysis?
It’s a sore spot, that’s why — and O’Day’s brief tenure as a New York Met is a symbol of the organization’s shortsighted, knee-jerk “strategies” of building and maintaining the 25-man roster.
What this post should have been was a congratulatory note to Omar Minaya and his scouting staff for having the boldness and acuity to pluck Darren O’Day in the Rule 5 Draft. The acquisition could have been a soothing bright spot amidst a dark year of disappointment. But even when the Mets did something right, they found a way to undo it.
O’Day earned a bullpen spot on the strength of a sparkling Read more
2009 Analysis: Mike Pelfrey
It seemed that Mike Pelfrey turned a corner the moment Dan Warthen became pitching coach in late June of 2008. When that fallacy is combined with his final numbers — a 13-11 record and 3.72 ERA — many believed Big Pelf had finally matured, and was on the verge of a “breakout season”. Indeed, some pundits penciled him in as the Mets #2 starter when the 2009 season began.
So it appeared that Pelf fell flat on his face when he posted a 10-12 record and an unsightly 5.03 ERA by the time 2009 ended. Did he go backward? Was 2008 a mirage? Or was he simply the victim of bad luck?
The truth lies somewhere in between, and to find it, one needs to begin looking at his 2008 season objectively. Read more
Mets Game 158: Loss to Nationals
Nationals 4 Mets 3
With their 91st loss, the Mets may have sunk to a position lower than their opponent.
The Nationals may be twelve games worse overall, but right now, the teams are all too similar — and the Nats may be slightly better.
Mike Pelfrey pitched a strong seven innings, allowing only three runs on eight hits and a walk. As usual, he pitched well while cruising, and lost his composure when runners reached base. He was able to limit his yips enough to accomplish a “quality start”, but it was not quite good enough to earn a “win”.
That’s because DC starter J.D. Martin matched Mike pitch for pitch, allowing the same three runs over a nearly similar six innings. In the end the difference was decided between the bullpens, and the Mets came up short.
Pedro Feliciano did his job of retiring lefthanded-hitting Adam Dunn, but as we all know he can’t do anything else and was relieved by Sean Green — who you may remember was tabbed as the replacement for Aaron Heilman. Green walked the first batter he faced, then was the victim of a throwing error by Anderson Hernandez that put runners on first and second. Green induced a potential double play ball from the next batter, but Luis Castillo threw away the relay to first and the go-ahead (and eventual winning) run scored.
Notes
The Mets had a prime chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth when they loaded the bases with no outs, but Brian Schneider fouled out to Ryan Zimmerman and pinch-hitter Jeremy Reed hit a liner to Pete Orr that resulted in a double play to end the inning.
They had another shot to score in their final at-bat, when, with a runner on first and two out, David Wright blasted a line drive to the right field wall. However, Elijah Dukes made an impressive and athletic, running, jumping snare of the ball — and held onto it after eating the chain link fence in front of the scoreboard — to end the ballgame.
Mike MacDougal throws a nasty, evil, sinking fastball. I am amazed at the velocity and force of his lithe right arm whipping from launch point through the release. His arm is like a tungsten-carbide spaghetti whip slashing through mile-high thin air — and helped by the gravity and extension of his 6′4″ height. His issue has always been control, but when he finds the plate, he’s nearly unhittable.
Next Mets Game
The Mets and Nats complete their series on Wednesday afternoon at 4:35 PM. Perhaps the schedule-maker had the foresight to know that no one would want to see this game way back when. Rochester, NY native Tim Redding faces Long Beach, NY native John Lannan.
Mets Game 153: Loss to Braves
Braves 5 Mets 2
Hope springs eternal. Except in Flushing, in September, 2009. Unless you’re a Braves fan.
The Mets helped keep the Braves impossible Wild Card hopes alive by rolling over early.
I have to admit hope drained from my spirit immediately after Atlanta scored their fourth run, in the third frame. Yet I continued to stare at the TV screen, for the same reasons I’ve watched bad movies in the wee hours, despite knowing full well how it would end and that the story wasn’t going to get better.
Technically, Mike Pelfrey threw a “quality start” — allowing 3 earned runs in 6 innings pitched. In reality, he was ordinary.
