Kuzul

In a season plagued by underachievement, inconsistency, and injuries, one controllable aspect of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2010 is the bullpen.

From the dominant bullpen that lead the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008, earning the nickname the “Bridge to Lidge,” the Phillies’ relief corps of 2010 took a big step back, finishing 18th in ERA despite pitching the fewest innings in the National League—with only the Seattle Mariners logging more out west in the American League.

It was no surprise to hear that the bullpen was GM Ruben Amaro Jr.’s top priority entering the off-season.

Even though he has already resigned Jose Contreras, the Phillies still have major question marks thus far. Along with left handed specialist JC Romero, Chad Durbin, middle inning work-horse, is a free agent.

The 2010 performances of rookies David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo surely didn’t leave opposing hitters shaking in their cleats. Many questions and few possible answers.

With these variables in mind, many Philadelphia fans are asking the question: “How can we turn this sorry excuse for ‘relief’ into the once feared ‘Bridge to Lidge?'”

Well, it starts with the man himself. The Phillies only have three certainties in 2011: Contreras, set-up man Ryan Madson, and closer Brad Lidge. They were the few bright spots of a weak 2010 campaign.

Contreras was a work-horse out of the Phillies ‘pen in 2010, logging innings and pitching to the tune of a 3.34 ERA. Most importantly, he was able to remain healthy for the entire season, earning himself a two year deal in free agency.

Despite missing time with a self inflicted broken toe, Madson continued his streak of dominance in the eighth inning. The only remnant of the 2008 “Bridge to Lidge,” Madson was stellar in 2010, throwing 53 innings of 2.55 ERA ball.

Of course, there is no bridge without a destination. Lidge finally returned to form in 2010, gathering 27 saves and compiling a 2.96 ERA. Lidge’s best work was done over the final months of the season. However, he threw 24.2 innings to a tune of an 0.76 ERA.

So assuming that these three guys can carry their success into 2011, how can the Phillies complement them this off-season?

The answer is through the free agent market. With Romero not expected to return, the Phillies’ first task in rebuilding the ‘pen will be to add a couple of left handed specialists. Left handers Hisanori Takahashi and Pedro Feliciano, both former Mets, seem to make the most sense.

Takahashi seems to be the best option for the Phillies. He was known best with the Mets for his flexibility in roles. He spent time in 2010 as a starting pitcher, a middle reliever, Francisco Rodriguez’s set-up man, and as the team’s closer, when “K-Rod” became ineligible for the last portion of the season.

The Phillies are expected to make Takahashi an offer, as the team could benefit from help in the areas of starting pitching depth and left handed relief. Takahashi was especially tough against left handed hitters in 2010, striking out more than ten left handed batters per nine innings and allowing only two earned runs from the left side of the plate—neither of which were via the homerun.

The Phillies may be able to lure him to Philadelphia by offering him the same type of deal the team offered to Chan Ho Park—an offer to compete for the fifth starter’s spot and a guaranteed spot in the bullpen. While he may be the most expensive option, he may also be the most important sign.

Feliciano has been a thorn in the side of left handed Phillies since 2003, his first full time gig with the Mets. Often called on to face tough outs like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, Feliciano had become a staple in late innings of Phillies and Mets games. Signing him for that reason may be a plus in and of itself.

He would more than likely be a major upgrade to the oft-injured, oft-inconsistent, JC Romero. Feliciano lead the league in appearances for a reliever last season, logging 62 IP.

While teams may try and drive his price down, by arguing that he has a lot of strain on his arm, his agent will surely try and drive his price up, by proving that he’s been the model of consistency.

Feliciano remained true to his bread and butter in 2010, as he was nearly untouchable from the left side of the plate. Left handed hitters hit only .218 against him, while he struck out over nine lefties per nine innings. His numbers against right handed hitters are awful, but any team with common sense will use him strategically in the latter innings against left handed hitters.

The Phillies have also expressed interest in bringing back Chad Durbin, though they may have been discouraged by rumors that he will seek a multi-year contract as a starting pitcher, despite not having done so since 2007. With that in mind, the Phillies may check in on other options. A couple names stand out to me: Matt Guerrier, Koji Uehara, Dan Wheeler, and Chan Ho Park.

A member of the Twins bullpen in 2010, Guerrier is an interesting case. Despite being a “type A” free agent, he wasn’t offered arbitration, and it won’t cost a draft pick to sign him. He posted an ERA of 3.17, but his FIP of 4.23 suggests that he was extremely lucky.

