Posts tagged ‘bullpen’

Well that was a stunner in the opposite way.  I’m shocked the Mets actually came back on the road and beat the Phillies late in a game.

I really though the only way the Mets were winning tonight was if Johan Santana threw a ridiculous game.  But actually Santana wasn’t very good tonight.  He gave up three runs in the first two innings, but he did settle down after that to pitch very four very strong innings.

Carlos Delgado gets the golden star for this game.  How clutch was the big guy!?  He got a two-out run scoring single in the first and then hit two solo bombs to tie the game.  He now has 30 homers and 93 RBI for the season.  He’s going to surpass his numbers in 2006 if he keeps his pace.

Big surprise that Daniel Murphy gets the game-winning RBI.  This guy has been awesome all year long, and he came through tonight in a big way.  That double to the opposite field off Brad Lidge was one of the biggest hits all season.

The bullpen has to credit for tonight’s win.  Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith and Luis Ayala got the job done tonight.  These guys failed last night, but they were able to rebound and help give the Mets a win tonight.

I was pissed after last night’s loss and deservedly so.  This team gets off to good starts and then folds at the end of games.  But I have to give this team credit on one thing…they seem to bounce back from tough losses really well.  It seems like every time I go on a long rant about this team is so mentally fragile, they win the next night.  While they did score another run in the first tonight, they actually came back and outscored the Phillies from the 7th inning on, which is rare.  All in all, a split isn’t terrible but they really should have swept this team.

The Phillies go to Chicago for four games, which means the Mets should probably have a 2.5 game lead by the end of the weekend.  The Mets have a much-needed off day tomorrow and then travel to Florida for three.  The Marlins are basically baked so I’m expecting at worst, a two-out-of-three series win.

I know the Mets just won six in a row, but today’s game was a complete giveaway.  The Pirates are just playing out their season and there’s really no reason why the Mets should have lost this game.  Let’s start with the bullpen.

Can these guys finish off a close game for crying out loud!?  I mean come on.  It’s tough to kill one area of the team, but like I said last night, if this bullpen was just OK the Mets would have a similar record to the Cubs.  They’re absolutely killing this team, day in and day out.  It’s unreal.

John Maine probably had the worst five shutout innings I’ve ever seen.  He looked terrible all afternoon and was very fortunate to be facing an awful lineup.  The Pirates basically were giving the Mets this game but they refused to take it.

The offense certainly deserves a chunk of the blame today.  So many chances to score more runs and they failed to do so.

It’s tough to get too upset about a 6-1 road trip, but the Mets had a real good chance to stomp on the Pirates today and open up a 2.5 game lead in the NL East.  Yes, I know the Mets are in great shape to win the division…but as we all know from last year, any game could make the difference.  If the Mets lose the division by a couple of games, today is one of those days where they’ll look back and realize it should have been a W and not a L.

It looks as if spring training has gotten off to a good start for the Mets. While the taste of last year’s collapse is still fresh in the players’ mouths, it seems like more people are focusing on the addition of Johan Santana and how the Mets might have the best team in baseball right now. It was very important to see Pedro and Johan getting along because their relationship could be huge as the season goes on Besides Santana, there are a few more things to take a look at over these next few weeks:

#1 - The return of Duaner Sanchez. This guy was unbelievable for the Mets during the 2006 season before his unfortunate cab accident. The team really missed him the rest of that season and of course last season. It’s not far fetched to think if the Mets had a healthy Sanchez for the last two years, they beat the Cardinals in the NLCS in 2006 and the team does not collapse as badly as it did last year.

If Sanchez is indeed healthy and back to what he was two years ago, and all indications are positive so far, the Mets bullpen emerges as one of the best in baseball. With a combination of Feliciano, Heilman, Sanchez and Wagner in the 7-8-9 innings, the Mets will win a ton of close games and rarely lose late-inning leads.

#2 - The health of Pedro Martinez. While adding Santana was huge to the front of the rotation, the Mets need a healthy Pedro this season. Martinez has said he feels great and he looked pretty great at the end of last season. He said he felt a little tired and that’s why his velocity was down. Let’s hope Pedro can get that back up and make 30 starts this season. It will be a good sign if he can make it through spring training without enduring any injuries.

#3 - The mental state of Jose Reyes. Let’s face it, as disappointing as the bullpen and starting pitching were during the last 17 games of last season, Reyes did nothing during that time period. He was weakly popping out during way too many at-bats and his frustration showed. Jose stopped hustling down to first base and even his defense was not up to par. If Reyes’ struggles continue into this season and he’s unable to get past this mental hurdle, the Mets are in big trouble. A solid spring training will go a long way in giving Mets fans confidence that Jose will rebound from this.

#4 - Finding a few pieces in the bullpen. The Mets brought in a plethora of faces to compete for a couple of spots in the bullpen. The biggest name was Matt Wise, who was very successful for the Brewers in April and May last year but a disaster after that point. He’s got decent stuff and could be a real innings eater for the team when the late-inning guys need a break.

Another name to keep an eye on is Joe Smith. He was tremendous to start the season but really struggled after his hot start. If the Mets can get him back to being the pitcher he was at the start of last season, the Mets might have themselves a righty specialist. Scott Schoeneweiss is guaranteed a spot in the bullpen and let’s hope Jorge Sosa can take over for Aaron Sele in the longman role.

That leaves one spot open. As you’ll see if you follow the Mets during spring training, there’s going to be about 6-7 guys competing for that final spot. Like Ted has said in the past, the way to building a decent bullpen is bringing in a bunch of guys and hoping a couple can pan out. The Mets must have listened to Ted because that’s exactly what they did. So lets see if they were both right in that thinking.

#5 - The development of the young guys. A lot of times, the most fun of watching spring training games is seeing those young players you hear about but never get to watch. Since the Mets traded away four of their best young prospects in the Johan Santana deal, there aren’t many young guys to keep an eye on. One of those guys is definitely Fernando Martinez. He might not need to come up to the big leagues this year with the additions of Brady Clark and Angel Pagan, but he very well could be the starter in 2009. Scouts differ on what type of player Martinez can be. Some say he could be an MVP-caliber player, while others say he might just be a solid outfielder. Make sure you take a look at him.

Another guy I’m going to keep a close eye on is Mike Pelfrey. While the Mets rotation could be one of the best in baseball, their depth is almost non-existent. Between El Duque and Pedro, there’s bound to be injuries among the staff so Pelfrey should be the first guy called upon when someone goes down. Mike has shown signs of being a great pitcher, like his one-hitter in Atlanta last September, but he’s also struggled a lot more than people thought. If he has a really strong spring training, the Mets might consider either making him the 5th starter and moving El Duque to the pen or vice versa. It could be an interesting storyline.

So those are just a few things to follow as the Mets open up camp this week. It will definitely be an interesting month as some of those questions will be answered. Of course, stay tuned to our podcasts because Ted and I will be discussing a lot of these topics on the show.