Well…
I spent my Sunday and Monday away from the Internet, but not away from the Mets games. A lot has happened, leaving a lot to talk about.
The first is that the Mets are finally back home. They had a 10 game road trip with 7 on the West Coast followed by a day off and 3 in Boston. It was a trip where they played 3 of the best home teams in baseball, looking their best and then their worst in the span of a few days. They came back east reeling after getting swept in LA to take 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox including some last minute heroics against one of the best closers in baseball to steal a win on Saturday night. They managed to go 5-5 on the trip, and remain in the mix for the top spot in the East, only a half game back from Philadelphia. They did all this using make shift line ups offensively, and plug in players defensively. If they went .500 with all their pieces in tact, one might feel the need to complain. The truth is, the Mets were lucky to come away with 5 wins on the trip, and we should all realize it.
Some more good news is…
The Mets get to play a few games at home against some lower tier teams to finish out the month. They started last night against Washington, picking up a 5-2 victory in which Gary Sheffield hit another reviewed home run to give the Mets a lead they would never give back, no matter how hard the bullpen tried. Bobby Parnell put in his first bad effort of the season walking in 3, including one to score a run in 1/3 an inning in the 7th. Pedro Feliciano and JJ Putz combined to finish out the inning, with Putz also coming on to pitch the 8th. He also had some control issues, but was able to get through the inning unscathed. Frankie Rodriguez picked up his 13th save in as many tries while shaking off some back spasm rust to close out the game. Rodriguez has been as good (if not better) than expected so far this season. The bullpen as a whole has been pretty spectacular. They are 2nd in the Major Leagues in saves with 15 and 4th overall with 27 holds.
After the short home stand where the Mets play the Nationals and Marlins, they go on the road for a 4 game series with Pittsburgh and then visit Washington. This means that the next 4 opponents for the Mets have a combined record of 55 – 80. Could be a good time to make a little run again, even with all the injuries the Mets are dealing with.
The last little shred of good is that there’s rain in the forecast for this week in New York, and the Mets could use some extra days off to rest up some of their injured players, a list that seems to get a little bigger every day.
In addition to the players on the DL;
- Carlos Delgado (out til late July)
- Alex Cora (out til July)
- Brian Schneider (out til early June)
- Oliver Perez (out til hell freezes over)
- Billy Wagner (possibly coming back mid-August)
the Mets are also dealing with a plethora of people trying to avoid the DL but dealing daily with nagging injuries;
- Carlos Beltran (sore knee)
- Ryan Church (tight hamstring, hip)
- Jose Reyes (calf tendinitis)
- JJ Putz (sore elbow, neck)
- Francisco Rodriguez (back spasms)
The Mets have done a pretty good job of maintaining some winning baseball despite all these injuries, and should be a force to be reckoned with once everyone comes back. All these bench players picking up significant playing time will add depth to the team later in the season that will be very useful to say the least. Depth is something that has hurt the Mets down the stretch for the past 2 seasons.
In other news…
The return of Brian Schneider next month should spell the end of Ramon Castro’s time in the big leagues for a while. All signs are pointing toward Jerry Manuel’s confidence in Omir Santos, and I agree with him completely. Santos has been a timely hitter, driving in big runs all the time. He’s currently tied for 4th on the team in RBIs with 15 and he’s splitting time. His big home run against Boston this past weekend only solidified the point that he belongs on this team full time. Even the pitchers seem to enjoy throwing to him. I wonder if he’s going to cut into Schneider’s time when he returns. My vote is that he should.
Oliver Perez is scheduled to make a rehab start today and if things go well, he may find his way back into the rotation in the near future. Both Jonathan Niese and Tim Redding have not done enough to lock up the spot in the rotation, so Perez will probably get another shot. Nelson Figueroa may be an option, but he’s showed tremendous inconsistency in his starts. One possibility I think the Mets should consider pending the return of Billy Wagner as a viable option out of the bullpen is to promote Bobby Parnell to a starter. With Wagner (possibly) available to pitch, he could theoretically take over the 7th inning responsibilities, giving the Mets a closer in each of the final 3 innings of the game. Parnell, with the exception of last night, has shown great control and velocity with his fastball, and good use of his secondary pitches. He’s got starter written all over him.
Livan Hernandez starts tonight against Craig Stamenm, who will make his 2nd start of his young career. He threw well last time, taking a perfect game into the 4th inning. If his last start is any indicator of his pitching style, he will throw a lot of strikes, so the Mets should come to the plate ready to swing early.
More to come tonight!
Let’s Go Mets!
You say that “Nelson Figueroa may be an option, but he’s showed tremendous inconsistency in his starts.”
INCONSISTENCY IN HIS STARTS? Not counting a 2-inning stint when he was removed because he was going to start at Citi Field three days later, his 2009 starts are:
7 innings
6 innings
7 innings
5 innings (7 inning game: doubleheader rule)
7 innings
6 innings
That’s consistency, not inconsistency.
When he was sent back to Buffalo the first time, he and Livan Hernandez were the only Mets starters not named Santana to have pitched at least 6 innings. Not Pelfrey, not Maine, not Perez. When he was called up and, without being called on to pitch, was returned to Buffalo after wearing a Mets uniform for the 4 games against the Giants.
He’s had 6 starts at Buffalo (at 13-29, the worst record in Triple A) with a 2.65 ERA, 0.97 WHIP (7th best in the International League, best at Buffalo) in 34 innings:
April 11th: pitched 7 innings, allowed 0 runs; Buffalo lost 1-0 after he left; no decision.
April 19th: pitched 6 innings at Citi Field against Milwaukee, allowed 3 runs, lost 4-2.
April 29th: pitched 7 innings, allowed 1 run, lost 1-0.
May 5th: pitched 5 innings (7 inning game – they played a doubleheader), allowed 2 runs, lost 3-0. May 10th: pitched 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, lost 3-1.
May 23rd: pitched 6 innings, allowed 2 runs; other team tied it after he left with 3-2 lead; Buffalo won 4-3; no decision.
He has always kept his team in the game.
Inconsistency? Definitely not. He’s been the most consistent pitcher not named Santana to have started for the Mets this year.
hdarvick,
Please keep in mind that I have never once sung the praises of the Mets starters other than Johan Santana and Livan Hernandez. I can even be quoted watching the season opener saying that the 2 through 5 starters are the big weak spot on the Mets, because you never know what you’re going to get on any given day from any of them.
In regards to Nelson Figueroa, I’ve always liked him. He’s a Brooklyn boy pitching for his home town team which pulls on all the right strings to stir up an emotional response. That said, although he’s pitched well enough to give the Mets a good shot at winning games, they haven’t in his starts. He’s 10-21 in his career with a 4.63 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .269 against him, numbers that are comparable to Tim Redding’s 34-42 with a 4.95 ERA and opposing hitters batting .279. The numbers show that both are not really worthy of a starting spot in a competitive rotation. The answer for the Mets will come via trade and not from within.
Thanks for reading!