Any team that values saber-metrics realized this, and it’s most likely the reason he wasn’t offered arbitration by the Twins. He’s not as valuable as his basic numbers appear. If the Phillies can get him at a good price, he’d be a good sign to work in the middle innings, alongside right hander Jose Contreras. 

That puts Uehara in a similar ship.

The Japanese import (a lifetime starter in Japan) was stellar as the Orioles closer in 2010. He only picked up 13 saves for the O’s, but, had they been a winning team, that number would have probably been tripled. He showed impeccable control in 2010, striking out 11 hitters per nine, while only walking one per nine. His ERA of 2.86 was very, very good, and even then, his FIP suggests that he was unlucky, at 2.40.

If I had to have one right handed bullpen arm, this is the guy that I would want.

The Phillies may not be his top choice, mainly because they are already committed to Madson and Lidge at the back of the bullpen, but money talks. If the Phillies can lure him to the City of Brotherly Love, he’d provide much of the same things that Hisanori Takahashi would.

Wheeler and Park round out potential right handed bullpen arms for the Phillies.

Wheeler pitched for the Rays in 2010, and he can be compared to Guerrier. Despite having a good ERA of 3.35, his FIP of 4.11 suggests that he caught some breaks in 2010. His HR/9 is a cause for concern, especially with the way the ball jumps off the bats some nights at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. As long as he’s kept in the middle of the pen, he’d be a good addition.

The same could be said for Park, who would be an interesting minor league signing. The Phillies expressed interest in bringing the 17 year veteran back after the 2009 season, but he chose to sign with the World Series counterpart Yankees. He was traded after a disappointing start, and didn’t exactly turn any heads in Pittsburgh. A chance to rebuild value in a place where he was comfortable might sound appealing to him.

Despite being called a weak free agent market, the market for relievers is surprisingly deep. However, some in house options may be as appealing because of the money they’d save turning to them. Minor leaguers Scott Mathieson and Justin De Fratus will get a lot of looks in spring training.

Mathieson, 27, is one of those “feel good” baseball stories. After two successful Tommy John surgeries, the right handed fireballer came out, well, throwing fire in 2010. In 64 innings with the Phillies Triple-A affiliate Iron Pigs, Mathieson pitched to an ERA of 2.94, earning his cup of coffee with the big league club as a September call up—all the while, averaging 95 MPH on his fastball.

De Fratus, 23, turned some heads in the Phillies organization after splitting time with A+ Clearwater and AA Reading. Throwing a combined 65 innings, De Fratus pitched to an ERA of 1.99, his success culminating with the Phillies—adding him to the 40-man roster to protect him in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. A surprise in 2010, De Fratus will get a lot of looks this spring, and may break camp with the major league Phillies.

Of course, a plethora of familiar names will get their looks as well.

In the second year of his deal, Danys Baez may be best described as addition by subtraction. He was largely disappointing in 2010, and hopefully, isn’t guaranteed a spot because of the money he is set to make.

On the other end of the spectrum, guys like Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon are making close to nothing. Bastardo has a ton of upside, and it’s clear the organization likes him. However, his change-up is underwhelming, and his fastball/slider combination lacks control.

The long reliever in 2010, Herndon remained on the Phillies roster only because they wanted to keep him in the organization. (They would have had to offer him back to the Angels if they wanted to send him to the minors, since he was a Rule 5 Draft pick.) With guys like Kyle Kendrick, Vance Worley, and Drew Carpenter expected to compete for the fifth starter’s spot in spring training, Herndon may be out of a job once one of those guys loses.

If this article proves anything, it’s that the Phillies have numerous options to replenish the bullpen. Be it adding talented specialists like Feliciano and Uehara, or removing contract albatrosses like Baez, the Phillies can obviously afford to rebuild the bullpen. How they do so may effect the outlook on October 2011. If teams like the ’08 Phillies and ’10 Giants showed us anything, it’s that a talented bullpen goes a long way in competing in October.

With a couple of smart moves by Ruben Amaro Jr. and Co., the Phillies can move from troubled waters, and the Bridge to Lidge can deliver the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies to the promised land once again.  

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The New York Mets will reportedly offer reliever Pedro Feliciano arbitration, which puts the Mets in a very tricky situation.

