For anyone who says starting pitching is the problem for the Mets, they clearly have not been watching the same season I have been watching. Santana, Maine, Pelfrey and Hernandez have more often than not had quality stars where they limit the opposition to three runs or less. Even Redding's past few starts have been formidable. Fernando Nieve and Nelson Figueroa have also pitched well in spot starts.
The biggest issue with the Mets is the complete lack of clutch hitting. They get a ton of hits but leave runners on base in every inning. And the fact that they absolutely cannot score with the bases loaded unless the opposition balks or walks in a run is an abomination. It is truly maddening...As a fan, when they load the bases now, I pretty much walk out of the room because the inning is essentially over. You can blame this on the multitude of injuries that has plagued the team this season but the truth of the matter is, this bases loaded jinx has been going on now for two years, even with regulars like Reyes and Delgado in the lineup. It is almost as if it is some sort of curse that dates back to that fateful NLCS Game 7 at bat by Carlos Beltran where he never took the bat off his shoulder.
Barring some sort of injury to one of the starters, the Mets rotation is pretty solid. And compared to last year, the bullpen is much improved as well. If they can get the clutch hitting in order and play solid fundamental baseball, they have a shot this year. It wouldn't hurt to add a bat like Holliday, but in all honesty, I'd rather not sell off what few prospects we have for a rental unless there is a possibility of signing that player to a long term contract. The 2009 Mets have shown a bit more spunk and resiliency than the teams of 2007 and 2008. If they can stay in the race until some of the walking wounded return, maybe, just maybe they can break that choke artist label. I'm not going to hold my breath on that, but hey, you never know!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
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I beg to differ. Outside of licking his fingers, there is nothing that Mike Pelfrey does with consistency. Perez has been a joke. He will always be a joke and reason number one why Omar Minaya should be canned. How he took Perez over Lowe I will never get. Livan Hernandez is at least 105 years old and Tim Redding and Nieve? Really, they are taking a team deep into the playoffs? Starting pitching is the problem. To win in the playoffs you need at least two starting pitchers who can shut a team down. The Mets have one, they need another.
ReplyDeleteStarting pitching is not the main problem. It's not great but its been worse. The Mets have 2 pitchers that can shut a team down, what they don't have right now is anyone who can get a clutch hit. One of their stars is leading the league in batting average and can't get a clutch hit. To me that's a bigger problem for them right now. That and they strand more guys than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteLivan Hernandez has arguably been the Mets most consistent pitcher this season. Granted, Pelfrey has been inconsistent - especially the last two games, but I think he will get past his yips or whatever else is plaguing him and be dependable.
ReplyDeleteJohan, barring injury is Johan. Enough said there. Maine, if he stays healthy is good enough to give you six solid innings. Redding...well, we shall see. The plan for him all along was for him to be in the bullpen but Perez mucked that up and honestly, I have no faith that Perez will ever get it together. Omar made a huge mistake not paying extra for Lowe. Perez is the poster boy for attention deficit disorder and may be as big of a bust as Victor Zambrano.
After I posted last week, the pitching seemed to fall apart somewhat. This is no doubt another zing at me from the Mets! The pitching implosion has more to do with an overused bullpen than anything else. Manuel is killing Feliciano and Green, and Parnell has flat out stunk the past couple of weeks. Obviously, an overtaxed bullpen is directly related to our starters not going more than 5 or 6 innings, but let's face it, in 2009, most starters don't give you more than 6 innings. I don't trust Takahashi much but Stokes can pitch and is never used. Figueroa is rotting in Triple A. Bring him up and use him as a long man. The bottom line is, Feliciano and Green cannot be the only two relievers used every single day or we're going to have a Heilman situation on our hands.