Tim Hudson also threw a quality start, expending 18 less pitches in the same number of innings. However, Hudson’s was of slightly higher quality, and in the end he earned his second win of the year.
More happened, but, eh … the notes are more interesting.
Notes
The Mets put their leadoff hitter on base in six consecutive innings, but only scored two runs in that span. They were 2-for-17 with RISP, and left 10 on base.
Nice to see Mike Pelfrey using his curveball a little more than usual in this outing. I would have also liked to have seen more (any?) changeups, but hey, you can’t have it all.
Pelf’s sinker wasn’t sinking consistently — it was often just “running”, meaning, it was moving horizontally and not vertically. Ron Darling noted this often occurred with runners on base and suggested that it could be due to Mike holding the ball a little tighter — a function of stress. That’s plausible. Also possible is a different grip on the ball. I would check the location of his thumb, as it could be a little too far “up” or on the side of the ball, rather than more underneath it. The higher the thumb is on the side, the more it will run and the less it will sink. Also, there could be an issue with the way he’s finishing the pitch (which could be related to the grip). If he is holding the ball more tightly, he may not be allowing his fingers and wrist to pronate through the release. Full pronation with the fingers on top of the ball and the thumb finishing pointed toward 5 o’clock is ideal for good sink.
Strange to see Tim Hudson unsharp — which is expected considering this was only his fifth start of the year. Even without his legendary command, he was able to get out of a number of tough situations thanks to double plays.
That was the key difference between Pelfrey and Hudson in this game. Both pitchers struggled at times, and both had their defense fail behind them to put runners on base and/or extend rallies. But Hudson stayed cool, got tough, and wiggled out of those spots, while Big Pelf tightened up, talked to himself, and let runners cross the plate.
If you didn’t have a scorecard and relied on Keith Hernandez, you might have thought Matt Diaz was playing both right and left field for the Braves. Yeah, I’m nitpicking, but c’mon, Keith.
The trivia answer was Bert Blyleven (the only HOF-eligible pitcher with 3000 Ks not in the HOF), and Gary Cohen noted that Blyleven completed 242 games in his 22-year career. How incredible is that? Consider that the Mets AS A TEAM have amassed only 214 complete games over the last 22 years. Yowza, things have changed. But hey, let’s keep going with those inane pitch counts, OK?
Once again we were treated to the one-two combo of Ken Takahashi and Elmer Dessens out of the ‘pen. We’re really get a good long look at both pitchers this September. Why?
Perpetual Pedro Feliciano also made an appearance — his 83rd of the season — with the Mets down by three in the eighth. Again, why? Is Jerry Manuel trying to rip Pedro’s elbow to pieces?
Mike Gonzalez kind of reminds me of Oliver Perez, the way he’s all off balance, can’t repeat his mechanics, can miss his target by several feet, but throws 93+ MPH with a nasty slider that is unhittable for LH batters.
I noticed that David Wright was keeping his bat on his back shoulder until the pitcher started his motion. This is new, right? It’s a technique that Don Mattingly advocates, to put your hands and the bat into the ideal launching position. I guess he’s using it partly for timing and partly to, um, get his hands in a good position. Perhaps HoJo believes Wright’s hands were a bit too high, creating a long, loopy swing.
Bobby Cox announced that 2010 would be his final season as a manager. He’ll stay on with the Braves in a consulting role after that.
Next Mets Game
The Mets get a day off (funny, seemed like they took the last three days off) on Thursday, and will travel to Miami to face the Marlins for a three-game weekend series. Game one begins at 7:10 PM on Friday night and pits Tim Redding against Ricky Nolasco.
Mets Game 148: Loss to Nationals
Nationals 6 Mets 5
Nationals closer Mike MacDougal did everything in his power to give the Mets an exciting, come-from-behind victory in the ninth inning, but eventually stumbled into his 16th save in Inspector Clouseau style.
Mike Pelfrey pitched seven innings, which was a positive. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks, which was neither positive nor negative. Nice outing in terms of innings-eating, but not much else.
On the other side, J.D. Martin held the Mets to two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 frames. The Mets best chance to score runs came after MacDougal entered the game. The fireballing righthander nailed down the final out of the 8th but walked two in the ninth with a four-run lead to set up a three-run rally that ended with a comebacker off the bat of Jeff Francoeur with the winning run on second base. Oh well.