If Feliciano accepts the Mets’ offer, the Mets would have to sign him to a one-year contract for an unknown amount of money, somewhere around $4 million, most likely.

Last season, Feliciano, 34, made $2.9 million. He threw his third consecutive season of at least 86 appearances. He went 3-6 with a 3.30 ERA and 56 Ks.

Feliciano has been the Mets most important relief pitcher season after season. Mainly a left-handed specialist, Feliciano is especially important with sluggers like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Brian McCann looming in the NL East.

If the Mets do go to arbitration with Feliciano, it would eat up most of their already thin offseason budget. The Mets have $111 million committed to only eight players, with scheduled raises to come. Jason Bay is due a $9.5 million bump (sigh) and David Wright is due $4 million more. 

Reportedly, the Mets only have $5-10 million to play with, and Feliciano could take almost half of that.

There is no doubt that the Mets need Feliciano. Without him, the Mets would no longer have that go-to lefty in the bullpen without bringing in a fresh arm. Feliciano held lefties to a .211 BAA last season.

The Mets do have some things on their side though. For one, Feliciano is seeking a mutli-year deal in free agency, but his age would probably deter most teams from taking a chance on a long contract. Feliciano is also a type-B free agent, which means the Mets would get a second-round pick in the 2011 First Year Player Draft to the Mets.

Feliciano has until November 30 to accept the Mets’ offer. So until then, the Mets will have to hold their breath.

Although Feliciano would eat up most of their offseason budget, the Mets need him. Mets GM Sandy Alderson called the Mets’ chances of being free agent players “unlikely,” so they’ll have to spend whatever money they have locking up their important players.

The Mets have already lost Hisanori Takahashi to free agency when they were unable to come to terms on a contract, which will definitely hurt the Mets next season.

Obviously, the Mets know how important Feliciano is to their bullpen next season if they’re willing to take a chance on arbitration.  

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With the 2010 season seemly over for the Mets, it’s time to look to the 2011 season and who will be coming off the books.

Jeff Francoeur—2010 salary $5M: He seems to be a fan favorite, but that doesn’t make you a major league ball player. Francoeur has shown signs of improvement at the plate and has a great arm in right field, but I just don’t see him having a place on this team in 2011.

John Maine—2010 salary $3.3M: After five seasons with the Mets his tenure in New York is almost definitely over. He blew out his shoulder this season for the Mets and his career could possibly be over. Hopefully he makes a recovery and is able to catch on somewhere else though.

Pedro Feliciano—2010 salary $2.9M: He is a free agent at the end of the season and it’s still uncertain if the Mets will bring him back. Feliciano has been with the team for eight years and has been one of the best non-closer relief pitchers in Mets history. The price tag for him might be a bit much, but I have a feeling the Mets will bring him back.

*Read the rest…*

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On the New York Daily News‘ website, they had a poll asking whose fault it was that Mets’ season has spiraled out of control. They gave you four options:

• The Wilpons have steered the team into the iceberg.
  
• Omar Minaya’s personnel moves have been dreadful.
• Jerry Manuel’s in-game decisions make him seem clueless.
• The players that haven’t been able to win.

So, they are telling us we can only pick one?

The biggest problem for the Mets is that it isn’t one thing. There is no quick fix for the Mets. They need a complete overhaul.

First off, the Wilpons are in no position to be running a major league ball team. Their finical and legal problems are holding the team back from completing deals that they need to do. It’s hard to judge whether it’s Minaya’s fault, or that of the front office. He can’t make a deal without first getting the approval by the owners. So, who knows what happens behind closed doors? I don’t think the Wilpons will sell the team, but they could hand ownership responsibilities over to a different person until they are able to collect themselves.

Minaya gets the brunt of the ridicule because he is the one who assembled this team. Like any GM, he has made some bad moves. Difference is in New York they are under the microscope more and usually for a lot more money than other teams, i.e., Oliver Perez. I’m actually not even that mad at Minaya. He did make some good moves in the offseason. R.A. Dickey, Hisanori Takahashi, Rod Barajas, and he still deserves credit for trading for Johan Santana and Angel Pagan back in 2008. Though he is not the team’s biggest problem, I think it’s just time to move in a different direction and let him go at the end of the year.

