mike pelfrey

Should You Be Concerned About Mike Pelfrey?

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Mike Pelfrey gave up 12 hits and 6 runs in 5 innings of work on Sunday, and has allowed 7 homeruns in his last two ST outings. His spring ERA is around 8. Should you be concerned with these numbers?

Not necessarily, but there is some cause for concern. Yes, some of the homers were wind-blown. But, at the same time, it’s pretty difficult to hit a homerun on a ground ball — so regardless of the wind, the fact Pelfrey is giving up so many fly balls is a bit disturbing. The balls in the air not going over the fence haven’t exactly been bloopers, either — he’s giving up frozen ropes. Again, is this cause concern?

Pelfrey will tell you “no”, with the explanation that he is “working on things”. After all, his job in the rotation is secure, so spring training is a good time to try new pitches. Maybe he’s getting ripped on pitches that he’ll shelve before the regular season starts, for example.

Taking all this into consideration, there are still some things that concern me — things I see from the man on the mound, not in the numbers.

For one, I see

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The Mets 2010 Starting Rotation

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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 … Read more

The Price for Roy Halladay

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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?

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2009 Analysis: Darren O’Day

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darren-oday-metsHey! 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

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2009 Analysis: Mike Pelfrey

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mike-pelfrey-legliftIt 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.

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