Notes
Francoeur had three hits, using a nice inside-out swing to dump base hits into right-center. He might’ve had four if MacDougal didn’t knock down the ball in his last at-bat. The ball, by the way, knocked off MacDougal’s glove — it was a hard smash.
Pelfrey’s efficiency was good — he threw only 90 pitches in his seven frames, walking no one. His curveball looked pretty good, and he threw it at a nice change of pace velocity — around 76-78 MPH. If he would throw that instead of the slider early in the count, and learn to mix in a change-up, he’d turn into the frontline starting pitcher we’ve been waiting to see. His biggest issue — other than lack of a reliable offspeed pitch — is that batters can tee off on the fastball when he falls behind in the count. A good changeup and/or curveball would counteract that problem.
This is the Mets’ first six-game losing streak since 2005
Next Mets Game
The Mets and Nats do it again at 1:10 PM on Saturday afternoon. Rochester’s Tim Redding faces Long Beach’s John Lannan in a matchup of New York natives. I’ll be here participating in a golf outing for this former teammate and will watch the replay on DVR, so don’t expect a post until late tomorrow night.
Mets Game 142: Win Over Phillies
Mets 10 Phillies 9
David Wright, homerun slugger, finally re-emerged.
Wright saved the day with two two-run homers in the final two innings, and drove in six runs on the day, to lead the Mets over the Phillies. Wright’s second dinger in the top of the ninth overshadowed an awful outing by Mike Pelfrey, who pilfered a four-run advantage handed to him after the first frame.
Big Pelf proceeded to allow 8 runs in 6 innings on 10 hits — including 3 homeruns — before Ken Takahashi came in to give the Phillies another run. However, it would be their last, and the Mets made their move in the final third of the contest.
Frankie Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth to notch his 31st save. Pedro Feliciano was credited with the win.
Notes
Lost in Wright’s heroics was Dan Murphy’s role in comeback. In the seventh, Murphy hit a ball that was misplayed on the wet ground into a double, then stole third when Jamie Moyer ignored him. He scored on a Wilson Valdez groundout. Then in the eighth, Murphy singled home Carlos Beltran to put the Mets within a run and set up Wright’s winning blast.
Just when you think Mike Pelfrey has taken a step forward, he takes two steps back. Though he walked only one, Pelfrey was often behind on the count — only 65 of his 110 pitches made it into the strike zone.
Thirteen runs scored in the ballgame before a pitching change was made.
Wright’s taters were his first since August 5th.
Howie Rose provided the play by play, which was a nice surprise. Unfortunately Tim McCarver babbled the color commentary for the FOX broadcast.
Next Mets Game
The Mets and Phillies play a day / night doubleheader on Sunday. Game one begins at 1:05 PM, will be televised on ESPN, and pits Tim Redding against Kyle Kendrick. The nightcap starts at 8:05 PM, with John Maine making his first start since June 6th and facing the undefeated Pedro Martinez.
Mets Game 137: Win Over Cubs
Mets 4 Cubs 2
Finally, it’s all coming together — and it only took 137 games!
The Mets won their first series since early August, learned how to win without “the cavalry”, and gave a sneak peek at what 2010 has in store during this weekend series with the Cubs.
Mike Pelfrey was spectacular, settling in and confirming his status as the #2 starter with an 8-inning, 5-hit, 1-run performance. This is the Mike Pelfrey we know he can be — surely he will do this 80-90% of the time next year and possibly compete with teammate Johan Santana for the Cy Young.
Helping Big Pelf was none other than Danny Murphy, who with this 4-RBI afternoon and 9th homer of the year, solidified himself as the Mets’ starting first baseman in 2010. No need to be throwing money at the likes of Adam LaRoche during the winter when Murph can be counted on for games like this!
And finally, Frankie Rodriguez showed why they used to call him K-Rod, as he closed out the ninth and earned his 30th save of the year.
Notes
I am soooooo glad that Pelfrey and Murphy finally stepped out from their shell and showed us what they can do. In addition, Angel Pagan went 2-for-5 with a stolen base out of the leadoff spot. No wonder Carlos Beltran is in a rush to get back — he needs to win his centerfield job back!