The Mets have a ton of talent on this team, but they can’t take what is on paper to on the field. To me, that shows that the problem is with the coaching staff. I’m not one for blaming managers for the team’s problems, but in this case I will. There has to be something that Manuel is doing wrong. Of course, none of us know because we are not there in the Mets clubhouse playing with them, but you get the feeling something isn’t right. Manuel, as well as Howard Johnson, need to be gone in 2011. The only coach I would keep is Dan Warthen because the Mets pitching has been outstanding this year.

Now, onto the guys who actually make it happen on the field. It’s been painful to watch the Mets’ offense go up to the plate and back to the dugout like clockwork. We’ve been watching games that are routinely 1-0 in the seventh inning, with no sign of life in the batting order. You can do whatever you want with the front office and coaching staff, but when it comes down to it, the players need to perform, and they aren’t doing that. It may just be time for a complete overhaul of this team, keeping only the cornerstones of the franchise.

So, what to do in 2011? Well, first off, if the ownership wants to show anything to the fans of this team, they need to fire Minaya, Manuel, and all other coaches not named Dan Warthen. The replacement manager comes down to the three people; Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, and Wally Backman. I’m a big fan of Backman, but the other two have much more experience than him, which would be important for this team. However, Torre will always be a Yankee to me, and I feel like Bobby V had his time here and they shouldn’t go back to him. So, I would go with Backman as the Mets’ manager in 2011.

Next comes down to the players. Big contracts like Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and Francisco Rodriguez will try to be moved in the offseason. Beltran will have the most value, but like Perez and Castillo, and if they were to move Beltran, they would have to eat a large portion of his salary.

He’s due to make $18.5M next season, and though it looks like he is starting to get back to his old form, many teams would not want to take that risk. They would probably have to eat $10M or even $15M of the last year on his contract to get back anything good in return.

**Read the rest….**

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—

The Mets start the second half of the season in a good position to reach the playoffs. There’s still a cloud of uncertainty hanging around the team, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do some serious damage. Don’t believe me? Look at some similarities to the last Mets team make the World Series:

• Jeff Franceour = Derrek Bell : Bell had a fantastic April, and then disappeared afterwards, and lost playing time because of it. Franceour also had a fantastic April, and then much like Bell disappeared afterwards, and is going to lose playing time because of it, like Bell did.
• Mike Pelfrey = Al Leiter :  Although Leiter was seond in the rotation he pitched like an ace, and so far Pelfrey has done the same.
• Johan Santana = Mike Hampton : Hampton started the season unexpectedly bad, and turned it around in the second half. Santana also started the season unexpectedly bad, and has started to turn it around. Can Santana continue to turn it around like Hampton did in 2000? Santana has a history of being a second half pitcher.
• Glendon Rusch/Bobby Jones = R.A. Dickey : Rusch and Jones solidified the back end of the rotation, a rotation that looked questionable after the third slot. Dickey has done much the same in a rotation that looked questionable after the third spot in the rotation Dickey has stepped in and solidified the fourth spot in the rotation.  Will the Mets acquire a started to push back Jon Niese and Dickey, and solidify the back end of the rotation like Rusch and Jones did in 2000?
• Mike Piazza = David Wright : Piazza ended 2000 with 38 HR’s 113 RBI’s and a batting average of .324. Wright is on pace for 26 HR’s 120 RBI’s with a .314 batting average.
• Todd Zeile = Ike Davis : Zeile ended 2000 with 22 HR’s and 79 RBI’s. Davis is on pace for 22 HR’s and 79 RBI’s.
• Armando Benitez = Francisco Rodriguez : No explanation necessary.

Read the rest….

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It has been said that the definition of stupid is doing the same wrong thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome.

As cruel as it might sound, I believe the industry of major league baseball is stuck in a method of managing of pulling your starters before they are cruising. Continuing to use the same failed pitching mistakes continues to only lead a team into more and more losses, and wasted efforts of the starting pitcher. 

I believe New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel is a stupid person, and one of the worst culprits of this pitching change phenomenon.

He obviously does not read my Bleacher Report articles .

What else would there be to explain why he continues to pull the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana, out games in which he is pitching great? Can you honestly believe that was the correct move today against the San Francisco Giants?

Especially when your team needs a victory in the worst way to avoid being swept in the first four games on this important road trip?

How about the Sunday game before the All-Star break against the Atlanta Braves ? Does Manuel himself honestly believe pulling Santana AFTER SEVEN SHUTOUT INNINGS of a game against the leader of the NL East was the correct move?

Well, Santana did already throw 107 pitches in that game. OMG! Call the papers!

And the Mets were only ahead 2-0 in that Braves game. Why would you remove your best pitcher in that game to put the ball in the hands of Bobby Parnell?

Granted, the Mets did win both games, but Manuel has to realize (especially after Frankie Rodriguez blew another save today) that Santana, no matter how many pitches he has thrown, is the best option for him at the end of the game.

Check out the photo accompanying this article. It is the on-field hand slapping between Manuel and Santana after Johan was allowed to finish his own game.

It might never happen again.  

Manuel already managed the Mets into many losses this season by pulling Santana early, and even pulling R.A. Dickey in this game when the Mets had Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals beaten.

Parnell and K-Rod gave up four runs in two innings in the eighth and ninth, but I doubt that Dickey would have allowed any more runs to the that Nats lineup. In watching the recorded game later on, they looked flustered trying to hit Dickey’s hard knuckle ball.

But Dickey threw 115 pitches already. What are we doing Jerry, trying to save the 35-year-old journeyman’s arm?

I remember driving home that day from umpiring a double header and listening to the game on the radio. I smiled when I heard that Dickey was being removed from the game. That gave the Nationals a chance.

But let’s get back to the Mets’ most effective, and highest paid, starting pitcher.

I don’t care how many pitches he has thrown into the later innings. If the game is tight and Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, or Albert Pujols was coming up, I WANT MY BEST PITCHER TO FACE THEM in that situation.

I already got on Manuel’s crosstown manager, Joe Girardi, last week regarding his pitch count limit shenanigans.

And it is not just Manuel and Girardi, but MLB in general. This entire notion that a middling relief pitcher, who isn’t good enough to be a starting pitcher and is not good enough to close games, is better than one of your starting pitchers when a game is tight is ridiculous. You can see this trend as middle relievers continue to get more and more win/loss decisions.

In 2008, Manuel pulled Santana early in four games which the Mets either held the lead or was tied but eventually lost , including two heartbreakers to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 4 and July 22 .

I heard on today’s radio broadcast that Santana had eight leads that season in which the Mets bullpen could not hold the lead.

How about Santana holding the lead?

Not until I wrote a piece two years ago did much talk center on letting Santana go longer in games because he is the team’s best pitcher, not Pedro Feliciano, not Fernando Nieve, not Elmer Dessens, not even the newly-anointed eighth inning guy Bobby Parnell or K-Rod are better than Johan Santana in these spots.
 
If you are talking pitch counts, and that Santana needs to be preserved for an August/September stretch run, there won’t be a late stretch run if Manuel continues to micro-manage the Johan Santana-pitched Mets games.

During those two Phillies games in July 2008, Santana had thrown 95 and 105 pitches, respectively, before he was pulled with a lead. As a reminder, the Mets lost the National League East by three games last season to those same Phillies, but were out of the National League Wild Card by a single game.

Leaving Santana in those four games when he was pulled would have likely returned three victories for the Mets.

If I am Manuel, I don’t care if Santana is at 95, 105, 115, or 135 pitches on a specific night. If Santana is still dealing and getting guys out, he is the man to be in the game. Not the aforementioned middle relievers.   

And do not pinch hit for him late either when there is no one on base or two outs in an inning. Having Santana on the mound is more important than gambling on getting a late insurance run.

Despite some successes this season, the Mets rotation is far from elite. The Mets need to win every game that Santana pitches, and that means letting your ace pitch very deep into games, if not a complete game every time out.

Then you can use the bullpen to try and bail out Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese, and new rotation member R.A. Dickey—because you know Manuel, for a variety of reasons, is not going to be allowed those guys to go the distance.

Manuel needs to stop becoming more stupid—because if you have ever heard the comedian Ron White , “You can fix almost anything, but you can’t fix stupid .”

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The second half of the season is going to start tomorrow, so it’s only fair to let the players know how they are doing right now.

Up where I go to college at SUNY Cortland we get mid-semester estimates. The professors let you know if you are on track to either pass the class or fail it. But they don’t give us a letter grade, which I would like to see; I should talk to the dean about that, but I digress.

I’ll give these players a letter grade, and I should let them know I’m a pretty easy grader.