The only thing that would’ve made this day complete would have been Josh Thole behind the plate and adding a few hits of his own. Looking at all these bright young stars, we can pretty much bank on a postseason appearance in 2010. I can taste the Champagne now.
Actually, the way these youngsters are playing now, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them rip off a 20-5 streak through the end of the year and push the Mets into the playoffs THIS YEAR. That type of run would have them finish 82-80 — just like the 1973 Mets. Ya Gotta Believe !!!!!
Murphy was 3-for-4 with a triple, homer, and single. All he needed was a double to hit for the cycle.
Brian Schneider was 2-for-3 during the at-bats he was stealing from Thole. Too little, too late, Brian.
Next Mets Game
The Mets get a well-deserved day off on Monday, Labor Day, then return to action on Tuesday to host the Marlins at 7:10 PM. Tim Redding faces Rick VandenHurk.
Mets Game 132: Loss to Rockies
Rockies 8 Mets 3
We’ll blame it on the thin air.
Three days after watching Bobby Parnell take a step backward, Mike “Mr. Yips” Pelfrey followed suit with a four-inning stint. In those four frames, Pelfrey allowed 7 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks. One of the runs was unearned, but the reason that unearned run scored was because Pelfrey was slow to back up third base on a Todd Helton single. Shame on you, Pelf.
The offense was equally inadequate, managing only one earned run on four hits in six innings against starter Jorge De La Rosa. They had no safeties at all from innings two through five. The most exciting part of the game after the first inning was the seventh, when Cory Sullivan and Angel Pagan hit back to back triples.
Notes
For the umpteenth time this season, Angel Pagan showed why extreme athleticism and raw talent aren’t nearly enough to succeed at the MLB level. During the Mets’ first inning “rally”, Pagan was deked into believing that Luis Castillo’s clean single to center was … something else? Instead of standing safely on second base, Troy Tulowitzki convinced Pagan to inexplicably backtrack toward first, and was easily tagged out. It was a head-scratching, head-shakng, mouth-gaping, and eye-rolling incident.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, after Seth Smith walked, the SNY camera showed Dan Warthen about to leave the dugout to speak with Pelfrey — but Jerry Manuel stopped him from walking out to the mound. On the very next pitch, Todd Helton stroked a prodigious three-run homer into the right field seats to make the score 7-2 and put the game away for the Rox. Not sure Warthen would’ve said anything to prevent the dinger, but it must’ve driven him nuts.
Smith had three hits and scored three runs; Helton had two hits and three RBI.
Is it me, or was there something wrong with this being the game — and the trip — upon which David Wright made his return? Ryan Church, thin air, anyone? While it likely made no difference to David, as long as the season is trashed, why not wait an extra three days, leave D-Wright behind, and have him make his return in Flushing? Just sayin’.
Speaking of strange moves, Carlos Beltran will be playing in Brooklyn later this week. Why? Why not just take it easy the rest of the season, and/or get that micro-fracture surgery? What happens if the bone bruise is aggravated again from being on the field, and surgery is required in, say, March 2010?
I concur with Gary Cohen — the new helmet worn by David Wright reminds me of Gazoo.
My wife has a new name for the Mets: “And … Just Like That”. It refers to the Mets’ habit of losing leads “just like that” — for example, the 2-0 advantage they took in the top half of the initial inning of this game.
She also lamented that, “the only name on the team I recognize is Sean Green — and it’s not even the Shawn Green that I know!”. Sorry, honey.
Gary Cohen sort of suggested the nickname “Broadway Lance” for Lance Broadway. I’m thinking more like, “Off Off”.
The most interesting aspect of this broadcast: finding out that Keith Hernandez knows about Snopes, and Gary Cohen doesn’t. Second place: seeing Keith’s daughter drown a beer while wearing a red “Hernandez is My Homey” T-shirt.
Why does it bother me that I played against Eric Young, Sr. in college and I’m now watching Eric Young, Jr. on my TV? Junior was three years old when I faced his father. How depressing …
Notes
The Mets and Rockies do it again at 8:40 PM EST on Wednesday evening. Tim Redding faces Ubaldo Jimenez. Josh Thole will NOT get the start behind the plate — he needs more bullpen duty to get a feel for the Mets hurlers and the movement of their pitches. The unofficial word is he’ll start on Thursday.
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