Pitchers

Manny Acosta

Pitched in 12 innings in the first half and gave up four runs on eight hits and eight walks. Wasn’t expecting much from him, but he should think about coming to some office hours to improve his control. Grade: C

Elmer Dessens

He certainly gave this bullpen a big boast. Didn’t make the Opening Day roster, but stepped up when his team called on him from the minors. 18.1 innings pitched, three earned runs, well done. Grade: B+ 

R.A. Dickey

It’s scary to think where this team could be without him. Finished the first half with a 6-2 record and a 2.77 ERA. He won six starts in a row, and has given up three runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts. Grade: A+

Pedro Feliciano

To be honest I was expecting a bit more out of him. He came out of Spring Training and wanted to be this team’s set-up man, but he hasn’t been able to lock down that position. His numbers are pretty good, but there is room for improvement. Grade: B

Ryota Igarashi

I was really high on this guy. In Spring Training, he looked like he could be the set-up man for this team, but he was just so inconsistent. An eight ERA? Really? You get a frowny face on your report card. Grade: D

John Maine

Ah, where do I start. He looked great for three starts in a row, but before that and after those starts, he was awful. Maybe you should try taking this class with a different professor. Grade: D

Jenrry Mejia

I think it was a bit early to take a course of this level, but he didn’t do to bad. He showed that he has potential to be a very fine major leaguer. He should think about taking the prerequisites first though. Grade: B

Jon Niese

Got to love the job this kid has been doing. Since coming back from his injury, he’s been great, at 5-1 with a 3.12 ERA. A very solid No. 3 guy, keep up the good work. Grade: B+

Fernando Nieve

5.26 ERA? When did this happen? You used to be such a good student—all this partying is catching up to you. And by partying I mean coming in to pitch every single game. Take it easy on him Jerry. Grade: C

Bobby Parnell

He’s come back to the team and has looked very good. He gave the team some much needed bullpen support at the end of the first half. He threw 11 innings of work, gave up two runs on 12 hits, three walks, and 14 strike outs. I think we’ll see some big things from him the second half. Grade: B+ 

Mike Pelfrey

Great work there Mike, we all knew you could do it. All-Star caliber performance in the first half of the season, but he’s dealing with some dead arm issues in his last few starts. Not to worry, Mike said he goes through this every year and he’ll be back in tip top shape soon enough—we hope. Grade: A

Oliver Perez

MR. BLUTARSKY—ZERO POINT ZERO. Grade: F- – 

Francisco Rodriguez

Blew four saves and got two loses, but he did post a 2.45 ERA with 21 saves. He worked a lot of innings in the first half, but hopefully he’ll be fine for the second. This team really needs him to be. Grade: B

Johan Santana

Despite everyone saying his arm isn’t what it used to be, he had a 2.98 ERA for the first half, which is very respectable. Take away that awful start against the Phillies and he has a 2.33 ERA. Santana is a second half pitcher though, so I’m expecting big things, especially since the way he finished up the first half. Grade: B+ 

Hisanori Takahashi

Had some very nice starts, and he’s pitched better than his numbers. However, he is better fitted for the bullpen, where he will be for the second half of the season. Grade: B+

Raul Valdes

Came out of no where and really impressed me. He had a two really bad outings against the Padres which blew up his ERA. Not sure what the team will get from him in the second half though. Grade: B 

The one weakness on this team is the pitching. The Mets need to go out and get a starting pitcher and a set-up guy for the bullpen if they want to be serious contenders for the World Series. Until then, they are just a borderline playoff team.

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Whew….

It’s funny how long losing streaks feel compared to winning streaks.

Thanks to Mike Pelfrey, the Mets obtained a much needed victory over the Braves.

Big Pelf went deep into this game pitching 7.2 innings for the win.

Tipping Pitches?

I was forced to watch the Braves’ coverage of the game. I have to tell you, they bring a whole new meaning to the word excitement.

I do have to admit, they are a bit more interesting now that John Smoltz is in the booth.

They repeatedly talked about how Pelfrey was telegraphing some of his pitches. It didn’t seem to matter, but it will be interesting to see what happens the next time he pitches against the Braves.

Sticky Situation

Things got a little dicey in the eighth inning when Pedro Feliciano took over for Pelfrey.

The Braves had runners on the corners with two outs. Intelligently, Pedro pitched around Chipper Jones to load the bases. There were a couple of really close pitches in the at bat that didn’t go Feliciano’s way.

He then had to face Nate McClouth. Fortunately, he was able to strike out McClouth to end the chance. It was the biggest moment of the game.

Nicely done, Pedro.

The Lumber

There is not a whole lot to write here.

Rod Barajas was the hero once again as he continues to endear himself to the Mets’ faithful. He provided the biggest hit of the night with a two run double in the second inning.

Jose Reyes was able to manufacture a much-needed run in the sixth inning. He singled up the middle and was then bunted over by Luis Castillo. Jose stole third with a tremendous jump from second. He was then able to score on a weak ground ball by Chris Carter.

Huh?

Speaking of Chris Carter. Jerry Manuel replaced the Animal in the seventh inning with Jeff Francoeur.

Jerry wasn’t completely out of his mind, as he wanted to improve the defense late in the game. I get that.

If this is going to be your plan, then take Carter out of the four hole .

Dubious Streak

David Wright now has a 14 game strike out streak. At first, I thought he was going to break the streak. However, he was completely over matched by Takashi Saito in his last at bat.

In D-Wright’s defense, Saito’s fastball looked un-hittable. Just ask Ike Davis and Rod Barajas. They were also blown away by Saito that inning.

On Deck

The Mets have their ace on the mound with a chance to sweep the series.

Can I even say sweep the series when it is only a two game set?

Johan Santana will face Kris Medlen.

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The Mets are a month into the season and several moves that Jerry Manuel have made have been questioned at great length by fans and media alike, this is not good news. 

They were in first place, thanks to their 9-1  homestand, but just finished a 2-4 road trip in Philadelphia and Cincinnati, in two of the most hitter-friendly parks in the National League.

While the Mets are in second place and still very much in the mix in the NL East, you do have to wonder if some of Manuel’s decisions are costing the team wins.

First and foremost, Fernando Nieve has been used to excess, mostly due to the absence of Ryota Igarashi, who is on the DL with a strained hamstring.  Nieve has appeared in 17 games total and in nine of the last 10 games.

Jason Bay is still hitting cleanup even though he struggled mightily on the road trip, while a bad road trip is just that, if Manuel continues to place him in that role for the next week with the same results, it hurts the whole team.

Another questionable move was putting Jose Reyes in the third spot of the lineup, enough has been written about that, so I will not elaborate on that further, but to say fans strongly want him hitting leadoff again is an understatement.

During the third and decisive game against the Phillies last Sunday night, it was obvious that Johan Santana was not on his game in the least early in the game, but the bullpen was not prepared and Santana faced more batters than he should have under the circumstances.

Mike Francesca of WFAN radio asked Jerry, “after Victorino’s grand slam, why did you not take Santana out then…?”, to which he replied “the guy in the bullpen was indisposed or not ready”, which does raise some eyebrows about what he meant by that response.

However, the point is that more than one pitcher in the bullpen should have been warming up, it should not  have been left to one “guy”, especially if there were doubts that he would be ready when needed to enter the game.

During yesterday afternoon’s game in Cincinnati, Manuel double-switched David Wright out of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning after Wright struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. 

Manuel’s reason for the move was that Fernando Tatis, who had pinch hit in the 10th inning was needed as a potential back up catcher in the event that the game went more than 10 innings.  Henry Blanco started the game but was pinch hit for later in the game and there was some concern about Rod Barajas and how long he could continue to catch.

Anyone who knows what kind of player David Wright is will firmly believe that if an emergency catcher was needed, he would have had the catcher’s gear on without being asked his willingness to be in that situation after playing third base for the full game.

By no means am I advocating that Wright put on the “tools of ignorance” and take unnecessary injury risks, just that double switching him because of fear about a catcher needing to be replaced does not make much sense to me or a lot of other Mets fans.

Wright did have two hits on the afternoon, a single and a solo home run that brought the Mets within a run of the Reds, who were winning 4-2 at the time. 

While I do understand the concern about a backup catcher needing to be on the field, Tatis is a proven utility player who could have taken over any number of positions. 

The general rule of double switches is that the last batter is the one that gets switched out, while generally it is not questioned, being that Wright did have a successful afternoon, just a bad at bat in the 10th, he was waved off the field.

Pedo Feliciano gave up the game winning home run to Orlando Cabrera to end the game with the first batter he faced, so the point of the double switch was moot, but still questionable in the eyes of fans and media.

Fans and media do think that they can probably manage the team better than the manager, but moves like this do make you wonder if Manuel is costing his team wins with roster decisions, he is on a short leash to begin with in 2010, the clock is ticking……

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